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Synod on Synodality

Delegates meet at round tables during the Synod on Synodality on Oct. 10, 2023. | Credit: Vatican Media

Synod on Synodality: Who is Overseeing the Draft Report at the End of the Assembly?

Oct 10, 2023

Synod on Synodality delegates elected this week the members of a commission who will supervise the drafting of a “synthesis report.”

Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich (left), relator general of the Synod on Synodality, and Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary general of the Synod, at the Oct. 9, 2023, general congregation. | Credit: Vatican Media

Synod on Synodality Asks Members to Foster Communion with the Marginalized

Oct 10, 2023

“All are invited to be part of the Church,” Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich said at the start of the Oct. 9 general congregation.

Delegates at the Synod on Synodality participate in small-group round table discussions Oct. 9, 2023. | Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican Safeguarding Group Calls on Synod on Synodality to Address Abuse in the Church

Oct 10, 2023

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors has called on the synod to discuss sexual abuse this month.

Synod on Synodality delegates in small groups listen on Oct. 4, 2023, to Pope Francis’ guidance for the upcoming weeks. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

This Week at the Synod on Synodality: Deliberations and Veiled Agendas

Oct 9, 2023

Concerns linger about the potential for pressure groups to sway the synod’s course.

Credit: Myriam B/Shutterstock

FACT CHECK: Did 118 Participants at the Synod on Synodality Really Come Down with COVID?

Oct 9, 2023

After consulting doctors, Cardinal Mario Grech said there was no reason to be alarmed about the spread of COVID at the synod.

Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, archbishop of Kinshasa, speaks during a press briefing on the Amazon Synod at the Holy See Press Office on Oct. 22, 2019. Speaking at a press conference for the Synod on Synodality at the Vatican on Oct. 7, 2023, the Congolese cardinal said the initiative is providing “new ways to address problems, whatever they are” with “a spirit of synodality.” | Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Outcome of Synod Will be Welcomed as the "will of God,’" says African Cardinal

Oct 8, 2023

Congolese Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu described synodality as “a new way of being a Church.”

Pope Francis, the round tables at the Synod on Synodality at the Vatican, Cardinal Joseph Zen, and Paolo Ruffini. | Credit: EWTN News

Synod on Synodality 2023: Facts, Anecdotes, and Analysis from the First Week

Oct 7, 2023

Facts, anecdotes, and analysis from the first week of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops at the Vatican.

Speaking at a press briefing on Oct. 6, Vatican spokesman Paolo Ruffini said that there needs to be “a certain amount of confidentiality about who takes the floor and who doesn't in order to leave the space open … for ‘conversation in the Spirit.’” | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

Secrecy at the Synod on Synodality: What we know about delegates’ confidentiality requirements  

Oct 6, 2023

The Synod on Synodality’s official regulations no longer allow Synod delegates to share their personal interventions with the public. 

The Synod on Synodality convened on Wednesday, Oct 4, 2023. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

What is Being Discussed During the First Week of the Synod on Synodality?

Oct 5, 2023

During the first full day of work Oct. 5, participants met in small groups of about 12 people where they received a homework assignment.

Cardinal Raymond Burke was part of a panel that convened on the eve of the Synod on Synodality, Oct. 3, 2023. | Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN News

“Dubia” Not an Attack on Pope Francis Nor His Agenda: One of Five Cardinal Authors Says

Oct 5, 2023

The cardinal was speaking at a conference in Rome on Oct. 3 on the theme “the synodal Babel” to discuss the main points of contention raised by the synod.

Synod on Synodality delegates in small groups listen to Pope Francis' guidance for the upcoming weeks on Oct. 4, 2023. | Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Pope Francis to Synod on Synodality Participants: "Do not sadden the Holy Spirit"

Oct 4, 2023

Pointing synod delegates to texts by St. Basil on the Holy Spirit, the pope emphasized the importance of listening over speaking.

Pope Francis at the Synod on Synodality, Oct. 4, 2023. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez

New "grammar of synodality" on Display at Start of Synod Gathering 

Oct 4, 2023

On its opening day, synod leaders also highlighted the many ways in which the current gathering breaks the mold of past Synods of Bishops.  

Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun departs the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome, Nov. 18, 2014. | Bohumil Petrik/CNA.

Chinese Cardinal Expresses Concerns about Synod on Synodality in Leaked Letter to Bishops

Oct 4, 2023

Just days before the Synod on Synodality kicked off its first round of meetings at the Vatican, a letter from Cardinal Joseph Zen was leaked to media.

The opening Mass of the Synod on Synodality in St. Peter's Square on Oct. 4, 2023. | Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Pope Francis: Synod on Synodality’s Primary Task "to refocus our gaze on God"

Oct 4, 2023

Pope Francis opened the Synod on Synodality’s three-week assembly on Wednesday with a call to remember that the Church exists to bring Jesus to the world and should face today’s challenges with a gaze fixed on God rather than “political calculations or ideological battles.”

Pope Francis created 21 new cardinals from across the world at the Saturday morning, Sept. 30, 2023, consistory in St. Peter’s Square. | Credit: Vatican Media

Here’s what the Church’s Newest Cardinals Think About the Synod on Synodality

Oct 3, 2023

Six cardinals who are participating in this month’s Synod on Synodality — and five who are not — told CNA their ideas of and expectations for the assembly.

Screengrab of Bishop Sithembele Sipuka of Mthatha Diocese in South Africa during the inaugural Mass of Stephen Cardinal Brislin. Credit: Southern African Catholic Bishops'Conference (SACBC)

South African Catholic Bishop Faults Leaders “saying no to the Synod”, Prays for Wisdom

Oct 2, 2023

The President of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) is optimistic that the October 4-29 Synod on Synodality taking place in Rome will lead the Church into the right direction. He has appealed to those opposed to the Synod to have a change of heart, enlightened by the gift of wisdom.

Statue of St. Peter in front of St. Peter's Basilica. | Credit: Vatican Media

Cardinals Send "dubia" to Pope Francis Ahead of Synod on Synodality

Oct 1, 2023

Five cardinals have sent a set of questions to Pope Francis to express their concerns and seek clarification on points of doctrine and discipline ahead of this week’s opening of the Synod on Synodality at the Vatican. 

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/ACI Prensa

"Not much new" Will Come out of this Year’s Synod, Vatican’s Doctrine Chief Predicts

Oct 1, 2023

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández predicts that “those who expect big changes” to come out of this month’s Synod of Bishops will be “disappointed.”

Five children representing five continents speak with Pope Francis in the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican on Oct. 1, 2023. The pope will hold a meeting with children at the Vatican on Nov. 6, 2023. | Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis to Hold Meeting with Children at the Vatican on Nov. 6

Oct 1, 2023

The theme of the event in the Paul VI Audience Hall will be “Let us learn from boys and girls.” 

The Sept. 30 prayer service, called “Together,” which was organized by the ecumenical community Taizé, included eight minutes of silence for personal prayer. | Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis Calls Silence "essential" at Prayer Vigil for Synod on Synodality

Sep 30, 2023

Pope Francis told those gathered at an ecumenical prayer vigil days before the opening of the Synod on Synodality that silence is essential for Christians.