Pope Francis told the college of cardinals that it is called “to resemble a symphony orchestra, representing the harmony and synodality of the church.”
Gerard O’Connell
Gerard O’Connell is America’s senior Vatican correspondent and author of The Election of Pope Francis: An Inside Story of the Conclave That Changed History. He has been covering the Vatican since 1985.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Vatican releases full list of synod participants: Chinese bishops in, Cardinal Ladaria out
We now know everyone who will participate in the historic month-long gathering at the Vatican this October.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Archbishop Gudziak: ‘If Russia puts down arms, the war’s over. If Ukraine puts down arms, Ukraine’s over.’
The Ukrainian Catholic archbishop of Philadelphia and Metropolitan for the Ukrainian Catholic Church in the United States speaks about his church’s synod and its meeting with Pope Francis.
Posted inPolitics & Society
Russia ready to receive Pope Francis’ peace envoy again after Cardinal Zuppi’s Beijing visit
As Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, Pope Francis’ special envoy for peace in Ukraine, concluded his three-day visit to Beijing, surprising news came from Moscow.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Father Antonio Spadaro to step down as editor of influential Jesuit journal La Civiltá Cattolica
Antonio Spadaro, S.J., announced today that he will end his 12-year role as editor in chief of La Civiltá Cattolica on Sept. 30, and will become undersecretary of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Vatican Dispatch
China has agreed to receive Pope Francis’ Ukraine peace envoy after long delay
Pope Francis announced several times that he hoped Cardinal Zuppi would go to Beijing on a peace mission, but it has taken a long time for the Chinese to agree to accept him.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Vatican Dispatch
Ukrainian bishops tell Pope Francis his praise for Russian heritage was painful and disappointing
The Ukrainian bishops did not hold back during a nearly two-hour private audience with the pope.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis: Synod proceedings will be secret to avoid ideology and gossip
On the plane home from Mongolia, Pope Francis answered several questions about this October’s synod of bishops.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis hosts interreligious gathering as he concludes memorable visit to Mongolia
Since the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Francis has constantly looked to the peripheries both in the choice of countries to visit and men to make cardinals.. And he has consistently looked to the East where he detects the first signs of a new springtime for the Catholic Church
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Chinese Catholics among those who welcome Pope Francis during Mongolia visit
Among the hundreds of onlookers from several countries at the back of the square were many Catholics from mainland China, present in defiance of an order from the authorities in Beijing prohibiting not only the bishops of mainland China but also the country’s Catholics from traveling to Mongolia.