This week on “Inside the Vatican,” Gerry and I devote an entire episode to the Amazon synod, which just entered its final week. First, we discuss some of the ideas that have been brought up in the synod hall, including the establishment of an Amazonian rite, a permanent human rights observatory in the region and Catholic university education for indigenous people. After taking a look at what has been discussed, we break down what will happen between now and the release of the synod’s final document this weekend.

Then, we take you outside the synod hall and into two extrasynodal meetings: one with indigenous leaders speaking about the challenges they face, and another with bishops and synod auditors in a catacomb outside Rome. We unpack the 1965 Pact of the Catacombs and the updated version that was signed this weekend amid resistance to the synod, and we look at what these documents teach us about the evolution of the Latin American church since the Second Vatican Council.

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Each week, Colleen Dulle goes behind the headlines of the biggest Vatican news stories with America’s Rome correspondent Gerard O’Connell. They'll break down complicated news stories that have a whole lot of history behind them in an understandable, engaging way. Colleen and Gerard will give you the inside scoop on what people inside the Vatican are thinking, saying—and planning.

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