The predicament of divorced and remarried Catholics will be a major topic of discussion when bishops from around the world meet at the Vatican in October 2014. The Vatican announced on Oct. 8 that an extraordinary session of the Synod of Bishops will convene from Oct. 5 through Oct. 19, 2014, to discuss the “pastoral challenges of the family in the context of evangelization.” The pope had told reporters accompanying him on his return from Rio de Janeiro in July that the next synod would explore a “somewhat deeper pastoral care of marriage,” including the question of the eligibility of divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion. Pope Francis added at the time that church law governing marriage annulments also “has to be reviewed, because ecclesiastical tribunals are not sufficient for this.” The announcement of the synod came amid news that the Archdiocese of Freiburg, Germany, had issued new guidelines making it easier for divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion. The Vatican spokesman, Federico Lombardi, S.J., said that such matters were more properly dealt with at a church-wide level, “under the guidance of the pope and the bishops.”

This article appears in October 28 2013.