When Catholics attack other members of the church, they are hurting Christ, Pope Francis said.
Synod on the Amazon
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Here’s what happened on the first day of the Amazon Synod.
The general relator of this special synod, emphasized several themes of Pope Francis’ pontificate: the church must “throw open her doors”; “true tradition” is “the church’s living history”; and “God always brings newness,” so “one must not fear what is new.”
Posted inFaith, News
Synod members call for greater role of women and laity in ministry
Proposals in the Oct. 8 morning session of the Synod included discussing the “possibility of diaconal ordination for women, so as to emphasize their ecclesial vocation.”
Posted inFaith, News
What you need to know about the 2019 Synod on the Amazon
Follow America’s coverage of the 2019 Synod on the Amazon.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
As Amazon Synod begins, Pope Francis looks to proceed with a ‘pastoral heart’
Pope Francis said the synod’s way is to “bring us close to consider the Amazon reality with this pastoral heart, with the eyes of disciples and missionaries.”
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Francis opens Amazon synod, says to ‘light the fire of the Gospel’ in the region
At an opening Mass for the synod on the Amazon, Pope Francis urged participants to exercise “daring prudence” and called for evangelism without “colonialism.” Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell reports.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
Catholic sisters and nuns call for voting rights for women at the Amazon synod
Reform groups are seeking to bring attention to the fact that 185 men but no women are voting members of the Special Synod of Bishops on the Pan-Amazonian Region that begins on Oct. 6.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Cardinals Hummes and Baldisseri respond to critics of the working document for the Amazon synod
“It is the voice of the local church, the voice of the church in the Amazon—of the church, of the people, of the history and of the very earth, the voice of the earth…. And this has value, it is not fake news,” Cardinal Hummes said.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
How Jesuits in South America are working to promote an ‘Amazon-like’ church
His work is increasingly to support what synod organizers call creating a more “Amazon-like” church. A more Amazon-like church incorporates the customs and sensibilities of the local population, like indigenous spirituality, and promotes new forms of evangelization.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Cardinal releases book skeptical of married priests just before debate at Amazon synod begins
In speaking at a press conference to launch a new book about the priesthood, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, head of the Vatican’s commission for Latin America, expressed doubts whether allowing married priests would be the solution for the clerical shortage in the Amazon.