One South African theologian described “a deep sense of disillusionment that the church, on the one hand, is saying we need to be a synodal listening church, and has yet again taken the diaconate for women off the table.”

The second session of the Synod on Synodality will take place this October as a follow-up to the first session that occurred last October. Here are five things to look for as the synod delegates gather in Rome.

The people of Indonesia believe in gotong royong, literally, “joint bearing of burdens,” carrying something together, shoulder-to-shoulder. This ethos was lived to its fullest in the days of this holy visit.

“Theresa’s ministry was about truth-speaking,” Sister Susan Sanders said in a statement. “Truth-speaking about women’s desire for full inclusion in the Church; and truth-speaking to Church leaders like Pope John Paul II.”

Elizabeth Ann Seton has only officially been a saint for 49 years, a blink of an eye in the timeline of the church. But in the history of the Catholic Church in the United States, she is a towering figure.

“Sister Act” embodies the welcoming spirit of a church willing to go out into the street.