Bishop Kräutler said there are thousands of indigenous communities in the Amazon that “do not celebrate the Eucharist except perhaps one, two or three times a year.” The bishops in favor of ordaining married men, he said, “are not against celibacy. We just want these brothers and sisters of ours not to have just a celebration of the word but also the celebration of the Eucharist.”

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.”

The cross is made from a piece of a wooden boat used by migrants to cross the Mediterranean to land on the island of Lampedusa.

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.

Catholic bishops, indigenous leaders and experts are preparing to gather in Rome from Oct. 6 to Oct. 27 for the special Synod of Bishops on the Pan-Amazonian Region.

Fasting always sounds like a brilliant idea before the consequences hit home. Having lost some control over my bowel movements, I felt vulnerable and fragile. I was afraid. Was it really worth it? Would I make it the full 40 days?

“We have a picture of what the goal looks like—the dignity of women, women feeling appreciated, their gifts being used—but how do you get there?”

“I was surprised that they even listened to me,” said Rev. Martina Viktorie Kopecká. “I am quite young and a woman. I wore a white stole. They are not pushing me away.”

The church must go out and encounter young people “in detention centers, at the borders.”

“For Christians, nonviolence is not merely tactical behavior but a person’s way of being.”