Menu Close

Articles on Synod

Displaying all articles

Delegates attend the opening of the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on Oct. 4, 2023, at the Vatican. Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images

Hot-button topics may get public attention at the Vatican synod, but a more fundamental issue for the Catholic Church is at the heart of debate

Pope Francis’ Synod on Synodality is attempting to move the church toward a more dialogue-based model of authority, a scholar of Catholicism explains.
Pope Francis leads a prayer vigil at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City on Sept. 30, 2023. Antonio Masiello/Getty Images

The worldwide consultations for the global synod reflect Pope Francis’ efforts toward building a more inclusive Catholic Church

As the Synod of Bishops meets in Rome, a Catholic theologian explains the preparations that went into the consultative process and what it says about Pope Francis’ vision for the future church.
German Bishop Georg Bätzing talks with members of various Catholic youth organizations holding up umbrellas reading “Consecration for All” and “Jesus had two fathers.” Sebastian Gollnow/Picture Alliance via Getty Images

The Catholic Church is increasingly diverse – and so are its controversies

The Catholic Church’s membership numbers are growing fastest outside Europe and the Americas, and Catholics’ priorities look very different across the world.
They are listening but whose side are they on? Max Rossi/Reuters

The tectonic plates of world Catholicism shift

An extraordinary two weeks in Rome ended Saturday with a standing ovation. Pope Francis had invited 191 bishops and clergy to the Synod on the family to speak their minds on issues such as divorce, premarital…
The extraordinary synod of bishops on family is meeting for two weeks at the Vatican. EPA/L'Osservatore Romano

Pope sets off a ‘gay earthquake’? No, the church has hardly moved

A report of debate from the first half of the extraordinary synod of Catholic bishops meeting in Rome has been described as a “pastoral earthquake” and a “seismic shift in Rome” for praising gay relationships…

Top contributors

More