There is at least one certainty at the end of the second week of the Synod of Bishops: the bishops, with almost no exceptions, do not like the Working Document (“Instrumentum Laboris”) that the Synod’s General Secretariat prepared as a basis for the Synod’s work. This is demonstrated by the small group [...]

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia gave probably the best description of the Synod’s Working Document – and by extension of the Synod’s discussion so far. In his October 7 speech at the Synod, published on the archdiocese web site – Archbishop Chaput said that the working documents “present us two conflicting views: [...]

An unexpected side effect of Pope Francis’ trip to United States came out when the news broke that he had secretly met Kim Davis in Washington. Kim Davis is the Kentucky county employee jailed in the last month because she not only practiced the conscientious objection by refusing to issue marriage licenses for [...]

Pope Francis’ address at the United Nations marked a slight difference from the speeches that have characterized his pontificate’s diplomatic activity to date. Putting aside the traditional topics of the “duty to protect” and the thoughtless adoption of “sustainable development goals,” Pope Francis returned to the notion of “integral human development,” voiced [...]

No time for Pope Francis to catch his breath! After his trip to Cuba and the United States the Synod will take place. And the Synod will be a real challenge for Pope Francis, as he is called to show that he can govern the different parties within the Church. The way [...]

There is one word that will be pivotal at the upcoming Synod for bishops: conscience. The arguments of those who want to adapt doctrine to pastoral practice will probably be based on conscience. In this way the main topics of discussion will be switched around from guaranteeing access to sacramental Communion for the [...]

A Secretariat of State fully comprised of officials of Pope Francis’ choosing. First, the Pope chose his Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. Then, he appointed Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher as Vatican “foreign minister,” promoting Archbishop Mamberti to the Apostolic Signatura (and creating him cardinal). Now the appointment of a new deputy [...]

“A theological family.” This is how Fr. Stephan Horn, Salvatorian, describes the circle of former students of Joseph Ratzinger. Fr. Horn served as academic assistant to Joseph Ratzinger in Regensburg from 1971 to 1997, and today he is the secretary of the Ratzinger Schuelerkreis, which gathers once a year since 1978. In an [...]

Pope Francis’ pontificate in a nutshell can be found in a 2013 letter of the Franciscan Friar, Berislao Ostojic, who until 2013 was Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s confessor. The letter was sent to the Franciscan brother, Mario Marcos, sometime after Pope Francis’ election, and came to light again – thanks to the website [...]

The “noise” Pope Francis wanted people to make (hacer lìo, make noise, is one of his favourite expressions) is bearing its fruits. The debate surrounding the upcoming Synod of Bishops is on, and it could not be any different than it is. There is a certain anxiety on each side: among those who [...]