While Pope Francis can't make it to Dubai this weekend, Secretary of State (Pope Francis' right-hand-man) Cardinal Pietro Parolin will go in his stead, the Holy See Press Office has indicated. ...read more

The IL describes the Synod as a liturgical assembly in part to minimize the sense that it’s “a parliamentary structure with its dynamics of majority building” (#48). ...read more

To my mind, the most striking image from the Instrumentum Laboris happens to be the most traditional. ...read more

Pope Francis is heading to Marseille, France this weekend on his 44th Apostolic Journey abroad. ...read more

Many synod observers may be tempted to think of "Communion, Participation, Mission" as three discrete and potentially disconnected "pillars" of synodality. The IL directly confronts that perception (#43), ...read more

The Instrumentum Laboris (IL) or “Working Document” for the 2023 General Assembly was released last month by the Synod Secretariat. ...read more

This morning, the Synod Secretariat announced the participants of the upcoming XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, who will be meeting this October and again next year. ...read more

Following Chapter Two of Fratelli Tutti, the reflection takes up the parable of the Good Samaritan as its guide to pastoral reflection. ...read more

Towards Full Presence, the recent pastoral reflection from the Dicastery for Communication, weighs in on the pitfalls and opportunities of social media in today's world. ...read more

In my last reflection, I looked at how the expansion of voting privileges at this October’s Synod of Bishops emerged from lay participation in previous Synods, ...read more