Archbishop John Dew of New Zealand offers a reflection about his experience in the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family. See below for full reflection: As I return from the Synod on Marriage and the Family I’m aware that the gathering, the discussion and the topics have caught the attention of the secular media ...read more

On October 5, 2014, Pope Francis presided over the Opening Mass for the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family. Below you will find the full text of his address: Today the prophet Isaiah and the Gospel employ the image of the Lord’s vineyard.  The Lord’s vineyard is his “dream”, the plan which he nurtures ...read more

On October 4, 2014, Pope Francis presided over a prayer vigil leading up the the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family. Below is the full text of his address: Dear families, good evening! The evening falls on our assembly. It is the hour in which one willingly returns home to the same meal, in ...read more

Earlier this afternoon, Vatican released the full, official English language translation of the “Relatio Synodi” of the III Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops: “Pastoral Challenges to the Family in the Context of Evangelization” (5-19 October 2014). Read the full text of the document below, dated October 18, 2014, the day the text was ...read more

Below you will find the full text of Pope Francis’ opening address of the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops: Your Eminences, Your Beatitudes, Your Excellencies, Brothers and Sisters, I give you my warm welcome to this meeting and I thank you from my heart for your caring and qualified presence and assistance. ...read more

At the end of the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family, Pope Francis addressed the Synod Fathers and everyone involved with the Synod. Below is the full text of the Holy Father’s remarks. Dear Eminences, Beatitudes, Excellencies, Brothers and Sisters, With a heart full of appreciation and gratitude I want to thank, along with ...read more

The Synod Fathers released a short pastoral letter at the conclusion of the Extraordinary Synod of Bishop on the Family on Sunday, October 19, 2014. We, Synod Fathers, gathered in Rome together with Pope Francis in the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, greet all families of the different continents and in particular ...read more

The first week of the Synod on the family has wrapped up in Rome. Participants have moved from general working sessions into small group sessions where they will go over the issues discussed “in aula” and work towards creating a unified document that can be presented to Pope Francis. While there has been unity among ...read more

We are days away from the opening of the Extraordinary Synod of Bishop on the Pastoral Challenges to the Family in the context of Evangelization, and the already things are heating up…most of that heat, however, is being generated by the media publishing interviews with prelates with opposing opinions on the same issues. There are ...read more

Most priests are not adequately prepared to deal with difficult pastoral situations, according to Vatican officials studying the pastoral challenges to the family. This was one of the topics included in the Instrumentum Laboris, or working document, for the upcoming Synod on the family. The document was the result of a consultation process, which involved ...read more