Cardinal Fernández updates synod on study group focusing on women's roles
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis decided the question of ordaining women deacons was not to be discussed at the 2024 Synod of Bishops, and he directed...
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Vatican safeguarding body meets with doctrine dicastery during plenary
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican's safeguarding commission has "an opportunity and obligation to make the church a more Samaritan church," Cardinal Sean...
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As synod nears end, preacher urges members to be at peace with results
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Even if some members of the Synod of Bishops end up feeling disappointed by the results of the synod, "God's providence is at work...
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Lima archbishop says movement with U.S. ties should be suppressed
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A Peru-based Catholic movement active across Latin America and the United States is more of a "political project" than a religious...
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Assisted dying bill in the UK is a 'slippery slope,' cardinal says
(OSV News) -- Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster has joined leading Catholic politicians and pro-life groups in calling on U.K. Catholics to take...
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Theological, ecclesiological balance needed in discussion of synodality, Bishop Rhoades says
VATICAN CITY (OSV News) -- For more than three years, the church has been undergoing a universal process of listening and dialogue, from the parish level...
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Mission of ecumenism is to be witnesses for Christ, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Jesus Christ is the heart of ecumenism, Pope Francis told leaders and representatives of the Lutheran World Federation. "He is divine...
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Church leaders speak up after French school supervising body fires principal of Catholic school
PARIS (OSV News) -- The archbishop of Paris spoke out in favor of freedom of Catholic education in France, amid weeks of tensions and protests after the...
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U.S. bishop: Church needs decentralization, not doctrinal fragmentation
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The decentralization of certain aspects of the Catholic Church's governance, as proposed in the Synod of Bishops on synodality, should...
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Synod members look at how synodality relates to papal primacy
ROME (CNS) -- Encouraging greater "synodal" practices in the Catholic Church should help the church find a greater balance between the power of the pope...
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Pope Francis' memoir to be published in January, publisher announces
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- An Italian publisher announced the global release in January of "Hope," a book it described as Pope Francis' autobiography, which...
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Pope says he hopes for 'reconciled differences' among Christians
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis called on divided Christians to overcome their doctrinal differences and walk together in love, expressing hope especially...
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Mission accomplished: Pope to declare 14 new saints
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The celebration of World Mission Sunday is a popular day for a pope to canonize new saints -- not only those who ministered or gave...
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Synod begins looking at institutional changes to promote synodality
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- If members of the Synod of Bishops are serious about sharing their experience of "synodality" with all members of the Catholic Church,...
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Poland's church remembers its heroic 'Solidarity Martyr' -- Blessed Jerzy Popieluszko
(OSV News) -- As 40 years have passed since the murder of Blessed Jerzy Popieluszko, one of their church's most famous priests, Polish Catholics are urging...
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Listening is key to changing church structures, synod members say
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Since the 2018 Synod of Bishops on young people, listening has emerged as a central element in overcoming the structural and cultural...
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Doctrine dicastery overturns Vatican ruling in priest laicization case
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican's doctrine office has mandated the laicization of an Argentine priest accused of sexually abusing minors, overturning...
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At midway point, synod to discuss accountability, walking the talk
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Members of the Synod of Bishops must ask, listen to and prayerfully reflect on difficult questions, not dismiss or avoid them, the...
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Catholic synod is relevant for other Christians, too, delegates say
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- While the Catholic Church's Synod of Bishops is not exactly like a synod in other Christian communities, the issues being discussed...
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Synod participants look at how all Catholics can serve church's mission
ROME (CNS) -- The pope, bishops and priests cannot fully awaken the missionary spirit of the Catholic Church alone, so all Catholics must play a more central...
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Synodal leadership can ease a bishop's burdens, speakers say
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A bishop who runs his diocese like a "monarch" is not only not acting synodally, but he probably is lonely and stressed, said theologians...
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Statistically speaking: How pope's choices change College of Cardinals
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Popes have made a habit of exceeding the statutory limit on the number of cardinals under the age of 80, but Pope Francis is planning...
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Pope moves to make Rome a 'living church,' not a 'museum'
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Diocese of Rome, like the Rome city government, has put so much effort into ensuring services in the historic center of the city...
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Taking risks in faith led Christina Lamas to break barriers, focus on empowering Catholic youth
(OSV News) -- When asked how her faith and culture impact her day-to-day life and responsibilities as the executive director of the National Federation...
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From on high: A rare glimpse from the top of St. Peter's baldachin
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- More than two dozen popes have celebrated Mass under the giant canopy that rises over the main altar of St. Peter's Basilica, but...
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Synod seeks to expand consultations on women's ministry, diaconate
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican group studying the question of women's ministry, including the ordination of women to the diaconate, will expand its...
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Pope sends $67,000 to Gaza parish, with $35,000 raised in one day from synod delegates
ROME (OSV News) -- As the Holy Land marked a grim first anniversary Oct. 7 of the Hamas attack on southern Israeli communities and subsequent Israel-Hamas...
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Cardinal-designate says God, and the pope, work in mysterious ways
SYDNEY (OSV News) -- God works in mysterious ways, but the Holy Father is even more mysterious, Cardinal-designate Mykola Bychok, eparch of the Ukrainian...
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Some new cardinals-designate from 'peripheries' were already in Rome
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Almost half of the 21 cardinals-to-be Pope Francis recently announced were already in Rome attending the Synod of Bishops on synodality,...
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Powerful impose war on others, world shows indifference, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- On the one-year anniversary of the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, Pope Francis expressed his solidarity with all those suffering...
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In second week, synod to discuss authority in the church
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Members of the Synod of Bishops have begun looking for ways to make relationships within the Catholic Church "more transparent and...
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Pope announces he will create 21 new cardinals in December
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis announced he would create 21 new cardinals Dec. 8, including a 99-year-old former nuncio and the 44-year-old Ukrainian...
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In the 'bleeding region,' Gaza Strip's Christian community lifts each other up, defying reality
JERUSALEM (OSV News) -- Even though death surrounds them every day, Gaza Strip's Christian community tries to "relieve the suffering" by assisting each...
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Synod stresses global approach to role of women, doctrinal development
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Controversy over women's ordination, even at the synod, detracts attention from the plight of women in the Catholic Church and society,...
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Synodality, an antidote to polarization, helps mission, cardinal says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- At the end of a multiyear process of listening, praying, discussing and discerning, Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, New Jersey,...
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Professor: Christianity is not dead in Europe, but needs to free itself from old demons
KRAKÓW, Poland (OSV News) -- Christianity "freed from the old demons" can be a driving force of Europe, a French professor argued during the Sept....
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No one has 'exclusive right' to God's voice, pope says at synod opening
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Members of the Synod of Bishops must engage in genuine dialogue with those holding differing views, avoid pushing personal agendas...
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Church must recognize, ask pardon for its sins, pope says before synod
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Catholic Church cannot be credible in its mission of proclaiming Christ unless it acknowledges its mistakes and bends down "to...
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Synod on synodality: Second session sets sights on mission
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- With many of the concrete, hot-button issues removed from the agenda and turned over to study groups, some people wonder what members...
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Pope calls escalation of conflict in Middle East 'unacceptable'
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis called the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East "unacceptable," after Israel and Hezbollah exchanged increased...
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Welcoming immigrants is requirement of charity, justice, pope says
LUXEMBOURG (CNS) -- Animated by a spirit of service, mission and joy, the Catholic Church must be welcoming toward everyone, Pope Francis said. "The spirit...
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Cardinal urges day of prayer, penance on anniversary of Oct. 7 attack, start of Israel-Hamas war
JERUSALEM (OSV News) -- Oct. 7 will mark a year since the brutal Hamas attack on Israeli communities and the no less brutal Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza...
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Pope: Humanity suffers from 'dangerous syndrome' of repeating mistakes
LUXEMBOURG (CNS) -- Humanity needs to be motivated by spiritual values if it is to avoid being thrown into dangerous exploits and useless massacres, Pope...
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Swiss bishop warns suicide capsule is 'dangerous' as American woman dies in it
ZURICH (OSV News) -- Following the death of an American woman in a so-called suicide capsule in Switzerland and the arrest of several people involved in...
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Pope: 'Never dialogue with the devil'
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Christians must acknowledge the reality of the devil acting around them and remain steadfast in resisting his temptations, Pope Francis...
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WYD 2027 in South Korea to focus on courage, interreligious dialogue
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The first World Youth Day to be hosted in a country where Christians are a minority will seek to instill young people with the courage...
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Thousands come to venerate relic of Blessed Carlo Acutis in Manchester, England
MANCHESTER, England (OSV News) -- The example of Blessed Carlo Acutis -- an Italian boy who is expected to become the "first millennial saint" -- reveals...
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Pope resumes meetings after day of rest
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis met with the bishops of Mozambique Sept. 24, a day after he had canceled his scheduled audiences because of "a mild...
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