Monthly Archives: October 2014

From the synod (6): Interim report holds issues in tension while breaking new ground

Posted on October 13, 2014 by

[From Austen Ivereigh in Rome] The ‘interim report’ – full text here — read out this morning by the synod’s Hungarian relator, Cardinal Peter Erdö, masterfully holds in balance the various issues in contention while resolutely breaking new ground in … Continue reading →

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From the synod (5): a snapshot at the end of the first week

Posted on October 12, 2014 by

[From Austen Ivereigh in Rome] The family synod’s first visible fruit will be evident tomorrow (Monday), when a summary of the week’s intense deliberations will be handed to the 10 circuli menores, or small groups, which began meeting Friday afternoon. Tomorrow, in other words, … Continue reading →

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From the synod (4): two insights into the Pope’s position

Posted on October 9, 2014 by

[From Austen Ivereigh in Rome] At the press conference yesterday and today two synod fathers whose thinking and outlook are very close to those of Pope Francis came out to brief journalists, giving a valuable glimpse not just of his own approach to the … Continue reading →

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From the synod (3): A synod that smells of sheep

Posted on October 8, 2014 by

[From Austen Ivereigh in Rome] As church leaders from across the world continue their deliberations here, it is already apparent that Pope Francis has succeeded in creating a new kind of mechanism, one that allows the centre to be shaped … Continue reading →

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From the synod (2): Erdö speech seeks to frame the debate

Posted on October 7, 2014 by

[From Austen Ivereigh in Rome] The extraordinary synod opened yesterday with an attempt to define the new terms of a reformed structure that will allow for genuine discussion and discernment. Cardinal André Vingt-Trois, the Archbishop of Paris, teased journalists by telling them … Continue reading →

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From the Synod (1): Pope calls for disagreement, openness to Holy Spirit

Posted on October 6, 2014 by

[From Austen Ivereigh in Rome] Pope Francis has led a weekend of spiritual preparation for the extraordinary synod of bishops, which formally began today, urging its participants to be frank in disagreement but at peace with one another, and above … Continue reading →

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Vatican blasts UN committee over shoddy report

Posted on October 2, 2014 by

In language that could be described as undiplomatic, the Holy See has officially responded to a United Nations committee which last February issued a scathing report upbraiding the Catholic Church over its response to sexual abuse. The report was widely derided … Continue reading →

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