World News
More open approach at synod can ease fear of manipulation, cardinal says
Greater emphasis on small-group discussions and incorporating that work into the synod's final draft document is helping alleviate any suspicion of the synod being manipulated, said one of the four synod presidents.
Church and society must learn from families, pope says at audience
Families bring needed values and a humanizing spirit to society and, when they mirror God's love for all, they teach the church how it should relate to all people, including the "imperfect," the pope said Oct. 7 during his weekly general audience.
Archbishop Chaput: Synod does include ‘lobbying’ in search of truth
Pope Francis told participants Oct. 6 "we should avoid thinking of each other as conspiring against one another, but to work for unity among the bishops," Archbishop Chaput told reporters at a synod press briefing at the Vatican Oct. 7.
Bishops, Vatican confirm Pope Francis will visit Mexico in 2016
Auxiliary Bishop Eugenio Lira Rugarcia of Puebla, conference secretary-general, told Catholic News Service that the pope would travel to Mexico next year, though dates and details were still to be determined.
Synod should consider allowing female deacons, says archbishop
Canadian Archbishop Paul-Andre Durocher said where possible, qualified women should be given decision-making authority within church structures and new opportunities in ministry.
Pope says ministry to divorced, remarried is not only topic for synod
Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, told reporters Oct. 6 that the pope took the microphone that morning to affirm again that "Catholic doctrine on marriage has not been touched or put into question."
Time for cautious diplomacy is over, says Ukrainian Catholic leader
The head of the Ukrainian Catholic church has urged the Vatican to show greater support for his country, as a senior Vatican diplomat warned the country risked becoming "a kind of Somalia."
Unrest flares again in West Bank, Jerusalem
Unrest flared in early October throughout the West Bank and Jerusalem, which has experienced tensions during September, largely over the status of the contested holy site of the Temple Mount or Haram al-Sharif.
Pope says synod is not parliament, but place to listen to Holy Spirit
Opening the first working session of the synod Oct. 5, the pope said the synod's 270 voting members need courage, "pastoral and doctrinal zeal, wisdom, frankness and to keep always before our eyes the good of the church and of families and the supreme law -- the salvation of souls."
Fidelity, truth, love must guide church outreach to families, pope says
Formally opening the synod Oct. 4 with a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, the pope said the church must encourage families and defend faithful love, the sacredness of every human life and "the unity and indissolubility" of marriage.