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Pope Francis looks at ‘synodal reforms’ to papal election process Skip to content Pope Francis has delegated Cardinal Gianfranco Ghirlanda to develop draft revisions to the papal election process, in light of the approach to dialogue used during the synod on synodality, according to sources close to the Vatican’s Secretariat of State. In a move that could see questions raised by members of the Church’s College of Cardinals, the pope has reportedly asked his senior ranking canon lawyer to develop possible amendments to Universi dominici gregis, Pope St. John Paul II’s 1996 apostolic constitution governing the events surrounding the death of a pope, and the election of his successor in a conclave.  upgrade your subscription  —According to sources familiar with the discussions, ther...

Angelus Angelus Dómini nuntiávit Mariæ.Et concépit de Spíritu Sancto.Ave Maria… Ecce ancílla Dómini.Fiat mihi secúndum verbum tuum.Ave Maria… Et Verbum caro factum est.Et habitávit in nobis.Ave Maria… Ora pro nobis, sancta Dei génetrix.Ut digni efficiámur promissiónibus Christi. Orémus.Grátiam tuam, quǽsumus, Dómine,méntibus nostris infunde;ut qui, Ángelo nuntiánte, Christi Fílii tui incarnatiónem cognóvimus, per passiónem eius et crucem, ad resurrectiónis glóriam perducámur. Per eúndem Christum Dóminum nostrum. Amen. Gloria Patri… (ter)Requiem aeternam… Benedictio Apostolica seu Papalis Dominus vobiscum.Et cum spiritu tuo.Sit nomen Benedicat vos omnipotens Deus,Pa ter, et Fi lius, et Spiritus Sanctus. Amen. The Angelus Prayer The Angel of the Lord d...

“At the same time, however, may they be days illuminated by hope,” he encouraged, “indeed by the certainty that Christ’s arms, opened wide on the cross, powerfully invite all humanity to reconciliation, mercy, and peace.” Piacenza recalled Christ’s words on the Mount of Beatitudes: “Blessed are the peacemakers.” “[This is] a peace that is God-given and that demands to be built by people, beginning with the peace in their own hearts, because only those who are reconciled with God and with themselves can truly be peacemakers,” he said. The cardinal also invited priests to practice “great generosity” in listening to confessions, “for in them is strengthened, and in the case of grave sin, recreated, that indispensable bond with Christ.” The sacrament of confession — also known as penance or re...

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican’s nearly monthlong Synod on Synodality assembly, convened by Pope Francis, concluded Saturday evening with members approving an ambitious text calling for greater “co-responsibility” among all believers in the evangelizing mission of the Church — and proposing concrete reforms to achieve it.  Entitled “A Synodal Church in Mission,” the 42-page summary report included notable proposals to establish new ministries for the laity, increase lay involvement in decision-making, create processes to evaluate bishops’ performance of their ministry, change the way the Church discerns “controversial” issues, and expand the footprint of synodal assemblies going forward.  “The exercise of co-responsibility is essential for synodality and is necessary at all levels of...

Here are several ways to take part: Attend Mass If your local parish is already planning to have a Mass for this day of prayer for the Holy Land, consider attending. Some archdioceses have already announced Masses taking place, such as those of Detroit and Philadelphia. However, if you’re unable to make it or your parish is not having a Mass specifically for this day, you can also attend a daily Mass. Make a Holy Hour The tradition of a Holy Hour goes back to 1674 when Jesus appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and instructed her to spend an hour every Thursday meditating on his sufferings in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Typically, a Holy Hour is done in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament; however, a Holy Hour can be done at any time and anywhere — in your home, in a church, or ev...

In open letter, synod urges more synodality Skip to content An open letter published by the synod on synodality Wednesday said that the Church should focus more on the idea of synodality ahead of the October 2024 final session of the Church’s years-long consultative process.  The Oct. 25 text also emphasized discipleship of Jesus Christ, and commitment to both service of the poor and protection of the environment. “We hope that the months leading to the second [Vatican] session in October 2024 will allow everyone to concretely participate in the dynamism of missionary communion indicated by the word ‘synod,’” said the  letter, which was addressed to Catholics around the world. “This is not about ideology, but about an experience rooted in the apostolic tradition,” the letter adde...

Earlier in the day, Pope Francis in his Sunday Angelus appealed for peace in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, which is entering its third week. “Once again my thoughts turn to what is happening in Israel and Palestine. I am very worried, saddened; I pray and I am close to all those who suffer, the hostages, the injured, the victims, and their families,” the pope said. The pope also remembered those who continue to suffer in Ukraine. “War, every war in the world — I am also thinking of the tormented Ukraine — is a defeat,” Francis said. “War is always a defeat, it is a destruction of human brotherhood. Brothers, stop! Stop!” Biden visited Israel briefly on Wednesday, Oct. 18, to engage in high-level talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and to show support for the war-torn Jewish s...

Study: Sacraments in decline in Latin America Skip to content A major new study of the Catholic Church in Latin America has highlighted a decline in the number of baptisms and other sacraments. The 286-page report, issued by the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM), said that the number of annual baptisms had fallen from 8,197,000 in 2000 to 5,135,000 in 2020. Confirmations and Catholic marriages also decreased steadily in the same period. Leave a comment The trends highlighted in the document “The Church’s mission in Latin American countries” are significant for the universal Church, as 41% of the world’s Catholics live in Latin America and the Caribbean. The number of baptized Catholics in the region is roughly double that of both Europe and Africa, four times that of A...

VATICAN CITY — A laywoman received loud applause this week at the Synod on Synodality for a speech that characterized some members’ push for women’s ordination as an attempt to clericalize the laity, several sources have confirmed. Given in response to multiple small-group reports calling for women’s ordination not only to the diaconate, but in some cases also to the priesthood, the laywoman’s Oct. 16 morning address to the assembly also argued that a focus on women’s ordination is a distraction from what women in the Church want and need. The Register spoke with two synod members who were present in Paul VI Hall at the time of the speech, and a third source confirmed their account. The participants spoke on a condition of anonymity given the event’s restrictive confidentiality rules. In a...

The archbishop also spoke about the complementarity of men and women and in favor of giving women “more room in the Church, but without changing what is in the Gospel and what is in tradition of the Church.” Stankevičs, who has served as the archbishop of Riga since 2010, underlined that in response to the issues of women’s participation in the Church and same-sex blessings, “we must be faithful to the holy Scriptures, and what the Church for 2,000 years has discovered by interpreting the Scriptures.” “But if we talk about blessing, I would say if a homosexual comes as an individual person and says, ‘I would like to live in God’s grace,’ I see no contraindication to pray for him and help him,” he said. “If two come and say ‘we want to live in chastity … and we are tempted,’ you can pray fo...