News

Synod on the Family: Midterm report presented, 2015 Synod announced

14/10/2014

As discussion at the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family got underway Monday morning, it was announced that the second phase of this process – next year’s Ordinary Synod – will be held October 4-25, 2015, and will have theme: The vocation and mission of the family in the church and the modern world.
Following the announcement the General Rapporteur, Cardinal Peter Erdő, presented the mid-term report outlining the main questions highlighted over the past week of General Congregations which will now be examined in by the bishops, fraternal delegates, auditors and experts in the ‘minor circles’ or small working groups…

13/10/2014

On Saturday 11th October 2014, Archbishop Paul Cremona O.P. met members of Fraternities for a moment of prayer, shared a thought with them and then led a procession to St Sebastian parish church, Qormi, for the opening Mass of his pastoral visit.
Photos of the Archbishop’s events may be obtained from Photocity in Valletta…

13/10/2014

Pope Francis during his Angelus address on Sunday said, “the goodness of God, “knows no boundaries and does not discriminate against anyone, everyone is given the opportunity to respond to his invitation, to his call”.
From the window of his studio overlooking Saint Peter’s Square during his Angelus address, Pope Francis reflected on Sunday’s Gospel from Matthew, in which the King issues an invitation to a wedding feast which is rejected by some and accepted by others…

12/10/2014

Participants of the extraordinary Synod for the Family took a pause at the end of their first week of work Saturday. In speeches from seven fraternal Delegates from different Christian confessions Friday afternoon, the synod fathers heard that all Christian families share the same challenges and hopes. In a briefing for journalists Saturday, the Holy See’s press spokesman, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi said that the eighth fraternal delegate, Metropolitan Hilarion, representing the Patriarchate of Moscow is expected to deliver his address to synod participants in the coming days.
Saturday is a day off for the synod fathers as the synod relators and special secretary work on the Relatio Synodali to be published Monday, and which will present the topics that will be under discussion in the working groups next week…

11/10/2014

The Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops issued a message on Friday for families who suffer as a result of conflicts. Below is the Vatican Information Services English translation of the message.

Message of the Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for families who suffer as a result of conflicts.

Gathered around the Successor of the Apostle Peter, we the Synod Fathers of the Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, along with all participants, share the paternal concern of the Holy Father, expressing our profound closeness to all the families who suffer as a consequence of the many conflicts in progress…

10/10/2014

Reference is made to what the President of the Malta Union of Teachers is reported to have said about the teaching of religion in state schools (Times of Malta – October 10, 2014). Mr Kevin Bonello said that “It was scandalous that the Education Department did not have control over the religion classes syllabus, but this was instead in the Curia’s hands”.
The fact is that there exists an Agreement between the Holy See and the Republic of Malta on Catholic Religious Instruction and Education in Church Schools, signed in 1989…

10/10/2014

How can the Church remain true to its core beliefs while showing mercy, compassion and forgiveness to individuals who fail, in so many ways, to live up its high ideals? That’s the question at the heart of the Synod of Bishops on the Family which is moving towards the conclusion of its first week’s work. To explore these issues at the daily press briefing on Thursday, the head of the Vatican press office Fr Federico Lombardi and his assistants were joined by the head of the Canadian Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Paul-André Durocher and Italian Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio, as Philippa Hitchen reports….
‘Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on the Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?’ Those words of Jesus to the Pharisees were used by Cardinal Coccopalmerio on Thursday to throw light on the dilemma facing Synod Fathers as they struggle to distinguish between Church doctrine and its practical application to people in their care…

09/10/2014

09/10/2014

What can the Church do to accompany families in difficult pastoral situations such as the separated, divorced or divorced and remarried, single parents, teen mothers, children from broken homes? What is the Churches pastoral outreach concerning unions of persons of the same sex? These were the topics of discussion in the 8th General Congregation of the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on ‘The pastoral challenges of the family in the context of evangelization’…

09/10/2014

Pope Francis appealed for Christian unity on Wednesday pointing out that divisions between Christians of different denominations are hurtful for the Church and for Christ.
Speaking to the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the weekly General Audience, the Pope said that we must not forget that there are many who belong to different confessions who share our faith in Christ…