Latest news with #SynodonSynodality
Herald Malaysia
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Herald Malaysia
Cardinal Grech urges religious men to be ‘engines of hope' for synodal Church
Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops, urges religious men to draw inspiration from the Church's desire for synodality, as he meets with members of the Union of Superiors General. May 24, 2025 Cardinal Mario Grech speaks to the USG Assembly in Sacrofano on May 23, 2025 By Devin Watkins'Pope Leo XIV encourages us to advance on the path of synodality, making fruitful the many seeds planted in the soil of the Church during the 2021–2024 Synodal process.' Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary General of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops, offered that invitation to members of the Union of Superiors General (USG) on Friday during their Assembly. The heads of male religious orders held their 103rd General Assembly in Sacrofano, near Rome, on May 21-23. In his address, Cardinal Grech reflected on the theme 'Consecrated Life: Engine of Hope in a Synodal Church,' recalling Pope Francis' call for the Church to listen well. Pope Leo XIV, he noted, has already spoken frequently of synodality, most notably in his address on the evening of his election to the papacy: 'We want to be a synodal Church, a Church that moves forward.' Cardinal Grech said the Church has concluded the 'celebratory' phase of the Synod on Synodality with its Final Document, noting that the most important phase is its 'reception' by the people of God. 'The protagonist of reception is the Holy Spirit, who acts in the depths of the people of God and gradually leads them along the path of reform, of which He Himself is the divine engine,' he said. The Cardinal went on to highlight the role of consecrated life in the Church as a form of prophecy, one which assists in the inculturation of the Gospel in local cultures and societies. He pointed out that the Synod on Synodality's first phase involved in-depth consultation with various realities of local Churches, in the hope of giving Catholics a chance to walk together. Consecrated life, he added, have long employed the principle of synodal listening and communal discernment for their shared life and mission. Cardinal Grech said religious orders also carry out a 'prophetic exercise of authority,' with many religious expressing their appreciation at the Synod for a transparent and accountable form of leadership. However, he noted, religious authority has sometimes degraded into abuse of conscience and personal freedom, resulting in deplorable cases of sexual abuse. Confronting patterns of abuse require both sanctions and, more importantly, a change of 'mentality, style, and ecclesial culture,' said the Cardinal. Cardinal Grech then highlighted Pope Leo XIV's focus on the Church's missionary zeal. Mission, he said, stands as the external expression of the synodal drive to involve everyone at all stages through 'participation and communion.' 'In this new stage of the Church's journey,' concluded Cardinal Grech, 'you consecrated men and women, belonging to ancient and modern Institutes, must feel entrusted with the task of being the vanguard of the Church's missionary renewal.'--Vatican News
RTÉ News
09-05-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
What do we know about Pope Leo?
The Catholic news journalist John L Allen once wrote that "the trash heaps of history are littered with the carcasses of so-called experts who've tried to predict the next pope". There's no doubt that the accuracy of that observation was underscored by the unexpected election of Pope Leo XIV yesterday. Considering that he was not listed as a frontrunner, the announcement that US Cardinal Robert Prevost had been elected Pope came as a surprise to many. There was a brief moment of silence when his name was announced to the packed St Peter's Square, before people started to clap and cheer. Journalists, including ourselves, scrambled to see if we had him on a list of potential outsiders. Thankfully, he was in the mix, albeit at the bottom of the pile. Born in Chicago in 1955 to parents of Spanish and Franco-Italian descent, Prevost served as an altar boy and was ordained as a priest in 1982. Three years later, he moved to Peru but frequently returned to the US to serve as a pastor in his home city. He has Peruvian citizenship and is remembered as a figure who worked with marginalised communities and helped build bridges. In 2015, he was appointed Bishop of Chiclayo in northern Peru by Pope Francis. Three years later he was elected vice-president of the Peruvian Episcopal Conference, where he also served as a member of the Economic Council and president of the Commission for Culture and Education. In 2023, Pope Francis made him a cardinal. He is someone that has both missionary experience and experience of the Roman Curia. Emerging on to the balcony overlooking St Peter's Square, Pope Leo set the tone of his pontificate with his first words to the cheering crowd - "Peace be with you all". Unlike Francis, who spurned much of the trappings of the papacy from the day he was elected in 2013, Pope Leo wore a traditional red papal garment over his white cassock. While many people will compare him to the previous Pope, it was suggested yesterday by a source that it's unlikely that Leo XIV will remain in the Casa Santa Maria guesthouse where Pope Francis lived, as it "creates its own difficulties". Despite that, the 69-year-old is viewed as a continuity candidate to the legacy of Pope Francis when it comes to Catholic social teaching and is understood to have shared Francis' views on migrants, the poor and the environment. He was one of the cardinals involved in Francis' Synod on Synodality - an effort to overcome polarisation in the church by inviting all Catholics to participate through a process of listening and discernment. Of the 133 cardinal electors in the Sistine Chapel in recent days, 61 were involved in the synod and knew each other well, which is a significant block of votes, considering that 89 was the magic number that had to be reached. He will inherit a church facing an array of challenges including the legacy of sexual abuse. No former bishop in the Catholic Church can expect to be elected as Pope without an assessment on their handling of clerical sex abuse. Yesterday, the US-based advocacy group for victims of clerical sex abuse, SNAP expressed "grave concern" about the choice of Pontiff, saying that he failed to take action against suspected historical abuse in Chicago and in Peru. However, his Peruvian diocese fervently denied he had been involved in any attempted cover-up. In an open letter, the group told the new pontiff that "the grand pageantry" around his election reminded them that "survivors do not carry the same weight in this world as you do". In a 2023 interview, Cardinal Prevost said the Church must be transparent and honest in dealing with abuse allegations. Today, will be the first full day of Pope Leo's pontificate. This morning, he will celebrate Mass for the College of Cardinals in the Sistine Chapel which will be broadcast live on Vatican media channels. On Sunday, it's expected that he will make his first public appearance at the Angelus Prayer in St Peter's Square at noon. Known for his quiet, deliberate demeanor, the first Augustinian pope reportedly likes to play tennis and values community life which was fostered by the vocation of his Order. Irish missionaries in Peru are familiar to him and he is a friend of Fr Paul Finnerty of the Irish College of Rome, who confirmed yesterday that Cardinal Prevost visited the college just last November for a celebration. Cardinal Prevost - now Leo the XIV - has also been to Ireland. It's understood he has godchildren in Cork who are the brothers of a Bon Secours Sister based in Trujillo in Peru.
Herald Malaysia
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Herald Malaysia
Archbishop Broglio welcomes Pope Leo XIV: 'A shepherd for a troubled world'
Archbishop Timothy Broglio, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, expresses joy and gratitude following the election of Pope Leo XIV. May 09, 2025 Pope Leo XIV appears at the balcony (@Vatican Media) By Marie Duhamel and Linda BordoniSpeaking to Vatican News shortly after the announcement of the election of Pope Leo XIV from the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica, Archbishop Broglio, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, said he was 'very pleased with the choice of the cardinals,' acknowledging his surprise at the outcome but affirming his deep sense of happiness and trust in the new pontificate. 'I certainly offer a prayer for Pope Leo,' he said, 'and pray for the beginning of his mission and for its success.' Archbishop Broglio shared that he had met Pope Leo XIV during official visits to Rome as part of his role with the bishops' conference, recalling a man marked by warmth, openness, and a genuine desire to collaborate, as well as during the Synod on Synodality. 'On both occasions,' he noted, 'he was very cordial and demonstrated a great desire to be helpful and work together. I was very grateful for that.' What is in a name? The choice of the name 'Leo' evokes rich associations with Church history, particularly Pope Leo XIII, remembered for his groundbreaking work on Catholic social teaching and his encyclical Rerum Novarum. 'It sparks the memory of Leo XIII,' Archbishop Broglio reflected, 'who was the first pope to enunciate in a clear fashion the social doctrine of the Church.' The name also speaks to the new Pope's roots. 'Since Leo came from the neighbourhood of Rome, I think the people of Rome, primarily, will be very happy,' he said. A call for peace Highlighting the state of the world today, Archbishop Broglio stressed the need for the Pope to be a voice for peace and dialogue amid the many crises unfolding across the globe. 'I think all of us are extremely troubled by the by the situations that continue to ignite in our world. I think now of Pakistan and India, but we also have this disaster in Ukraine and in the Middle East, and so many parts of Africa. So that he would speak of peace, I think is essential. And I hope that he will be a pontiff who can further peace and dialogue in our world,' he said. A united Church Reflecting on Pope Leo XIV's words about a united Church, Archbishop Broglio agreed that this message is also important for the people of the United States. 'One of the things we have to learn is to listen to each other,' he said. 'We may disagree, but each person is created in the image of God, and that should never be lost. I hope we hear his message as an invitation to be unified and to become instruments of dialogue.' A universal shepherd Archbishop Broglio also commented on Pope Leo's international background—French and Italian by heritage, with pastoral experience in Latin America—as a gift to his universal ministry. 'I think it's excellent,' he said. 'Living in different parts of the world makes a big difference. It brings depth, perspective, and a richness that will help him guide the Church.' He added that such global experience helps keep the Church from becoming 'lost in its own backyard.' A Pastor for all Noting the Pope's decision to speak in Italian during his first public address, Archbishop Broglio remarked on the pastoral significance of language. 'As the Bishop of Rome, I think it's important he spoke Italian,' he said, while also acknowledging the comfort this choice brings to Spanish-speaking Catholics, especially in light of the recent passing of Pope Francis. 'It will be reassuring to see that their new pastor can reach their hearts as well.' Concluding, Archbishop Broglio offered prayers for Pope Leo XIV: 'I wish him tranquillity and every success in his ministry.'--Vatican News
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Opinion - This conclave must rescue the Catholic Church from Francis' legacy
The Catholic Church is not dying from persecution. It is dying from confusion. Under Pope Francis, ambiguity became policy. Tradition was treated as baggage, and doctrine was left to the discretion of bishops' conferences and synodal subcommittees. This was not pastoral creativity but ecclesial disintegration. The next pope cannot merely adjust the tone or refine the messaging — he must reverse course. He must be a rupture from the rupture. Another pontificate like Francis's will not just weaken the Church but unmake it. This is not about aesthetics, liturgical preferences or partisanship within the Church. It is about the integrity of the Catholic faith itself. Pope Francis did not act as a steward of that faith, but as an improviser. Under his pontificate, clarity was displaced by ambiguity, continuity by novelty and the teaching Church by the therapeutic Church. Francis did not reform the Church — he destabilized it. The consequences are now in plain view. His document 'Amoris Laetitia' cast doubt on the Church's teaching on marriage and the sacraments. 'Fiducia Supplicans' muddied its moral witness on sexuality. And his Synod on Synodality has institutionalized confusion, treating doctrine as something subject to opinion and consensus. Under Francis, Bishops now openly contradict one another on fundamental questions of faith and morals with no correction from Rome — only encouragement for more listening and 'discernment.' This is not doctrinal development but demolition disguised as dialogue. The result has been a church that speaks in half-truths, governs by vagueness and loses the faithful not because it is too demanding, but because it is no longer intelligible. The next pope cannot continue this trajectory. He must restore what has been compromised: the Church's clarity, coherence and courage. Pope John Paul II understood what was at stake. His papacy was a confrontation with modernity's moral and spiritual deformations. He spoke plainly, prophetically and unapologetically — defending the dignity of the human person, the demands of moral truth and the universality of Christ. He did not try to make the Church relevant by softening its teachings — he made it compelling by standing firm in them. Pope Benedict XVI understood it even more deeply. He saw the metaphysical crisis underlying the moral one. Western man had not just lost the sense of sin, but the sense of reality — of nature, of order, of God. Benedict's response was not reinvention but recollection: a return to the sources, to the liturgy, to tradition and to the Logos. His papacy was a quiet but forceful insistence that the Church must be rooted in truth, not blown about by the spirit of the age. Francis, by contrast, repurposed the papacy as a platform for global moral diplomacy. His priorities — climate change, migration, economic justice — mirrored the agenda of secular elites. Meanwhile, the Church's supernatural mission receded from view. Francis spoke often of mercy but rarely of judgment; of inclusion but almost never of conversion; of accompaniment but not repentance. That is not reform — it is retreat. A Church that loses the courage to speak of sin, grace and salvation is surrendering its soul. The sacraments become gestures, the liturgy a performance, the Gospel a lifestyle brand. The priest becomes a facilitator, not a mediator of grace, and the Church becomes just one more voice in a secular chorus that no longer hears God's word. To be sure, Francis showed real pastoral concern. His critique of clericalism has merit. His emphasis on the peripheries was often well placed. But these cannot outweigh the damage done to doctrine, discipline and identity. The papacy is not a personality. It is an office — one ordered toward the preservation and proclamation of truth. The next pope must take that office seriously. He must restore confidence in the magisterium. He must reject the doublespeak that cloaks doctrinal drift in the language of 'discernment.' He must appoint bishops who teach the faith — not just manage decline. He must reaffirm that tradition is not a problem to be solved, but a gift to be guarded. The pope is not the architect of Catholicism but its servant. Yes, it will be difficult. Francis has reshaped the College of Cardinals. Many within the hierarchy are deeply invested in the current trajectory. The institutional Church is comfortable with ambiguity. But the conclave must resist the urge to play it safe. The stakes are too high. We do not need another cultural conciliator. We need a man who knows that the Church is not a stakeholder in the liberal world order. It is a supernatural reality. It does not exist to echo the concerns of the age, but to call the age to repentance. It does not belong to the world — it belongs to Christ. Some will say a pope like that would divide the Church. But division already exists — not because of clarity, but because of its absence. The next pope must not fear being labeled 'rigid' or 'reactionary.' He must fear only this: being unfaithful. If we get another Francis, we will get more confusion, contradiction and collapse. But a pope in the mold of Benedict or John Paul could still rescue the Church from the cul-de-sac of synodality and restore it to its mission — to proclaim the truth, without apology and without fear. In the end, the Church won't be destroyed by opposition from the outside but only by incoherence from within. The next pope must understand that — and act accordingly. Andrew Latham is a professor of international relations at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minn., a senior fellow at the Institute for Peace and Diplomacy, and a non-resident fellow at Defense Priorities in Washington, D.C. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
08-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
This conclave must rescue the Catholic Church from Francis' legacy
The Catholic Church is not dying from persecution. It is dying from confusion. Under Pope Francis, ambiguity became policy. Tradition was treated as baggage, and doctrine was left to the discretion of bishops' conferences and synodal subcommittees. This was not pastoral creativity but ecclesial disintegration. The next pope cannot merely adjust the tone or refine the messaging — he must reverse course. He must be a rupture from the rupture. Another pontificate like Francis's will not just weaken the Church but unmake it. This is not about aesthetics, liturgical preferences or partisanship within the Church. It is about the integrity of the Catholic faith itself. Pope Francis did not act as a steward of that faith, but as an improviser. Under his pontificate, clarity was displaced by ambiguity, continuity by novelty and the teaching Church by the therapeutic Church. Francis did not reform the Church — he destabilized it. The consequences are now in plain view. His document 'Amoris Laetitia' cast doubt on the Church's teaching on marriage and the sacraments. 'Fiducia Supplicans' muddied its moral witness on sexuality. And his Synod on Synodality has institutionalized confusion, treating doctrine as something subject to opinion and consensus. Under Francis, Bishops now openly contradict one another on fundamental questions of faith and morals with no correction from Rome — only encouragement for more listening and 'discernment.' This is not doctrinal development but demolition disguised as dialogue. The result has been a church that speaks in half-truths, governs by vagueness and loses the faithful not because it is too demanding, but because it is no longer intelligible. The next pope cannot continue this trajectory. He must restore what has been compromised: the Church's clarity, coherence and courage. Pope John Paul II understood what was at stake. His papacy was a confrontation with modernity's moral and spiritual deformations. He spoke plainly, prophetically and unapologetically — defending the dignity of the human person, the demands of moral truth and the universality of Christ. He did not try to make the Church relevant by softening its teachings — he made it compelling by standing firm in them. Pope Benedict XVI understood it even more deeply. He saw the metaphysical crisis underlying the moral one. Western man had not just lost the sense of sin, but the sense of reality — of nature, of order, of God. Benedict's response was not reinvention but recollection: a return to the sources, to the liturgy, to tradition and to the Logos. His papacy was a quiet but forceful insistence that the Church must be rooted in truth, not blown about by the spirit of the age. Francis, by contrast, repurposed the papacy as a platform for global moral diplomacy. His priorities — climate change, migration, economic justice — mirrored the agenda of secular elites. Meanwhile, the Church's supernatural mission receded from view. Francis spoke often of mercy but rarely of judgment; of inclusion but almost never of conversion; of accompaniment but not repentance. That is not reform — it is retreat. A Church that loses the courage to speak of sin, grace and salvation is surrendering its soul. The sacraments become gestures, the liturgy a performance, the Gospel a lifestyle brand. The priest becomes a facilitator, not a mediator of grace, and the Church becomes just one more voice in a secular chorus that no longer hears God's word. To be sure, Francis showed real pastoral concern. His critique of clericalism has merit. His emphasis on the peripheries was often well placed. But these cannot outweigh the damage done to doctrine, discipline and identity. The papacy is not a personality. It is an office — one ordered toward the preservation and proclamation of truth. The next pope must take that office seriously. He must restore confidence in the magisterium. He must reject the doublespeak that cloaks doctrinal drift in the language of 'discernment.' He must appoint bishops who teach the faith — not just manage decline. He must reaffirm that tradition is not a problem to be solved, but a gift to be guarded. The pope is not the architect of Catholicism but its servant. Yes, it will be difficult. Francis has reshaped the College of Cardinals. Many within the hierarchy are deeply invested in the current trajectory. The institutional Church is comfortable with ambiguity. But the conclave must resist the urge to play it safe. The stakes are too high. We do not need another cultural conciliator. We need a man who knows that the Church is not a stakeholder in the liberal world order. It is a supernatural reality. It does not exist to echo the concerns of the age, but to call the age to repentance. It does not belong to the world — it belongs to Christ. Some will say a pope like that would divide the Church. But division already exists — not because of clarity, but because of its absence. The next pope must not fear being labeled 'rigid' or 'reactionary.' He must fear only this: being unfaithful. If we get another Francis, we will get more confusion, contradiction and collapse. But a pope in the mold of Benedict or John Paul could still rescue the Church from the cul-de-sac of synodality and restore it to its mission — to proclaim the truth, without apology and without fear. In the end, the Church won't be destroyed by opposition from the outside but only by incoherence from within. The next pope must understand that — and act accordingly. Andrew Latham is a professor of international relations at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minn., a senior fellow at the Institute for Peace and Diplomacy, and a non-resident fellow at Defense Priorities in Washington, D.C.
