Latest news with #VaticanCouncil
Bloomberg
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Pope Leo Speaks at First Vatican Audience to Cardinals
Pope Leo speaks to Cardinals in his first formal audience at the Vatican. He told the cardinals who elected him that he was fully committed to the reforms of the Second Vatican Council and identified AI as a key challenge for humanity. (Source: Bloomberg)
The Independent
09-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Pope Leo XIV could bring big change to the Catholic Church – here's how Francis set the stage
Cardinal Robert Prevost of the United States has been picked to be the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church; he will be known as Pope Leo XIV. Attention now turns to what vision the first U.S. pope will bring. Change is hard to bring about in the Catholic Church. During his pontificate, Francis often gestured toward change without actually changing church doctrines. He permitted discussion of ordaining married men in remote regions where populations were greatly underserved due to a lack of priests, but he did not actually allow it. On his own initiative, he set up a commission to study the possibility of ordaining women as deacons, but he did not follow it through. However, he did allow priests to offer the Eucharist, the most important Catholic sacrament of the body and blood of Christ, to Catholics who had divorced and remarried without being granted an annulment. Likewise, Francis did not change the official teaching that a sacramental marriage is between a man and a woman, but he did allow for the blessing of gay couples, in a manner that did appear to be a sanctioning of gay marriage. To what degree will the new pope stand or not stand in continuity with Francis? As a scholar who has studied the writings and actions of the popes since the time of the Second Vatican Council, a series of meetings held to modernize the church from 1962 to 1965, I am aware that every pope comes with his own vision and his own agenda for leading the church. Still, the popes who immediately preceded them set practical limits on what changes could be made. There were limitations on Francis as well; however, the new pope, I argue, will have more leeway because of the signals Francis sent. The process of synodality Francis initiated a process called 'synodality,' a term that combines the Greek words for 'journey' and 'together.' Synodality involves gathering Catholics of various ranks and points of view to share their faith and pray with each other as they address challenges faced by the church today. One of Francis' favorite themes was inclusion. He carried forward the teaching of the Second Vatican Council that the Holy Spirit – that is, the Spirit of God who inspired the prophets and is believed to be sent by Christ among Christians in a special way – is at work throughout the whole church; it includes not only the hierarchy but all of the church members. This belief constituted the core principle underlying synodality. Francis launched a two-year global consultation process in October 2022, culminating in a synod in Rome in October 2024. Catholics all over the world offered their insights and opinions during this process. The synod discussed many issues, some of which were controversial, such as clerical sexual abuse, the need for oversight of bishops, the role of women in general and the ordination of women as deacons. The final synod document did not offer conclusions concerning these topics but rather aimed more at promoting the transformation of the entire Catholic Church into a synodal church in which Catholics tackle together the many challenges of the modern world. Francis refrained from issuing his own document in response, in order that the synod's statement could stand on its own. The process of synodality in one sense places limits on bishops and the pope by emphasizing their need to listen closely to all church members before making decisions. In another sense, though, in the long run the process opens up the possibility for needed developments to take place when and if lay Catholics overwhelmingly testify that they believe the church should move in a certain direction. Change is hard in the church A pope, however, cannot simply reverse official positions that his immediate predecessors had been emphasizing. Practically speaking, there needs to be a papacy, or two, during which a pope will either remain silent on matters that call for change or at least limit himself to hints and signals on such issues. In 1864, Pius IX condemned the proposition that 'the Church ought to be separated from the State, and the State from the Church.' It wasn't until 1965 – some 100 years later – that the Second Vatican Council, in The Declaration on Religious Freedom, would affirm that 'a wrong is done when government imposes upon its people, by force or fear or other means, the profession or repudiation of any religion. …' A second major reason why popes may refrain from making top-down changes is that they may not want to operate like a dictator issuing executive orders in an authoritarian manner. Francis was accused by his critics of acting in this way with his positions on Eucharist for those remarried without a prior annulment and on blessings for gay couples. The major thrust of his papacy, however, with his emphasis on synodality, was actually in the opposite direction. Notably, when the Amazon Synod – held in Rome in October 2019 – voted 128-41 to allow for married priests in the Brazilian Amazon region, Francis rejected it as not being the appropriate time for such a significant change. Past doctrines The belief that the pope should express the faith of the people and not simply his own personal opinions is not a new insight from Francis. The doctrine of papal infallibility, declared at the First Vatican Council in 1870, held that the pope, under certain conditions, could express the faith of the church without error. The limitations and qualifications of this power include that the pope be speaking not personally but in his official capacity as the head of the church; he must not be in heresy; he must be free of coercion and of sound mind; he must be addressing a matter of faith and morals; and he must consult relevant documents and other Catholics so that what he teaches represents not simply his own opinions but the faith of the church. The Marian doctrines of the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption offer examples of the importance of consultation. The Immaculate Conception, proclaimed by Pope Pius IX in 1854, is the teaching that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was herself preserved from original sin, a stain inherited from Adam that Catholics believe all other human beings are born with, from the moment of her conception. The Assumption, proclaimed by Pius XII in 1950, is the doctrine that Mary was taken body and soul into heaven at the end of her earthly life. The documents in which these doctrines were proclaimed stressed that the bishops of the church had been consulted and that the faith of the lay people was being affirmed. Unity, above all One of the main duties of the pope is to protect the unity of the Catholic Church. On one hand, making many changes quickly can lead to schism, an actual split in the community. In 2022, for example, the Global Methodist Church split from the United Methodist Church over same-sex marriage and the ordination of noncelibate gay bishops. There have also been various schisms within the Anglican communion in recent years. The Catholic Church faces similar challenges but so far has been able to avoid schisms by limiting the actual changes being made. On the other hand, not making reasonable changes that acknowledge positive developments in the culture regarding issues such as the full inclusion of women or the dignity of gays and lesbians can result in the large-scale exit of members. Pope Leo XIV, I argue, needs to be a spiritual leader, a person of vision, who can build upon the legacy of his immediate predecessors in such a way as to meet the challenges of the present moment. He already stated that he wants a synodal church that is 'close to the people who suffer,' signaling a great deal about the direction he will take. If the new pope is able to update church teachings on some hot-button issues, it will be precisely because Francis set the stage for him.
ITV News
21-04-2025
- General
- ITV News
Pope Francis would have felt 'at home' in Liverpool sharing same sense of humour, Archbishop says
Pope Francis shared the same sense of humour and warmth as those living in the North West and would have "felt at home" here, the Archbishop of Liverpool has said in tribute. The head of the Catholic church died aged 88 on Easter Monday following weeks of health issues, the Vatican confirmed. Paying tribute to the leader, the Most Reverend Malcolm McMahon, Archbishop of Liverpool, who met Pope Francis a number of times - most recently in January - said he was "deeply saddened by the news". "He was always smiling - at least when he saw me, of course he could have been laughing at me I don't know!" the Archbishop, who announced his retirement in March, said. 'He was a very happy, warm man. He had a deep kind of joy really within him. I think it came from that thing that we're all seeking, which is an inner peace.' Speaking of the North West and in particular Liverpool, he added: "I think the Holy Father would feel at home here because he had a great sense of humour just like the like Liverpudlians. "He also had a warmth which is I think common to most people in the North of England, and so they will miss him, they will identify with him and they will miss him all the more because of it.' The Pope was last seen in public on Easter Sunday, where he blessed thousands of people in St. Peter's Square. He was admitted to hospital in February for a respiratory crisis that developed into double pneumonia and stayed there for 38 days. Pope Francis had led the Catholic church for 12 years, was known for his forward-thinking and informality. 'He had an openness to the world,"Archbishop McMahon said. "He wanted the church to serve the world in many ways, and the way he saw, the best way, the way which the church had laid down at the second Vatican Council was to be open and generous and faithful to our tradition, but to interpret it in a way which was very, very inclusive.' He added that modern media meant many Catholics felt much closer to the Pope, taking him from "this kind of distant - mystical almost - figure" to "someone who we all know". The Right Reverend John Arnold, Bishop of Salford, also paid tribute to Pope Francis, saying he showed "such determination to fulfil his commitments and return to his ministry" despite his illnesses. In a statement he said: "Let us be grateful for the humble way in which he served the Church, putting aside the pomp and decoration of his office, to be among us. "From the first days of his papacy, he has shown his love for people and his determination to be close to those who came to him. "Let us be grateful for his teaching and all that he has done to help the Church to be true to Gospel values in our ever-changing world. "Let us give thanks for his concern for the environment which has done so much to make people within the Church and beyond aware of the dangers of climate change and the need for urgent action. "Let us be thankful for his example of welcome to all who might be even curious about a faith in Jesus Christ. "Every Pope must be a Pope for his time, and we give thanks for the achievements of Pope Francis' predecessors, but we recognise the courage and the dedication of Pope Francis in guiding us in unprecedented times where our world is seemingly overwhelmed by conflicts, migration, poverty and climate change." In 2023 the Bishop, alongside the Dean of Manchester and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham visited the Vatican to meet with the Pope to discuss climate presented Pope Francis with some Heavenly Honey - made by bees from both Salford and Manchester Cathedrals. He was also given both Manchester United and Manchester City shirts.
