In an exclusive interview with The Synodal Times, Paolo Affatato spoke with Bishop Celso Ba Shwe of Myanmar who was driven out of his cathedral, which was attacked and then occupied by the Burmese army. Now living “as a refugee”, he is building a new ‘cathedral’ made out of bamboo in the forest. ‘A…
Women from Asia took centre stage at the Synod. For the first time they took part in the assembly, and they were a large group, as many as 12. A consecrated woman from Japan, Momoko Nishimura, was among the presidents delegated by the Pope. Then there were four lay women from Hong Kong, Myanmar, the…
Justin Robinson Under my window in Jerusalem’s Christian Quarter, the men of the neighbourhood are gathering outside the cafés to sip their morning coffee, smoke too many cigarettes, scan the newspapers and talk about what’s going on. There’s much to discuss lately, but not a great deal to be done. Their shops are closed…
The Irish Synodal Pathway Steering Committee has urged Church organisations to become involved in the faith development of Catholics and explore what they might have to offer in terms of training and skills development in the future. The call forms part of the recommendations submitted by the Steering Committee in its latest report ‘What does…
Luca Attanasio This is the theme of the residential meeting which took place in November 22 to 24 at the “Fraterna Domus” Spirituality House in Sacrofano (Rome), organised by the executive councils of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG) and the Union of Superiors General (USG). The event, which saw the participation of over…
Penelope Middelboe You have to keep inside the dolphins in the Venetian lagoon. These tall groupings of two or three wooden pillars, set a short distance apart, mark the outer edge of deeper water. The locals call them bricola. There are apparently 90,000 of them creating sea-lanes like railway tracks to steer clear of…
The Church in Ireland needs a whole “mindset shift” over lay ministry, as dioceses and parishes seek to embed a synodal approach to local leadership, a leading theologian has said. Irish dioceses have a “brilliant opportunity” to initiate a more “inclusive” model of leadership, according to the Dean of Theology at St Patrick’s Pontifical University,…
Luca Attanasio While in Europe and other areas of the world there has been a mixed reaction to the publication of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith’s statement ‘Fiducia Supplicans’, with German bishops in clear majority in favour or French who speak of blessings as a ‘way to get closer to God’, the…
Penelope Middelboe I fear for Pope Francis’s health. I wrote him a personal letter posted on 7 December, but it hasn’t left the UK yet according to the tracking number. I fear for his health because the last time I wrote personally to a pope was in May 1963 when I was six years old.…
The Vatican’s Communication Team for the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops has announced that the Continental Phase, which marks the second phase of the Church’s synodal process, will commence with a press conference explaining the mechanics of the next stage of the Church’s Synodal journey. The press conference will begin at 12pm Irish…
Ruadhán Jones