Vatican News

Disunity in the Church is perilous, Archbishop Chaput cautions at synod

Vatican City, Oct 11, 2015 / 10:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia spoke to the synod fathers on Saturday on the importance of precision in language, particularly regarding unity in diversity, and recalled the Protestant Reformation.

“Imprecise language leads to confused thinking,” the archbishop said Oct. 10 at the Vatican, giving “two examples that should cause us some concern”: 'inclusive' and 'unity in diversity'.

Pope prays for victims of weekend blasts in Turkey

Vatican City, Oct 11, 2015 / 08:49 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis expressed his condolences Sunday for those affected by attacks in Ankara, during a protest over the weekend which has left at least 95 people dead.

Addressing the crowds in St. Peter's Square following the Angelus Oct. 11, the Pope said he received the news of Saturday's attacks “with great pain."

“Pain for the many killed. Pain for the wounded. Pain because the perpetrators attacked unarmed persons who were protesting for peace.”

Proclaim the beauty of God's plan for family, LA archbishop tells synod

Vatican City, Oct 10, 2015 / 05:55 pm (CNA/Vatican Insider).- Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles addressed his fellow synod fathers on Saturday, encouraging the Church in sharing the beauty of the Creator's plan for creation, the human person, and the family.

“I believe that the Church must present a new evangelical catechesis on creation, as an essential element of the new evangelization,” he said Oct. 10 in a brief address, known as an intervention, during the Synod on the Family.”

Don't fall into the traps of relativism and rigidity, Pope says

Vatican City, Oct 10, 2015 / 02:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- In his homily on Friday Pope Francis focused on the importance of knowing how to discern whether something comes from God or the devil, who seduces and leads us to either become too rigid or relativistic.

From the synod: Mercy is not an abandonment of Church teaching

Vatican City, Oct 10, 2015 / 12:48 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Mercy has emerged as a major theme in the synod of bishops, as discussion has moved forward with many participants emphasizing that while mercy is greatly needed, it must always be linked to truth.

“The question is not whether we're here to change doctrine, but to make sure pastoral care takes account of real, actual, concrete situations of what each person is doing,” Fr. Thomas Rosica told journalists Oct. 10, quoting one of the synod participants.

Pope Francis leads synod in praying for peace in the Middle East

Vatican City, Oct 9, 2015 / 04:56 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- This morning, Pope Francis offered one of the synod’s daily moments of prayer for peace in the Middle East, and appealed the international community to put immediate interests aside, and find solutions.

“Dear Synod Fathers, dear brothers and sisters, in resuming this morning the work of the General Congregation, I invite you to dedicate the prayer of the Third Hour to the intention of reconciliation and peace in the Middle East,” the Pope said Oct. 9.

'Flawed, inadequate' – bishops skewer synod's working doc in new report

Vatican City, Oct 9, 2015 / 07:47 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A controversial working document for the Vatican's synod on the family took a hard hit from numerous bishops who've called the text overly negative, unclear, and possibly inaccurate in its translations.

“While various elements of the (document) are admirable, we found much of the text to be flawed or inadequate,” says a new report from group “D” of the four English-speaking synod circles.

African bishops throw swift punch at 'ideological colonization'

Vatican City, Oct 8, 2015 / 10:38 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Heavy criticism of the West imposing secular values on Africa in exchange for aid emerged as a theme from the continent's bishops, as the Vatican's synod on the family kicks off its first week.

Archbishop Chaput: We need more accurate translations of synod docs

Vatican City, Oct 7, 2015 / 04:00 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Synod of Bishops’ English-language translations are not always accurate and some synod fathers are worried about whether they will understand the synod’s final document before they vote on it, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia said Wednesday.

“Among English speakers, we don’t have typically the skills in as many language as the French and the Spanish,” the archbishop said at an Oct. 7 press briefing at the Vatican.

What saves us from loneliness? Family! Pope Francis says

Vatican City, Oct 7, 2015 / 04:34 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Family rescues us from indifference and loneliness and teaches us the essentials of life, Pope Francis said – adding that as the family of God, the Church has the same role and must evaluate how to live this out.

“Like Saint Peter, the Church is called to be a fisher of men, and so too needs a new type of net. Families are this net,” the Pope told pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his Oct. 7 general audience.

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