Pope Francis speaks to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square for the Angelus on the solemnity of All Saints on Nov. 1, 2023. / Credit: Vatican Media CNA Staff, Nov 1, 2023 / 10:46 am (CNA). Pope Francis on Wednesday told pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square that holiness is both a “gift” from God and a “journey” to which we must “commit” ourselves after we’ve received it. The Holy Father delivered the remarks from the Apostolic Palace prior to a special recitation of the Angelus for the Nov. 1 solemnity of All Saints. The pope asked attendees to consider holiness in light of the feast day.Holiness is “a gift, you can’t buy it,” Francis said. “And at the same time, it’s a journey. A gift and a journey.”“Holiness is a gift of God, which we’ve received at baptism. And if we let it grow, it can completely change our lives,” he said.The saints, the pope noted, “are not heroes who are unreachable or distant. They’re people like us, our friends, whose starting point is the same gift that we’ve received: baptism.”“Holiness is a gift offered to everyone for a happy life,” the pope said. “After all, when we receive a gift, what’s our first reaction? It’s precisely that we’re happy, because it means that someone loves us. A gift of holiness makes us happy. It shows us how God loves us.”But “every gift must be accepted, welcomed,” the pope said. And a gift “carries with it the responsibility of a response.” Holiness is “an invitation to commit ourselves,” Francis said, so that we do not squander the gift from God. Pilgrims gather in St. Peter's Square for the Angelus on the solemnity of All Saints, Nov. 1, 2023. Credit: Vatican MediaHoliness, the pope argued, is also “a journey. A journey to be made together, helping each other, united with those great companions, who are the saints.” “They’re our elder brothers and sisters on whom we can always count,” he said. “The saints support us, and when we take a wrong turn along the way, with their silent presence, they never fail to correct us.”The pope urged visitors to ask themselves several questions regarding receiving the gift of holiness: “Do I remember having received the gift of the Holy Spirit, who calls me to holiness and helps me to arrive there? Do I thank the Holy Spirit for this gift? Do I feel that the saints are close to me? Do I turn to them? Do I know the history of some of them?”“May Mary, Queen of All Saints, help us feel the joy of the gift received and increase in us the desire for our eternal destination,” he said. After the recitation of the Angelus, the pope noted that on Thursday he would be celebrating Mass at the nearby commonwealth war cemetery in Rome, in which are buried numerous soldiers who died in World War II.  “Let’s continue to pray for all those suffering from the wars of today,” Francis said. “We remember suffering Ukraine, suffering Palestine,

Pope Francis at the Synod on Synodality’s closing Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Oct. 29, 2023. / Daniel Ibanez/CNA CNA Staff, Oct 31, 2023 / 16:00 pm (CNA). Pope Francis’ prayer intention of the month of November is for himself — the pope.“Pray to the Lord that he will bless me,” Pope Francis said in a video released Oct. 31. “Your prayer gives me strength and helps me to discern and to accompany the Church, listening to the Holy Spirit.”“The fact that someone is pope doesn’t mean they lose their humanity,” he added. “On the contrary, my humanity grows each day with God’s holy and faithful people.”The Holy Father called his role as pope “a process.”He explained that throughout the process, a pope “learns how to be more charitable, more merciful, and, above all, more patient, like God Our Father, who is so patient.”“I can imagine that at the beginning of their pontificate, all the popes had this feeling of trepidation, apprehension, knowing that he will be judged harshly,” he said. “For the Lord will ask us bishops to give a serious account.”Pope Francis asked the faithful to “judge benevolently” and to “pray that the pope, whoever he might be — today it is my turn — may receive the help of the Holy Spirit, that he may be docile to that help.”He concluded with a prayer: “Let us pray for the pope, so that in the exercise of his mission, he may continue to accompany in the faith the flock entrusted to him by Jesus, always with the help of the Holy Spirit. And pray for me! Favorably!”Pope Francis’ prayer video is promoted by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, which raises awareness of monthly papal prayer intentions.

Cardinal Mauro Piacenza. / Credit: PersiGianluigi (public domain) Rome Newsroom, Oct 31, 2023 / 11:00 am (CNA). Peacemaking begins in our own hearts by reconciling with ourselves and God through the sacrament of confession, a Vatican cardinal said this week.As we remember the innocent people who are dying in war during these days, we can take hope in the reconciliation, mercy, and peace of Christ in confession, Cardinal Mauro Piacenza said in a letter published ahead of the solemnity of All Saints.Piacenza is the head of the Vatican’s Apostolic Penitentiary, the office of the Roman Curia responsible for issues related to the sacrament of confession, indulgences, and the internal forum, which is an extra-sacramental form of secrecy, or confidentiality, applied to spiritual direction.“These are days, for the whole Church, of fond remembrance of those who have gone before us, and especially, in these tragic times of war, of all the innocents who still, without knowing why, continue to die,” the 79-year-old cardinal wrote.“At the same time, however, may they be days illuminated by hope,” he encouraged, “indeed by the certainty that Christ’s arms, opened wide on the cross, powerfully invite all humanity to reconciliation, mercy, and peace.”Piacenza recalled Christ’s words on the Mount of Beatitudes: “Blessed are the peacemakers.”“[This is] a peace that is God-given and that demands to be built by people, beginning with the peace in their own hearts, because only those who are reconciled with God and with themselves can truly be peacemakers,” he said.The cardinal also invited priests to practice “great generosity” in listening to confessions, “for in them is strengthened, and in the case of grave sin, recreated, that indispensable bond with Christ.”The sacrament of confession — also known as penance or reconciliation — strengthens the body of Christ through the miracle of forgiveness, he continued, noting that as the “all” of the Church becomes fortified through forgiveness, this forgiveness can open to the whole world.Reflecting on the Church’s celebration of All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days on Nov. 1 and 2, Piacenza recalled that “the Church is not only the one visible before our eyes, but it is also the ‘triumphant’ one in heaven, according to the communion of saints, and the ‘purgative’ one, on its way to full communion with God, for which we pray in the commemoration of the faithful departed.”It is good to remember that the invisible Church is the majority, while the visible part is the minority, he said.“The total body of Christ has a head, which is Christ himself, while his body, visible, tangible and audible, is made up of the concrete, sometimes shocking, brothers and sisters, who are next to us and who live the same membership in the mystery,” the cardinal added.“The cross of Christ, which is sacramentally re-presented in the Eucharist and whose fruits extend to the sacrament of reconciliation, is for all,” Piacenza said, “and its gifts are poured into hearts through the Spirit. The Church offers all people the opportunity to be embraced by

Pope Francis at the Synod on Synodality’s closing Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Oct. 29, 2023. / Credit: Vatican Media Rome Newsroom, Oct 30, 2023 / 11:45 am (CNA). The first part of the Synod on Synodality’s two-part assembly concluded Sunday leaving many unanswered questions about the next steps in the process.The synod synthesis document published over the weekend calls for bishops’ conferences to “play an important role” in encouraging theological and pastoral reflection “on the most relevant and urgent issues and proposals” outlined in the document.It says that the bishops’ conferences and hierarchical structures of the Eastern Catholic Churches are to “act as a link” between their local Catholic Churches and the general secretariat of the synod in this “development of the reflection” in the coming months.Yet much remains unclear about what concretely will take place in the year leading up to the second and final synod assembly in October 2024.According to the Instrumentum Laboris, the working document for the first synod assembly that took place Oct. 4–29 at the Vatican: “The main objective of the first session will be to outline paths of in-depth study to be carried out in a synodal style, indicating the relevant actors to be involved and ways to ensure a fruitful process in service to the discernment to be completed in the second session in October 2024.”While the synthesis report published at the end of the assembly calls for further study on multiple issues, as well as the establishment of commissions of theologians and canonists, nowhere in the document is it specified how these new “commissions” would be composed, who would choose the members, or how or when they would meet.Commissions for further studyIn particular, the report calls for the establishment of a “special intercontinental commission of theologians and canonists” to examine the definition and conceptual understanding of the “idea and practice of synodality” and its canonical implications. The proposals also include the formation of “a joint commission of Eastern and Latin theologians, historians, and canonists to study the issues that require further study and make proposals for pursuing the path.”In addition to these commissions, the document also defines the 75 different items listed as “matters of consideration” in the synthesis report as “points on which we have recognized that it is necessary to continue theological, pastoral, and canonical deepening.”Among these “matters of consideration,” which could not find a consensus in the first synod assembly, are women’s access to diaconal ministry, priestly celibacy, “Eucharistic hospitality” for interfaith couples, ways to make the sacrament of confirmation “more fruitful,” and assigning the handling of abuse cases to another body instead of the bishops.New synod participants?The 365 synod delegates who participated in this year’s assembly have been told that they are invited back to Rome for the 2024 assembly, but the synthesis document also calls for the inclusion of more new participants in 2024.The majority of synod delegates voted in favor of a proposal “to involve Christians of other denominations in the synodical Catholic processes at all levels and to

Pope Francis at the Synod on Synodality’s closing Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Oct. 29, 2023. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA Vatican City, Oct 30, 2023 / 13:45 pm (CNA). Now that the Synod on Synodality has drawn to a close, all eyes are on the synthesis report emanating from the monthlong ecclesiastical gathering.The acronym LGBTQ is notably absent, the question of a female diaconate received the lowest vote, and even the somewhat broad paragraph on controversial topics equating sexual identity and euthanasia lacks substantial consensus. Although all the paragraphs of the summary document from the first stage of the 2023 synod were approved with a two-thirds majority, it’s evident that the points lacking consensus stand out.Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, the relator general of the synod, highlighted in a press conference on Oct. 28 that “some issues were expected to encounter more opposition. The surprising part is that many voted in favor, indicating the resistance wasn’t as significant as anticipated.” The cardinal’s words reveal a robust and unyielding debate, hinting at a desire for change, especially when the narrative throughout the synod revolved around “seeking communion.”Those words also resonate with the fears of Cardinal Joseph Zen, bishop emeritus of Hong Kong, who, after having signed the last letter of the dubia sent to Pope Francis, also sent a letter to synod fathers highlighting the risk of pressure for a change in doctrine and above all denouncing the general secretariat of the synod as “very effective in the art of manipulation.”Zen’s letter and the publication of the dubia of the five cardinals fell on fertile ground. From the final document, ultimately called to balance all positions, it emerges that the concerns raised are the concerns of many bishops. Many voted yes with the thought of being able to fix things in the final document, wanting to avoid debate. Those who voted no did so with the awareness of facing a tough cultural battle in the coming months.The news, however, is that there will be no new continental stages, as previously thought. The road map that is emerging does not provide for further meetings of continents and documents, and this perhaps helps the general secretariat of the synod, which risks finding new documents with new dubia given the next leg of the synod, which promises to be heated.Spot the differencesThe 1,251 proposed amendments to the 40-page text essentially meant a call for a complete rewrite from the synod fathers. From the first to the final draft, many terms were revised. The reference to LGBTQ vanished, initially replaced by “sexual identity” and eventually by “gender identity” as a compromise.Also scrapped was the suggestion for accountability of pontifical representatives by local bishops, which could have significantly altered roles, placing the pope under bishops’ oversight. Instead, the text mentions renewing the procedures for bishop selection with greater engagement and listening — a practice already in place, albeit with varying emphasis depending on the nuncios and their operations.The suggestion for a synod council to assist the pope in Church governance also disappeared, supplanted by a

Pope Francis addresses nearly 20,000 faithful at his Sunday Angelus address on Oct. 29, 2023. / Credit: Vatican Media Vatican City, Oct 29, 2023 / 12:05 pm (CNA). During his Sunday Angelus message, Pope Francis expressed that the love of God and the love of neighbor are inextricably bound together.“Love of God and neighbor are inseparable from each other,” the pope said Oct. 29 in front of nearly 20,000 faithful, according to an official estimate of the Vatican Gendarmerie.Reflecting on today’s Gospel (Mt 22:34-40), the Holy Father stressed that in it we find the “greatest of the commandments”: “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind … and … your neighbor as yourself.’”This commandment is constructed upon two central pillars. Love, the pope explained, stems first and foremost from God.“The fact that love for the Lord comes first reminds us that God always precedes us, he anticipates us with his infinite tenderness, with his closeness, with his mercy, for he is always near, tender, and merciful,” the pope said.The capacity to love God is the starting point and underscores all of our other relations and actions, he said.“Everything originates in him. You cannot truly love others if you do not have this root, which is love of God, love for Jesus,” the pope explained.Pilgrims cheer during Pope Francis’ Sunday Angelus on Oct. 29, 2023. Credit: Vatican MediaThe Holy Father also said this love for God is the source for charity and a font of mercy. He also said we should feel in God’s arms the way children feel in their parents’ arms.“There [in God’s arms], we absorb the Lord’s affection; there, we encounter the love that impels us to give ourselves generously,” the pope said.The second component of this commandment of love is fraternal love.“It means that by loving our brothers and sisters, we reflect the Father’s love like mirrors. To reflect God’s love, this is the point — to love him whom we do not see through the brother[s]/sisters whom we do see,” Pope Francis said.At the end of the Angelus the Holy Father took a moment to thank those who observed the international day of prayer and fasting on Friday, Oct. 27, for peace in the Israel-Hamas war.“I thank all those who — in so many places and in various ways — united themselves to the day of fasting, prayer, and penance that we lived last Friday, imploring peace for the world,” he said. “Let us not stop.”The pope called for continued prayers for Ukraine and placed a special emphasis on the humanitarian crisis that has been unfolding in Gaza over the past three weeks.“Particularly, in Gaza, may space be opened to guarantee humanitarian aid, and may the hostages be released right away. Let no one abandon the possibility that the weapons might be silenced — let there be a cease-fire,” the pope said.Pilgrims hold a banner that reads “Peace” at Pope Francis’ Sunday Angelus

Pope Francis thanks the delegates at the conclusion of the 2023 Synod on Synodality. / Credit: Vatican Media Vatican City, Oct 28, 2023 / 19:04 pm (CNA). The Vatican’s nearly monthlong Synod on Synodality assembly, convened by Pope Francis, concluded this evening with members approving an ambitious text calling for greater “co-responsibility” among all believers in the evangelizing mission of the Church — and proposing concrete reforms to achieve it. Entitled “A Synodal Church in Mission,” the 42-page summary report included notable proposals to establish new ministries for the laity, increase lay involvement in decision-making, create processes to evaluate bishops’ performance of their ministry, change the way the Church discerns “controversial” issues, and expand the footprint of synodal assemblies going forward. “The exercise of co-responsibility is essential for synodality and is necessary at all levels of the Church,” the final report stated. “Every Christian is a mission in the world.” The document also repeatedly sought to ground synodality in Scripture, tradition, and the teaching of Vatican II, while also affirming the need to further develop the often misunderstood concept itself and apply it more deeply to the Church’s theology and canon law. The final report itself provided a comprehensive definition of the term. “Synodality can be understood as the walk of Christians with Christ and toward the Kingdom, together with all humanity; mission-oriented, it involves coming together in assembly at the different ecclesial levels of life, listening to one another, dialogue, communal discernment, consensus-building as an expression of Christ’s making himself present alive in the Spirit, and decision-making in differentiated co-responsibility,” it stated. Many of these themes ran throughout the document’s treatment of 20 different issues, including everything from “Christian initiation” to “missionaries in the digital environment.” The summary report noted areas of convergence, divergence, and concrete proposals that had emerged during the 365 synod members’ discussions on communion, mission, and participation from Oct. 4-Oct. 28. “This is the approach of Jesus, to create spaces for everyone so that no one feels excluded,” said Cardinal Mario Grech, head of the Secretariat for the Synod, during the document’s presentation to media after its publication. The synod’s report also noted fears that have emerged around the process. “Some fear that they will be forced to change; others fear that nothing will change and there will be too little courage to move in the rhythm of the living Tradition. Some perplexity and opposition also hide the fear of losing power and the privileges that come with it,” said the document. The assembly also identified the need to determine why some Catholics did not participate in the synodal process, which was initiated by Pope Francis in 2021, and has included consultation at diocesan, national, and continental levels. Only 1% of Catholics worldwide took part. Controversial issues The final document was provided to members earlier today, after writers attempted to incorporate over 1,150 proposed amendments into the text. The 344 voting members present approved the text on the evening of Oct. 28, voting to include each paragraph proposed with the required two-thirds majority. After the final vote, Pope

Bishops process into St. Peter's Basilica for the closing Mass of the first assembly of the Synod on Synodality on Oct. 29, 2023. / Vatican Media Vatican City, Oct 29, 2023 / 07:30 am (CNA). At the Synod on Synodality’s closing Mass, Pope Francis said that God’s love cannot be confined “to our own agenda” and that those who truly want to reform the Catholic Church should follow Jesus’ greatest commandment: to adore God and love others with his love.“We may have plenty of good ideas on how to reform the Church, but let us remember: to adore God and to love our brothers and sisters with his love, that is the great and perennial reform,” Pope Francis said in St. Peter’s Basilica on Oct. 29.“We are always at risk of thinking that we can ‘control God,’ that we can confine his love to our own agenda. Instead, the way he acts is always unpredictable, it goes beyond, and consequently, this action of God demands amazement and adoration,” he added.Pope Francis at the Synod on Synodality’s closing Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Oct. 29, 2023. Vatican MediaThe pope underlined that worship of Jesus in the tabernacle “in every diocese, in every parish, in every community” is necessary in the “struggle against all types of idolatry” in today’s world.“Let us be vigilant, lest we find that we are putting ourselves at the center rather than him. And let us return to worship. May worship be central for those of us who are pastors: let us devote time every day to intimacy with Jesus the Good Shepherd in the tabernacle. Adoration,” he said.“Only in this way will we turn to Jesus and not to ourselves. For only through silent adoration will the Word of God live in our words; only in his presence will we be purified, transformed, and renewed by the fire of his Spirit. Brothers and sisters, let us adore the Lord Jesus!”The pope’s homily marked the closing of the monthlong 2023 Synod on Synodality assembly, where 365 delegates discussed and voted on more than 80 proposals for how to become a more “synodal Church.”Pope Francis at the Synod on Synodality’s closing Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Oct. 29, 2023. Vatican Media“Brothers and Sisters, the General Assembly of the Synod has now concluded,” he said. “In this ‘conversation of the Spirit,’ we have experienced the loving presence of the Lord and discovered the beauty of fraternity.”“Today we do not see the full fruit of this process, but with farsightedness, we look to the horizon opening up before us. The Lord will guide us and help us to be a more synodal and more missionary Church, a Church that adores God and serves the women and men of our time, going forth to bring to everyone the consoling joy of the Gospel,” Francis added.Pope Francis at the Synod on Synodality’s closing Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Oct. 29, 2023. Daniel Ibanez/CNAIn his homily, Pope Francis said that he

Cardinal Mario Grech and Pope Francis at the conclusion of the Synod on Synodality on Oct. 28, 2023. / Credit: Vatican Media Vatican City, Oct 28, 2023 / 15:28 pm (CNA). The Vatican released the Synod on Synodality’s “synthesis report” on Saturday night outlining key proposals discussed during the nearly monthlong assembly’s confidential conversations.The highly anticipated text was approved paragraph by paragraph on Oct. 28 by a vote of 344 Synod delegates, which for the first time included women and other non-bishops as voting members.The document, the synthesis of the assembly’s work from Oct. 4-29, proposes a “Synodal Church” that implements synodality throughout Church governance, theology, mission, and discernment of doctrine and pastoral issues.The 42-page text, released by the Vatican in Italian, covers 20 topics from “the Dignity of Women” to “the Bishop of Rome in the College of Bishops.” For each topic, “convergences,” “matters for consideration,” and “proposals” are outlined.More than 80 proposals were approved in the Synod vote, including establishing a new “baptismal ministry of listening and accompaniment,” initiating discernment processes regarding the decentralization of the Church, and strengthening the Council of Cardinals into a “synodal council at the service of the Petrine ministry.” Other proposals include giving lectors a preaching ministry “in appropriate contexts,” implementing structures and processes to increase the accountability of bishops in matters of economic administration, supporting “digital missionaries,” and promoting “initiatives that enable shared discernment of controversial, doctrinal, pastoral, and ethical issues in the light of the Word of God, Church teaching, theological reflection, and valuing synodal experience.”The document also encourages churches to experiment with “conversation in the spirit”— the listening-and-reflection method the Synod’s delegates have used in their deliberations this month — and forms of discernment in the life of the Church. It calls for the implementation of “the exercise of synodality at regional, national, and continental levels.”Absent from the summary report are definitive conclusions on same-sex blessings, women’s ordination, and a handful of other hot-button topics that have drawn the lion’s share of media attention during this year’s assembly.Throughout the document, areas of disagreement among the Synod participants are listed as “matters of consideration.” Among them are women’s access to diaconal ministry, priestly celibacy, “Eucharistic hospitality” for interfaith couples, and assigning the handling of abuse cases to another body instead of the bishops.Written by “experts” invited to attend the Synod and overseen by a commission of 13 Synod delegates, the text says it aims to be “a tool at the service of ongoing discernment.” It is divided into three main sections on the elements of a synodal Church, participation in mission, and processes that enable dialogue with the world.Vatican spokesman Paolo Ruffini said that more than 1,000 amendments were submitted by Synod delegates to the original draft of the report after it was presented to the assembly on Wednesday.Voting on the text took place on Saturday night with each paragraph requiring the approval of two-thirds of the members present for inclusion in the final report. Every paragraph was approved in the voting process. A

Cardinal Agostino Marchetto. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/ACI Prensa ACI Digital, Oct 28, 2023 / 08:00 am (CNA). The Synod on Synodality convened by Pope Francis has once again brought to the fore the clash between internal currents of the Church in dispute since the Second Vatican Council.The accusations of manipulation in the name of a worldly agenda on the one hand and the pressure for the ordination of women, the end of mandatory priestly celibacy, and the alteration of Catholic sexual morality to accept homosexuality on the other came to light as soon as the 16th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops convened at the beginning of October.“Certainly we cannot ignore the world, and that’s why it’s a mistake to entrench ourselves in the past. However, we must never forget that we are in the world, but we are not of the world,” Cardinal Agostino Marchetto explained to ACI Digital, CNA’s Portuguese-language news partner. “We cannot subvert the doctrinal and moral tradition of the Church to please the world. We look at the cross of Christ — glorious, yes, but a cross nonetheless,” he noted.Created a cardinal by Pope Francis on Sept. 30, the Italian cardinal is, according to the Holy Father himself, “the best interpreter of the Second Vatican Council.” For the cardinal, “it is necessary to reinforce the internal dialogue in the Church between the different positions, between those who exalt exclusive fidelity to tradition and those, on the contrary, who seek to adapt to the world.”ACI Digital recently had an opportunity to interview the cardinal to gain his perspective on the synod in light of Vatican II.ACI Digital: Some see in the Synod of Synodality an opportunity to finally implement the decisions of the Second Vatican Council, especially on collegiality in the Church, which were supposedly suspended during the pontificates of John Paul II and Benedict XVI. How do you see the role of the synod in light of the hermeneutics of the Second Vatican Council in continuity with the tradition of the Church?Marchetto: The judgment on the suspension of the exercise of collegial ministry in the Church is easily dismantled if we think of all the Synods of Bishops held during the pontificates of John Paul II and Benedict XVI. In his famous Dec. 22, 2005, address to the Roman Curia, Pope Benedict XVI noted that, in fact, the Second Vatican Council represented continuity and not discontinuity with Catholic tradition. And all the conciliar and postconciliar pontiffs have echoed this.Regarding the two poles of continuity and discontinuity, I prefer to go further, pointing out that the first alternative proposed by Pope Benedict XVI is between rupture in discontinuity and the reform-renewal in the continuity of the Church as a single subject. It is precisely this combination of continuity and discontinuity, but not rupture, at different levels, that constitutes the true nature of authentic reform.Continuity then refers to tradition with a capital T, which, together with holy Scripture and the magisterium, form the “genius” of Catholicism, as