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[Catholic Caucus] BREAKING: Synod final text calls for continued ‘process’ with synodal ‘listening’ and dialogueThere will be no post-synodal apostolic exhortation, Pope Francis announced, as the three year synod ends but the process is ordered to continue.VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — The official text and final document of the multi-year Synod on Synodality has been published: quieter on so-called “hot button” issues than last year, but instead urging a Church-wide reform in line with “synodality” – a word described as meaning a focus on ecumenism, listening, and renewal.Divided into five parts and 155 paragraphs, the document will be issued to the...

[Catholic Caucus] Synod, October 9: Cardinal Fernández invites synod participants to weigh in on forthcoming document on women and ministryOn October 9, 343 of the 365 participants in the second and final session of the synod on synodality gathered in Paul VI Audience Hall for the third day of their four-day consideration of the session’s second module, “Relations” (synod agenda).“Relations” is the title of the first part of the session’s instrumentum laboris, or working document (pp. 11-22).Following the morning general congregation in Paul VI Audience Hall, participants gathered in St. Peter’s Basilica for a Maronite Divine Liturgy.“We must remember throughout...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis and Synod leaders defend event against criticism, say Church needs ‘reform’Pope Francis defended the Synod on Synodality against critics at the event’s first meeting this month, while Cardinal Mario Grech hinted at unspecified ‘reform’ resulting from the Synod.Opening the second Vatican-based session of the Synod on Synodality, Pope Francis defended the Synod from criticisms about its structure and aims, while the Synod’s leading cardinals laid out the style and aims of the event.“The synodal process is also a learning process, in the course of which the Church comes to know herself better and to identify the...

The Vatican has released a new working document for the Synod on Synodality, summarizing the results of national consultations and preparing for the “continental stage” of the continuing Synod process. In a 44-page document, entitled “Enlarge the space of your tent,” the document calls for “a Church capable of radical inclusion,” and stresses the need to reach out to those who feel alienated from, or marginalized by, the Church. In particular, the text calls for greater efforts to include women in decision-making roles, and to reach out to homosexuals, divorced and remarried couples, single parents, young people, and victims of...