International Women's Day has long been an occasion for women and men connected to the Vatican to gather to discuss the role of women in the church and society.
But with the full participation of women at the synod on synodality and the
The second assembly of the Synod of Bishops on synodality will meet Oct. 2-27 and will be preceded by several formal studies coordinated by the synod general secretariat working with various offices of the Roman Curia.
The Synod on Synodality, "a meeting about meetings," as it has been called, is primarily a process for becoming a better church, said Washington Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory during a Feb. 4 gathering of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities.
Three hundred parish priests from all over the world will come to Rome and make their contribution to the ongoing Synod of Bishops on synodality by sharing their experiences of parish life, the Vatican said.
The priests, selected by bishops' conferences and Eastern
Dioceses across the U.S. are asked to hold additional listening sessions in the next few months, following a request from the Vatican's Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops which is preparing for the second session of the global Synod on Synodality in
The council of the Synod of Bishops will ask Pope Francis to authorize studies on the need to update canon law, revise the rules for priestly formation, deepen a theological reflection on the diaconate -- including the possibility of ordaining women deacons
Bishop Robert E. Barron said he is in "frank disagreement" with a section of a report from the Synod on Synodality indicating that scientific advances could prompt "rethinking" of the church's teaching on sexual morality.
Proposals from the Synod on Synodality can be judged by whether they call men and women to holiness, as the church does more work "to ensure a genuinely Catholic understanding of synodality, inclusion and discernment," Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney has written.
The Eucharist and synodality are interconnected, said prelates attending the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' annual fall plenary assembly Nov. 13-15. Synodality, they said, ensures the faithful's communication so the church can fulfill its Eucharistic mission. The October meeting of the Synod