Synod Global News

During an audience May 7 with members of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy, also known as the Mercedarians, the pope said that just as Mary told servants at the wedding in Cana to do as Jesus said, she also urges Christians today to listen to Christ to fulfill their mission.

Key findings cited in the first U.S. diocesan synod report available for public consumption highlight a strong desire from parishioners for the church to better reach out to the marginalized, be more transparent, be more consistent in moral teaching, and focus on the “critical” need to reengage youth and young adults in the faith.

According to one of the theologians advising the Vatican office organizing the synod of bishops, the laity has grown numb after centuries of simply saying “amen.”

In an address to the International Union of Superiors General (UISG), Pope Francis invites women religious to reflect on St Peter and Mary Magdalene in order to put themselves at the service of others, and encourages them to make their own synodal journey.

The Vatican office organizing a major 2023 Vatican summit on synodality held a preparation meeting last week, saying the synod of bishops has already begun.

The International Union of Superiors General prepares to holds its 22nd plenary assembly on 2-6 May in Rome, and presents its work to reporters at the Holy See Press Office.

The 22nd Assembly of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG) is expected to meet in Rome from 2 to 6 May. The issues discussed at the gathering will be illustrated on Friday at a press conference in the Vatican

Before the General Audience on Wednesday, the Pope met with a delegation from the "Global Researchers Advancing Catholic Education Project," reiterating the importance of a dynamic education.

"What is the vocation of the church? It is not numbers. It is to evangelize," the pope told his Jesuit confreres April 3. "The real problem is not whether we are few, but whether the church evangelizes."

In a letter to the Archeparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly, Pope Francis invites the faithful to adhere to the decision of the Synod of Bishops of the Syro-Malabar Archepiscopal Church concerning the form of celebration of the Holy Qurbana prior to Easter 2022.