Focus

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  Synod surprises: Universal compassion, inaccurate coverage, couples say

  Oct 14, 2015

  Two couples attending the Synod of Bishops on the family said what surprised them most about their first synod in Rome

  
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  Interview: In Cuba, Pope Francis preached ‘revolution of tenderness’

  Oct 14, 2015

  Ulrich Kny covers Cuba for the project department of the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need.

  
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  What to expect from this year’s Synod of Bishops

  Oct 07, 2015

  As the synod’s schedule and methodology were rolled out ahead of its launch this weekend, some novelties came along with it, such as no midterm report and a heightened emphasis on the small groups.

  
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  Moving towards an ecclesiology of people

  Oct 07, 2015

  Bishops who attended synods before 2014 were under no illusion that their discussions were either relevant for the people of God, or listened to by the Pope and the Curia.

  
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  Pope tells Synod Fathers to learn from the Holy Family

  Oct 07, 2015

  Pope Francis on Oct 3 presided over a candlelight vigil for the Synod on the Family, calling on the Synod Fathers to listen to families, including the Holy Family, over the course of their deliberations.

  
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  The application of the concept of Epikeia

  Oct 07, 2015

  Simply put, epikeia is the ethical concept that comes to the rescue of a moral agent when he/she is faced with what appears to be a conflict of choosing between ‘the letter of the law’ and ‘the spirit of the law.’

  
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  Christians are not immune to the changes of their times

  Oct 07, 2015

  There is a tension at the heart of Pope Francis’ attitude to the Synod. On the one hand, he has set out to reinvigorate it as a place of real debate in an attempt to elevate its status as part of the Church’s decision-making process.

  
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  He was conscious of being a guest in someone else’s home

  Oct 07, 2015

  Yet the Pope spoke in a voice which was that of someone who was conscious of being a guest in someone else’s home. Very deftly, the Argentinian Pope began his address to Congress by talking of “we” Americans.

  
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  The Synod of tough words spoken softly

  Oct 07, 2015

  “I have not come to judge you or to lecture you,” the Pope told bishops in Washington during last week’s visit to the US before doing precisely that.

  
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  Four key themes of the Synod on the Family

  Oct 07, 2015

  On October 4, the Synod on the Family began. There are representatives from the world’s episcopal conferences in the Vatican. In addition, 18 married couples are attending at the Pope´s request.