Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri

Synods may be just a little duller without Baldisseri around
- Sep 19, 2020
On Wednesday the Vatican announced that Italian Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, who turns 79 at the end of this month, has stepped down as Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops and will be replaced by Bishop Mario Grech of Malta.

By John L. Allen Jr.
Pope names Maltese bishop secretary-general of Synod of Bishops
- Sep 16, 2020
Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Italian Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri as secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops and appointed in his place its current pro-secretary-general, Maltese Bishop Mario Grech.

By Carol Glatz
Chair of pope’s Amazon summit puts married priests, women squarely on the table
- Oct 7, 2019
Not wasting any time, the chairman of Pope Francis’s Synod of Bishops on the Amazon kicked things off Monday morning by putting the hotly contested issues of married priests and the role of woman squarely on the assembly’s table.

By John L. Allen Jr.

Pope opens synod urging bishops ‘not to kick the Holy Spirit out of the hall’
- Oct 7, 2019
Pope Francis rued what he called a tendency to see some cultures as “second-class civilizations,” which, he said, “distances us from the reality of a people and separates us from them, which is disrespect.”

By John L. Allen Jr.
Amazon synod organizers: ‘Voice of local Church’ led to married priest debate
- Oct 4, 2019
When the curtain rises on Sunday for the Oct. 6-27 Synod of Bishops on the Amazon, much of the attention will be focused on the possibility of ordaining married men to the priesthood as a way of providing sacraments to areas that might not see a priest more than once or twice a year.

By Inés San Martín
Amazonians say married priests a response to local realities
- Sep 24, 2019
Though it doesn’t actually mention the ‘viri probati’, the Synod’s preparatory document suggests studying “priestly ordination for elders — preferably indigenous, respected and accepted by the community — even if they have an established and stable family.”

By Inés San Martín