Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne has declared the controversial German Synodal Way process finished in his eyes, expressing skepticism about plans to establish a permanent synodal conference.

The Vatican announced March 15 that Pope Francis has initiated a new three-year implementation phase for the Synod on Synodality, which will culminate in a Church-wide meeting in Rome in October 2028.

Pope Francis and the bishops of Germany pose for a photo after a meeting in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace Nov. 17, 2022, as part of the bishops’ “ad limina” visits to the Vatican.

The second session of the synod on synodality had fallen into a tranquil lull before an eruption on Oct. 18. NCR has reported about the frustration that boiled over when Cardinal Victor Manuel ...

(RNS) — The synod’s job is over. Now it is up to the rest of the church to become synodal. VATICAN CITY (RNS) — The Synod on Synodality, which has been a three-year process of worldwide consultation ...

Catholic sisters hoping that the new pope would continue Pope Francis’ efforts to make the church less clerical and more inclusive of lay people may have had that prayer answered with the selection of ...

Pope Leo XIV has clearly articulated his expectations for the future of the German Synodal Path, emphasizing the prime importance of unity within the universal Church. On the return flight Tuesday ...

In February 2020, my brother Jesuits and I returned home to our novitiate in St. Paul, Minn., after spending 30 days in silence. We had completed the Spiritual Exercises and were to spend the ...

Young adults, clergy and bishops participated in synodal circles during the National Catholic Association of Diocesan Directors of Hispanic Ministry conference in Newark, N.J., Oct. 23, 2025. Credit: ...

The synod on synodality, a three-year process of praying, listening and engaging in dialogue, inaugurated by Pope Francis in October 2021 to chart a path for our post-modern era, registered a ...

The German Synodal Assembly met for the sixth and final time to review its work and to prepare for the Synodal Conference of ...

From Saturday, October 12th through Saturday, October 19th more than 150 students, campus ministers and educators from 15 Catholic colleges and universities from across the U.S. will make a pilgrimage ...