C&SI - Synod Briefings - 22 Oct 2023 (S03 E48b) (podcast excerpt)

As regular listeners will know we have had quite a bit of coverage around the synodal process so this week we bring you an update about the Synod of Bishops which is taking place in Rome during the month of October 2023. The C&SI team have taken excerpts from the daily Synod Briefings from Vatican News to share with you some of the actual thoughts and reflections from participants in  the Synod process.

It is an opportunity for listeners to hear from people actually participating in the Synod itself rather than what is being filtered through main stream media with its eurocentric focus on so called hot button issues.

We are sharing the briefings from Oct 16th, 17th and 18th.

Full reports are available at the links below and you can also watch the briefings on the Vatican Youtube channel.

October 16th - The true meaning of synodality, the richness of diversity, the role that the baptized within the Church, missionary activity, ecumenism and interreligious dialogue, the role of women in the perspective of the female diaconate, and the digital evolution; without forgetting the young people of the world’s poor countries who are completely cut off from the use of the most modern technologies: these are some of the topics that were addressed at this briefing.

October 17th - For October 17th, the ministry of bishops, the role of women, potential revisions to Canon Law, and contributions of the laity, with a woman participant saying the issue of female priesthood is a "niche issue that does not reflect the needs of women today", were the issues raised during the daily briefing.

October 18th - At the Synod briefing on Wednesday, Dr. Paolo Ruffini updates reporters, and journalists hear Cardinal Leonardo Ulrich Steiner, Archbishop of Manaus (located in Brazil’s Amazon); Archbishop Zbigņevs Stankevičs of Riga, Latvia, and Secretary General of the Bishops Conference of Latvia; Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and Bishop of Kalookan; and Wyatt Olivas from the United States, the youngest participant in the Synod Assembly.