Vatican

Pope Francis on Oct. 2 opened the final session of a Vatican summit on the future of Catholicism, encouraging participants not to use the monthlong meeting to push individual agendas, but to seek unity in diversity in the church so "each person feels welcomed." 

On Sept. 30, Pope Francis met with a delegation of women at the Vatican who presented voices from the Amazon region and around the world.

With the approval of Pope Francis, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith recognized "the abundant and widespread fruits, which are so beautiful and positive," associated with devotion to Mary, Queen of Peace, and with pilgrimages to Medjugorje.

Pope Francis, during his first full day in Papua New Guinea on Sept. 7, was confronted with the myriad of challenges facing women in both the church and society. 

In a historic encounter at Asia's largest mosque, Pope Francis and Indonesia's grand imam Nasaruddin Umar signed a joint declaration on Sept. 5 calling on religious leaders to deepen their cooperation in order to fight climate change and dehumanization. 

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, dicastery prefect, authorized the local archbishop to issue a document so that the Shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows of Chandavila can "continue to offer to the faithful who wish to approach it, a place of interior peace, consolation, and conversion." The cardinal's letter titled, "A Light in Spain," was approved by the pope during an audience Aug. 22 and was published on the dicastery's website Aug. 23.

La Hna. Laura Vicuña Pereira Manso, vicepresidenta de la Conferencia Eclesial de la Amazonía, estima que las recientes declaraciones del papa sobre la oposición al diaconado de las mujeres no son la última palabra sobre este tema y resalta la importancia de continuar el diálogo durante el proceso sinodal. "El discurso de Francisco causó cierta perplejidad, pero una entrevista no es el magisterio de la Iglesia", dijo la hermana franciscana, cuyo trabajo —junto al de otras religiosas— en la región amazónica es de ministerio diaconal. 

Franciscan Catechist Sr. Laura Vicuña Pereira Manso tells NCR the synod on synodality "will open up ways for us to continue the conversation."