A group of lay people in the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese of the Syro-Malabar Church, under the aegis of Athiroopatha Vishwasi Koottaima, have demanded that bishops Joseph Pamplany, Bosco Puthur, Sebastian Edyanthrath, Kuriakose Bharanikulangara, Jose Chittooparambil, Ephrem Narikulam, Jose Puthenveettil, and Sebastian Vaniyapurakkal be ousted from the synod of the Church being held on August 18. They have “worked like Judas” to …
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis’ big gathering of Catholic bishops and laypeople said Saturday it was “urgent” to guarantee fuller participation of women in church governance positions and called for research on allowing women to be deacons to be released within a year. In a novelty, Francis allowed women and laypeople to vote alongside bishops, putting into practice his belief …
Pope Francis opens a global gathering of bishops and lay people to discuss the future of the Catholic Church including hot-button issues previously considered taboo. Pope Francis has opened an important meeting on the future of the Catholic Church, with progressives hoping it will lead to more women in leadership roles and conservatives warning that church doctrine on everything from …
VATICAN CITY — An unprecedented global canvassing of Catholics has called for the church to take concrete steps to promote women to decision-making roles, for a “radical inclusion” of the LGBTQ+ community and for new accountability measures to check how bishops exercise authority. That reform is a concrete step toward what he calls “synodality,” a new way of being a …
NICOSIA, Cyprus — Cyprus’ Orthodox Church on Saturday elected Paphos Bishop Georgios as its new leader following the death last month of Archbishop Chrysostomos II. The 73-year-old cleric received nine votes from the 16-member Holy Synod, the church’s highest decision making body, against four for runner-up Limassol Bishop Athanasios. The Holy Synod’s decision followed a Dec. 18 lay vote from …
