VATICAN CITY — The extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family will be shorter than a usual synod and will include new rules aimed at helping the bishops really grapple with the issues together, said the general secretary of the synod. “We want a frank, open, civilized discussion,” Cardinal Lorenzo …
Several developments looming large at Vatican in 2014
Canonization ceremony, new cardinals, papal trip to Holy Land, Synod of Bishops chief among them VATICAN CITY — After a year that included the historic resignation of Pope Benedict XVI and a series of celebrated innovations by Pope Francis, it is hard to imagine 2014 at the Vatican could be …
Church affairs continue even without a pope
VATICAN CITY (CNS)—When Pope Benedict XVI officially left office at 8 p.m. Feb. 28, most of the top-level Vatican officials lost their jobs, but that does not mean the majority of Vatican employees get a vacation. Although Catholics inside and outside the Vatican love to complain about its unwieldy bureaucracy, …
