Lisa Hendey
Fresh news this morning that Pope Francis has called for Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, to be held in the Vatican from 5 to 19 October 2014, on the theme “The pastoral challenges of the family in the context of evangelization”.
Rome Reports has an overview:
Since it’s an ‘extraordinary assembly,’ the only participants will be the presidents of episcopal conferences, patriarchs, heads of the Vatican’s dicasteries, and the superiors of religious orders. To date, there have only been two extraordinary assemblies in modern history. The first held in 1969, dealt with the role of episcopal conferences; while the second, in 1985, was on the 20th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council.
I plan to spend some time over the next few days contemplating what I’d like to see happen at this Synod. From my vantage point as the founder and editor of CatholicMom.com, I find myself dealing with family issues and our Church on a daily basis. It’s given me the perspective that in order for our Church to thrive, we must — at a very basic level — hear what families in the pews struggle with in their homes and hearts. As we learn more about who will be attending this Synod, I may be presumptuous enough to draft my own “Synod wish list”.
And a personal note to @Pontifex: If you need a Catholic mom to come, make beds, bake cookies and do laundry for the assembled Synod participants, I’ll be right over!
A question for you: What do you hope will be discussed at the Extraordinary Synod?
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