As members of the Synod of Bishops entered the last week of their meeting in Rome, the synod’s secretary-general urged them to resist the temptation of “covetousness” — the desire “to keep everything for ourselves, to possess, to hoard, to define, to close.”

Pope Francis called on the faithful to yearn to serve, not thirst for power, as he proclaimed 14 new saints, including Canada-born St. Marie-Léonie Paradis, founder of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family, and 11 martyrs.

The listening that has been part of the Synod of Bishops changes people, can change the Catholic Church and can change the world for the better, four synod members told U.S. university students in Rome.

While some media reported a move at the Synod of Bishops to allow every national bishops’ conference to make Catholic doctrine, Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, N.J., said that was not precisely what he heard.

The number of Catholics and permanent deacons in the world rose in 2022, while the number of seminarians, priests, men and women in religious orders, and baptisms declined, according to Vatican statistics.

As the Synod of Bishops on synodality engaged in conversation on the church’s hierarchy, synod delegates examined the relationship between the local and universal church during a public theological and pastoral forum.

Pope Francis met a former prime minister of Israel and a former Palestinian foreign minister who believe they have a workable peace plan for the Holy Land.

ncouraging greater “synodal” practices in the Catholic Church should help the church find a greater balance between the power of the pope and the power of local bishops in their dioceses, said theologians participating in the Synod of Bishops.

Members of the synod on synodality are only moving along the paths where there is consensus, said a group of theologians assisting the synod.

Pope Francis will create 21 new cardinals, including the Toronto prelate, at a consistory in St. Peter’s Basilica the afternoon of Dec. 7 and present them with their red hats.