Synod updates released today; plans continue for full implementation

 

Delegates gathered in the Paul VI Hall in October 2024 for the Synod General Assembly  (VATICAN MEDIA Divisione Foto)

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Synod publishes ‘Recollecting’ resource for 2027 local Church assemblies

The General Secretariat of the Synod offers Bishops and diocesan synodal teams practical guidance for evaluation Assemblies to be held in the first half of 2027.

Vatican News

The General Secretariat of the Synod has published a new resource to help Dioceses and Eparchies—the dioceses of the Eastern Catholic Churches—prepare their evaluation Assemblies, which will conclude the local stage of the Synod’s implementation process.

Entitled “Recollecting: Accompanying the preparation of the local Church’s evaluation Assembly,” the document was released on 27 July and is available in several languages.

“Evaluation is not a technical exercise, but an experience of gratitude and truth,” said Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary General of the Synod. “Recollecting means recognizing what the Lord has brought to maturity in the journey of our communities and allowing ourselves to be guided towards the next steps.”

Recollecting the action of God

The document explains that, in Scripture, recollecting does not simply mean looking back. It means recognizing God’s action in history in order to discern the present and open oneself to the future.

Local Churches are therefore invited to revisit the Synod’s implementation phase with gratitude and sincerity, identifying both the fruits that have matured and the further steps to which they are being called.

The resource is addressed primarily to Bishops and Eparchs, who are responsible for the process, and to the synodal teams that animate it. It does not impose a single model, but offers questions, criteria and practical suggestions that can be adapted to each local context.

According to the document, the approach reflects Pope Leo XIV’s description of synodality as “a spiritual style” that “is born of encounter, grows through listening, and matures in discernment.”

From memory to discernment

The resource is divided into two closely connected parts. The first guides each local Church in drafting a narrative report by gathering memories and testimonies, recognizing and listening to “signs,” and discerning processes of transformation through the three conversions identified in the Synod’s Final Document: relationships, ecclesial processes and bonds.

The second part concerns the preparation and celebration of the evaluation Assembly, convened by the Bishop as a profoundly spiritual experience marked by prayer, silence, shared reflection and conversation in the Spirit.

The Assembly will produce a definitive narrative report and a Letter to the Other Churches. Inspired by the litterae communionis, or “letters of communion,” of the early Church, the letter will share what the local Church has learned, the steps it intends to take and a message of hope for other communities.

Towards the 2028 Ecclesial Assembly in the Vatican

Once approved by the Bishop, both texts are to be sent to the national or regional synodal team and shared with the General Secretariat of the Synod by June 30, 2027.

Assemblies of Bishops’ Conferences and Eastern Catholic hierarchical structures will follow in the second half of 2027, with continental Assemblies in early 2028. The process will conclude with an Ecclesial Assembly in the Vatican in October 2028.

USCCB has big agenda for Bishop's meeting in June

 

A prelate prepares to vote June 16, 2023, during the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' spring plenary assembly in Orlando, Fla. The USCCB's 2026 spring assembly will be held in Orlando June 10-12, with public sessions scheduled for June 10 and 11. (OSV News photo by Bob Roller)

US bishops have a full agenda for annual spring meeting

(OSV News) — The nation’s Catholic bishops have a full agenda for their annual spring meeting, with topics including safe environment protocols, sainthood causes, the Synod on Synodality and the consecration of the U.S. to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops will gather June 10-12 for a spring plenary assembly in Orlando, Florida.

The public sessions of the meeting, which will take place June 10 and 11, will be livestreamed through the USCCB’s website at usccb.org, according to a May 18 press release issued by the conference.

Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City will open the public sessions with his first address as USCCB president, having been elected during the conference’s annual fall meeting in November 2025.

Also addressing the bishops will be Archbishop Gabriele G. Caccia, who was appointed as papal nuncio to the U.S. in March, having previously served as the Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations. Archbishop Caccia succeeded Cardinal Christophe Pierre, who turned 80 in January and had served in the post since 2016.

Safe environment on the agenda for bishops’ spring meeting

The USCCB noted in its release that the agenda for the June assembly “has not yet been finalized and is subject to change,” but stated that votes are expected on several action items.

Among those items are a revision to the USCCB’s “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,” adopted in 2002 as a number of clerical abuse scandals emerged. Commonly called the Dallas Charter, the document lays out a comprehensive set of procedures for addressing allegations of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy, and includes guidelines for reconciliation, healing, accountability and prevention of abuse.

Without specifying the proposed revision, the USCCB said in its release that the agenda item regards “elements of the Charter that the bishops have determined are in need of improvement or further development.”

The revision would “align with the Charter’s original intention of safeguarding minors,” while affirming the USCCB’s “continued commitment” to preventing abuse and providing mechanisms to respond to allegations, said the release.

The USCCB said its Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People — which is chaired by Bishop Barry C. Knestout of Richmond, Virginia — seeks “to balance its care of and sensitivity to victim-survivors, with an awareness of due-process, the rights of the accused,” and “pertinent aspects” of canon law and other key documents on handling clergy abuse allegations.

The press release cited in particular “Vox Estis Lux Mundi” (“You are the light of the world”), Pope Francis’ motu proprio outlining global legal procedures for how the church should deal with clergy sexual abuse, including incidents involving vulnerable adults and procedures for investigating bishops.

In addition, the bishops will consider the potential charter revisions in light of the Vatican Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith’s June 2022 Vademecum, or guidebook for bishops, on procedures for handling clergy abuse cases.

Two canonizations causes to be discussed

Also on the agenda are episcopal consultations for two canonization causes: that of Msgr. Joseph Francis Buh, a 19th-century Slovenian missionary priest who ministered to the Ojibwe people of northern Minnesota; and John Rick Miller, a 20th-century American businessman who founded For the Love of God Worldwide, a private association of the faithful promoting consecration to God through the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

The consultations are part of the Church’s established process for sainthood evaluations. If approval of the Holy See is obtained following the consultations, the diocesan bishop can convene a diocesan tribunal to examine more fully the life of the candidate.

Two texts for consideration

The USCCB Committee on Divine Worship will round out the agenda’s action items, presenting portions from two texts for consideration: a new edition of the Lectionary for Mass, which provides the Scripture readings and psalm for each day’s liturgy; and the 2025 Roman Missal-Liturgy of the Hours Supplement.

At the USCCB’s November meeting, Bishop Steven J. Lopes, chair of the Committee on Divine Worship, announced that the Vatican had approved a new edition of the Liturgy of the Hours, the Church’s ancient daily liturgical prayer that blends Scripture, sacred texts and hymns for worship at various hours.

Bishops to discuss a number of other issues

The spring assembly will also include updates on a number of additional issues, said the USCCB in its release.

The bishops will discuss the implementation and evaluation of the Synod on Synodality, as well as feedback from their November dialogues on “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,” the USCCB’s teaching document on the political responsibility of Catholics.

In addition, they will explore the 25th anniversary of the implementation of “Ex Corde Ecclesia,” St. John Paul II’s apostolic constitution on Catholic universities.

Discussions will also examine Catholic prison ministry; the USCCB’s involvement with the Intercontinental Guadalupan Novena honoring the 500th anniversary of the Marian apparitions in what is now Mexico City; and World Youth Day 2027, which will take place in Seoul, South Korea.

Final Synod Report released for selecting Bishop candidates and following theological criteria and methodologies

 

Bishops gathered in the New Synod Hall  (@Vatican Media)

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Synod releases final reports on selection of bishops, emerging issues

The General Secretariat of the Synod publishes the first part of the Final Report of Study Group No.7, regarding criteria for selecting candidates for the episcopate, and the Report of Study Group No. 9, on theological criteria and synodal methodologies for discerning doctrinal, pastoral, and ethical questions.

By Antonella Palermo

The Final Reports of Study Groups No. 7 & 9 reaffirm that discernment lies at the heart of selecting a bishop, while adopting specific theological criteria to discern how to address the most difficult questions facing the Church, according to Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary General of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops.

As reflection continues on the judicial function of the bishop, ad limina apostolorum visits, and the formation of bishops, the preliminary part of the Final Report on the criteria for selecting bishops has been released.

The report reaffirms the underlying premise that there is no shepherd without a flock, and no flock without a shepherd.

The synodal competencies identified by Study Group No. 7 for candidates include the ability to build communion, engage in dialogue, possess deep knowledge of local cultures, and show a willingness to integrate into them constructively.

The group calls for Apostolic Nuncios to have “a synodal and missionary profile,” so that he may also look for this profile in those proposed as possible bishops.

The report states that every diocese should periodically carry out processes of discernment regarding its situation and needs, verifying whether those processes meet the standards of a synodal and missionary Church, in order to promote the sharing of best practices.

“As an episcopal succession approaches, the Bishop is to convene the Presbyteral Council and the Diocesan Pastoral Council, whose members express, in a collegial manner, an opinion on the needs of the diocese and submit to the Bishop – in a sealed envelope – the names of priests they consider suitable for the episcopate,” it says. “Where possible, consultation is also to include the Cathedral Chapter, the Finance Council, the Lay Council, and representatives of consecrated persons, young people and the poor.”

Involvement of consecrated persons and laypeople in consultations

The Study Group encourages what it describes as “a formative investment,” aimed at helping all members of the People of God sharpen their capacity for discernment.

It proposes creating dedicated teams to assist the bishop in the ongoing formation of the clergy.

In cases where a local see is vacant, the group suggests that a committee be established in the diocese, which the Nuncio may consult in order to clarify the state of the diocese, the profile of the new shepherd, and possible candidates.

The Group recommends that consultations involve not only clerics, but also, as far as possible, an equivalent number of consecrated men and women, laymen and laywomen. The aim, it explains, is to bring out the truth as fully as possible.

The Report also asks the Dicastery's of the Roman Curia to review their procedures in a more synodal direction and proposes periodic forms of independent evaluation of selection processes.

Linguistic and methodological paradigm shift

The Final Report of Study Group No. 9 draws on the biblical image found in chapters 10–15 of the Acts of the Apostles, which shows how cultural diversity can be valued without betraying the newness of the Gospel.

It proposes a change of paradigm in the way the Church addresses the most difficult doctrinal, pastoral, and ethical questions.

First, the report prefers the adjective “emerging” rather than “controversial” to describe these questions.

The statement explains that “the aim is not merely to resolve problems but to build the common good through relational conversion, shared learning and transparency.”

In addition, since there can be no proclamation of the Gospel without taking responsibility for the interlocutor, “in whom the Spirit is already at work,” the document introduces the “principle of pastorality.”

The report identifies three methodological steps for addressing these questions: listening to ourselves, listening to reality, and convening different forms of knowledge.

Conversation in the Spirit, it recalls, remains the privileged tool for developing an ecclesial culture of synodality.

Concrete testimonies as basis for discernment

The report calls for these guidelines to be applied concretely to the experience of homosexual Catholics and the practice of active nonviolence.

With regard to forms of nonviolence in particular, the group was guided by the testimony of a movement of young Serbs who contributed to the peaceful fall of Milošević, drawing inspiration from the Christians of the early Church.

In both cases, testimony serves as the starting point for paths of ethical and theological discernment, as well as for open questions, so that every community may take up “the responsibility of recognizing and promoting the good through which God acts in history and in people’s experience.”

Synod "Final" Reports released on poverty, the environment and polygamy

 

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Synod releases Reports on poverty and the environment, and on polygamy

The General Secretariat of the Synod publishes the Final Reports of Study Group No. 2, 'To hear the cry of the poor and the earth,' and that of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) Commission on 'the pastoral challenge of polygamy.'

Vatican News

The General Secretariat of the Synod today published the Final Report of Study Group No. 2 on "To hear the cry of the poor and the earth," and that of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) Commission on "The pastoral challenge of polygamy."

Both Reports, in their thematic diversity, bear witness to the synodal journey of the Church: a Church that listens, discerns, accompanies, and, rooted in the Gospel, never ceases to draw near to every man and woman, responding to the challenges of our time.

The Final Reports and a brief summary in five languages are available on the website of the General Secretariat of the Synod: www.synod.va.

Pope Leo XIV has directed the publication of these Final Reports to share with the entire People of God the fruits of the reflection and discernment undertaken during the Synod, in a spirit of transparency and accountability. These are considered working documents. With the submission of the Final Reports to the General Secretariat of the Synod, the Study Groups that have delivered it conclude the mandate entrusted to them and are therefore to be considered dissolved. 

Final Report of Study Group No. 2

The Final Report of Study Group No. 2 on "To hear the cry of the poor and the earth" is developed across several sections.

Preceded by a reflection from Cardinal Michael Czerny, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, the Report seeks to respond to the five fundamental questions entrusted to the Group regarding how the Church can better hear the cry of the poor and of the earth.

The document proceeds from the theological conviction that listening to the poor and to the earth is not a pastoral option, but an act of faith constitutive of the Church’s mission, rooted in the twofold commandment of love and in the example of the Good Samaritan. As Cardinal Czerny recalls in his preface, the term “listening” denotes an integral process that includes encounter, understanding of the problem, action, evaluation, and spiritual support, and concerns every Christian, including those who themselves feel poor.

The guiding question of the Group’s work thus becomes: how can the Church better listen to these two interconnected cries, aware that responding to the cry of the poor also means responding to the cry of the earth, and vice versa?

The Report outlines the working methods adopted, the limitations encountered, and the lessons learned.

It identifies the tools already present within the Church, including parishes, basic communities, movements, Caritas bodies, ecumenical and international networks, and highlights their richness, while at the same time calling for the overcoming of the temptation to delegate improperly to specialized structures, recalling every baptized person to co-responsibility.

Among the concrete proposals is the establishment of an Ecclesial Observatory on Disability, suggested by a subgroup composed largely of persons with disabilities, as a model that can be replicated at local and regional levels to give voice to all marginalized groups.

On the theological level, the Report underscores the need for a theology that arises from listening to the poor and to the earth as authentic theological loci, and calls for theologians from the most vulnerable communities to be actively involved in the drafting of magisterial documents. Particular attention is given to formation, considering training programs for laity, religious, and seminarians, noting that they must integrate direct encounter with existential peripheries, competence in listening as a spiritual discipline, not merely as a technique and social analysis.

The Report concludes with a vision of a synodal Church capable of becoming itself an instrument of listening, not merely possessing structures for listening, but transforming each of its members into a missionary presence alongside the most vulnerable.

History of SECAM Commission on polygamy

The SECAM Commission focusing on the challenge of polygamy came to be in response to the request from the First Session of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops Assembly in October 2023, which encouraged SECAM to promote theological and pastoral discernment regarding polygamy and to accompany persons in polygamous unions who are coming to faith. Accordingly, the Church in Africa, through its continental body, SECAM, established a dedicated Team of Experts.

The Team of Experts, comprising 12 specialists from various regions of Africa and its islands and representing diverse fields such as dogmatic and fundamental theology, biblical studies, pastoral care, canon law, and anthropology, convened in person and virtually.

The draft document was shared with the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith via the General Secretariat of the Synod. SECAM received encouraging feedback from the Dicastery, along with specific considerations to be addressed and the text was returned to the Team of Experts for further refinement. The interim text was presented and discussed by Bishops and theologians during the SECAM Plenary Assembly, held in Kigali, Rwanda, from 30 July to 4 August 2025. The insights from this assembly informed the final version of the document.

Following the deliberations at the Plenary, the final text was submitted to the General Secretariat of the Synod and the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith for further guidance and the Final Report was published today.

Overview of SECAM Report

SECAM, hence, has developed an organic reflection on the pastoral challenge of polygamy, rooted in the cultural, anthropological, and theological context of the African continent.

The Report begins with the recognition of the sacred value of the African family, founded upon the covenant among human groups, with the ancestors, and with God, in which the child is considered a divine blessing and the desire for numerous offspring forms an integral part of communal identity. It is within this horizon that the historical existence of polygamy is situated, a phenomenon not exclusive to Africa but particularly rooted there and pastorally urgent.

The biblical analysis reveals its ambivalence: tolerated in the Old Testament, it is progressively surpassed by the New Testament revelation, in which Jesus, recalling the original plan of the Creator, clearly affirms the unity and indissolubility of marriage.

The document firmly reiterates the Church’s teaching: Christian marriage is monogamous by theological nature and not by cultural imposition.

On the pastoral level, SECAM excludes any form of recognition of polygamy and recommends that polygamous catechumens not be admitted to baptism before freely embracing the commitment to monogamous marriage. This is not a matter of exclusion or stigmatization, but of patient and respectful accompaniment, inspired by the mercy of Christ.

The dignity of women is placed at the center of this pastoral approach, with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, offered as a model of evangelization incarnated within culture. The conclusion opens toward a “pastoral care of proximity” capable of opening the doors of the Church to those living on spiritual and existential peripheries, recognizing in every person a child of God called to faithful love and to the Covenant.

Polygamy report conclusion

The Report concludes, acknowledging that polygamy continues to be a reality in African societies today, but its existence and spread vary according to the policies of each state, the predominant religion, and traditional cultural influence.

"In this context, the proclamation of the Gospel and its proposal to adhere to a monogamous marriage relationship sometimes encounters certain resistance justified by cultural reasons.

They acknowledge that throughout the history of evangelization, there have been attempts to admit people living in polygamous relationships into the Christian community that have had different models, sometimes varying from one diocese to another, from one episcopal conference to another, yet within the same sociocultural space.

"At a time when the Church intends to live fully its synodal character, in the communion and participation of all, it becomes urgent for the Church in Africa," the report states, "to share these models and to evaluate them doctrinally and pastorally, and, where appropriate, to propose other paths, with the aim of offering to all the possibility of an encounter with Christ and his Gospel."

The pastoral action of the Church in Africa in accompanying polygamous couples, which asks to be welcomed into the Church, appears as an attempt to be faithful to the Church’s understanding of marriage and that of a Christian family.

"The need to welcome and accompany individuals and families is becoming increasingly evident," the African Bishops underscore, "so that they can respond more clearly to the call made to them by the truth revealed by the Gospel on the vocation and mission of the family in the Church and in society."

"Hence," they conclude, is "the urgency of having a pastoral approach of proximity and attention to help understand the sacrament of marriage not as a social convention, but as a gift for the sanctification and salvation of spouses," noting, "As a vocation and mission, it is received as a gift."

Two Study Group reports, # 3 and #4, are now Final Reports in the Synod on Synodality

 

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Synod Office releases first two Final Reports of the Study Groups

The General Secretariat of the Synod publishes the first two Final Reports of the Study Groups established by Pope Francis following the First Session of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops: that of Study Group No. 3 on 'The mission in the digital environment' and that of Study Group No. 4 on 'The revision of the Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis in a missionary synodal perspective.'

By Vatican News

The General Secretariat of the Synod has today released the first two Final Reports of the Study Groups established by Pope Francis following the First Session of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.

The reports published were that of Study Group No. 3 on 'The Mission in the Digital Environment' and Study Group No. 4 on 'The Revision of the Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis in a Missionary Synodal Perspective.'

Pope Leo XIV has directed the publication of these Final Reports to share with the entire People of God the fruits of the reflection and discernment undertaken during the Synod, in a spirit of transparency and accountability. The Final Reports are published in English and Italian, with an indication of the original language and the working translation.

A summary, available in various languages, accompanies each Report to facilitate access. With the presentation of their Final Reports, Study Groups No. 3 and No. 4 conclude their mandate and are therefore to be considered dissolved.

The General Secretariat will continue to release the Final Reports progressively, with the next publication scheduled for 10 March 2026.

Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary General of the Synod, said that the Reports, “beyond the value of their content," "testify to the shared journey undertaken with the Dicastery's.

"It is not the first time that the Dicastery's have collaborated on a common project, but here," he added, "there is something more: an authentic exercise of shared listening, reflection, and discernment. It is synodality put into practice, not merely bureaucratic cooperation.”

The Mission in the Digital Environment

The Report of Study Group No. 3 addresses a central question that emerged during the XVI Assembly, namely, how to live the Church’s mission within a culture increasingly shaped by the digital sphere.

The Group, drawing on a broad consultation involving pastoral workers, experts, and ecclesial realities from all continents, gathered experiences, analyzed challenges, and formulated concrete recommendations.

Key themes include the need to integrate digital mission into the Church’s ordinary structures, an in-depth analysis of territorial jurisdiction in light of online communities, and the formation of pastors and pastoral workers in digital culture.

The Report concludes with a series of operative proposals articulated at three levels: the Holy See, Episcopal Conferences, and dioceses. It also includes an extensive section on the methodology adopted and the entities consulted.

Formation to the Priesthood

Rather than proceeding with a revision of the Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis (2016), which is still considered valid in its fundamental principles, Study Group No. 4 opted to elaborate a Proposal for a Guiding Document for its implementation in a missionary synodal key, in line with the Final Document of the XVI Assembly.

The document is structured in two parts. The Preamble offers an ecclesiological-pastoral framework and identifies a series of necessary conversions in priestly formation: relational, missionary, toward communion, toward service, and toward a synodal style. At its heart lies a central insight: the identity of the priest is formed “in and from” the People of God, not in separation from it.

The Guidelines in the second part translate these conversions into concrete operative pathways.

Some of the most significant proposals include alternating residence between the seminary and parish communities or other ecclesial contexts; shared formative experiences and moments with lay faithful, consecrated persons, and ordained ministers, starting from the propaedeutic stage; the inclusion of qualified and competent women as co-responsible at all levels of formation, including within formation teams; and the acquisition of skills for co-responsibility and communal discernment.

The Group also proposed a pathway for the dissemination and implementation of the operative directions offered.

Nature and publication of the Final Reports

Along with the Final Report of Study Group No. 3, the General Secretariat also published a Note outlining the origin and mandate of the Study Groups, the nature of the Reports, and the envisaged operational follow-up.

In the note, it highlights that the Final Reports are the fruit of a structured process: the listening to diverse competencies and professional expertise, the analysis of numerous contributions, academic research, dialogue with various ecclesial bodies, from Episcopal Conferences to Catholic universities, and, above all, discernment and prayer.

They are to be understood as working documents.

Pope Leo XIV has directed that the Final Reports be published progressively, as they are presented to the General Secretariat of the Synod, in a spirit of transparency.

In order that the content that has emerged may be translated into concrete orientations, decisions and processes, the Holy Father has requested the competent Dicastery's and the General Secretariat of the Synod to draw up, on the basis of the Final Reports, operative proposals, also giving an account of the choices made and of any elements not received.

This joint effort, the General Secretariat's note continues, ensures coherence with the synodal dynamism and rootedness in the Church’s missionary perspective.

The operative proposals thus formulated will be submitted to the Holy Father, who will evaluate and may approve them.

With the submission of the Final Report to the General Secretariat of the Synod, the Study Groups that have delivered it conclude the mandate entrusted to them and are therefore to be considered dissolved.

Pope Leo XIV opens his 1st Extraordinary Consistory of Cardinals: "I am here to listen"

 

Pope Leo XIV addresses the Opening of the Extraordinary Consistory of Cardinals in the Vatican  (@Vatican Media)

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Pope at Consistory: It's not the Church that attracts but Christ

Pope Leo XIV opens the Extraordinary Consistory of Cardinals and recalls that Christ draws us to follow Him, warning that division in the Church scatters the faithful.

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

“I am here to listen,” Pope Leo XIV said in his opening address of the Extraordinary Consistory of Cardinals taking place in the Vatican, on 7-8 January.

The Pope began by expressing his joy at welcoming the Cardinals to Rome on the day after Epiphany, praying that the Holy Spirit may guide them during these two intense but important days of reflection and dialogue.

The Pope said their day-and-a-half together “will point the way for our path ahead."

“We must not arrive at a text," he said, "but continue a conversation that will help me in serving the mission of the entire Church.” 

READ POPE LEO'S FULL DISCOURSE HERE

The Holy Father acknowledged that the College of Cardinals is a very diverse group, “enriched by a wide range of backgrounds, cultures, ecclesial and social traditions, formative and academic paths, pastoral experiences, not to mention personal characteristics and traits.” 

"We are called to get to know one another and to dialogue, so that we may work together in serving the Church," he said. "I hope that we can grow in communion and thus offer a model of collegiality.”

In his remarks, the Holy Father had reminded the participants of the significance of the Second Vatican Council and reflected on his predecessor Popes.

"I invite us to pay close attention to what Pope Benedict signaled as the “power” that drives this movement of attraction," he said. "Indeed, this power is Charis, it is Agape, it is the love of God that became incarnate in Jesus Christ and that, in the Holy Spirit, is given to the Church, sanctifying all her actions." 

"Furthermore," Pope Leo underscored, "it is not the Church that attracts, but Christ; and if a Christian or an ecclesial community attracts, it is because through that 'channel' flows the lifeblood of Charity that cascades from the Heart of the Savior."

"While unity attracts, division scatters," he warned.

The Holy Father recognized that the Cardinals would reflect on two themes, choosing from among: Evangelii Gaudium, that is, the mission of the Church in today’s world; Praedicate Evangelium, namely the service of the Holy See, especially to the particular Churches; the Synod and synodality as both an instrument and a style of cooperation; and the liturgy, the source and summit of the Christian life.

Yet, "due to time constraints, and in order to encourage a genuinely in-depth analysis," he said, only two of them will be discussed specifically, being guided by this question: “Looking at the path of the next one or two years, what considerations and priorities could guide the action of the Holy Father and of the Curia regarding each theme?”

This, he said, would be the Cardinals' way of proceeding, as they seek to be "attentive to the heart, mind and spirit of each, listening to one another and expressing only the main point and in a succinct manner, so that all can speak."

"In the future," the Holy Father said, "this way of listening to each other, seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and walking together will continue to be a great help for the Petrine ministry entrusted to me." 

"Even the way in which we learn to work together, with fraternity and sincere friendship," he said, "can give rise to something new, something that brings both the present and the future into focus."

Pope Leo XIV concluded by praying that the Holy Spirit may guide the Cardinals in their reflections, under the gaze of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church.