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Pope Francis.

Pope Francis names nobel-winning chemical engineer to papal think tank

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis appointed Frances H. Arnold, a Nobel-winning chemical engineer from the United States, to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

Bishop Ricardo Ernesto Centellas Guzman of Potosi, Bolivia, speaks to journalists at a news briefing following a session of the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon at the Vatican Oct. 23, 2019.

Church is 'too hierarchal,' bishop claims

VATICAN CITY -- The way to rid the Catholic Church of clericalism is by giving laywomen a greater role in making decisions, a Bolivian bishop said.

Bishop Emmanuel Lafont, who leads the Diocese of Cayenne in French Guiana, speaks at a news conference following a session of the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon at the Vatican in this Oct. 7, 2019, file photo.

'We are all responsible': Bishop urges lifestyle change to protect Amazon

VATICAN CITY -- Solutions to environmental problems discussed at the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon must involve not just Amazonian nations, but countries in Europe and North America, bishops said.

Cardinal Christoph Schonborn of Vienna speaks at a press conference following a session of the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon at the Vatican Oct. 21, 2019.

Cardinal at synod calls for loyalty to Pope Francis

VATICAN CITY -- Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schonborn of Vienna said that as a European member of the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon, his first task is to listen and his second task is to examine ways his lifestyle and that of his community contribute to the suffering of the Amazonian people.

New book claims Vatican close to financial ruin

New book claims Vatican close to financial ruin

VATICAN CITY -- An Italian author who was once tried and acquitted by a Vatican court for publishing leaked documents is claiming in a new book that decades of mismanagement, shady deals and decreasing donations will leave the Vatican no choice but to default.

The tower of the Institute for Works of Religion, often referred to as the Vatican bank, is pictured in 2019.

Vatican documents detail suspicious investments at Secretariat of State

VATICAN CITY (CNA) -- A confidential report from the Vatican’s anti-corruption authority shows that the Secretariat of State has used about $725 million, most of which came from the pope’s charity fund, in off-books operations.

Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes, relator general of the synod, and other participants in the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon celebrate Mass in the Catacombs of Domitilla in Rome Oct. 20, 2019. Several dozen synod participants at the Mass signed a pact promising to care for people and the earth and to give up a "colonist mentality and posture."

Synod members sign 'Pact of the Catacombs'

ROME -- More than a half century after a group of bishops at the Second Vatican Council made a solemn pledge to live a simple lifestyle close to their people, a group of participants from the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon signed a new pact in the Catacombs of Domitilla.

God's Word on Sunday: We all stand in need of God’s mercy

God's Word on Sunday: We all stand in need of God’s mercy

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Oct. 27 (Year C) Sirach 35:15-17, 20-22; Psalm 34; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18; Luke 18:9-14

Life can seem very unfair and unjust at times.

Capuchin Sister Daniela Cannavina (third from left), secretary general of the Confederation of Latin American and Caribbean Religious, told reporters in Rome Oct. 18, 2019, that the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon marks "a prophetic hour for religious life." She was one of 10 religious sisters elected as observers at the synod by the International Union of Superiors General.

Women's role in Amazon church does not depend on diaconate, sisters say

VATICAN CITY -- Whether or not the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon helps open the door to ordaining women deacons, women will continue to play a fundamental role in ministry in the church in the region, religious sisters said.

Members, observers and experts at the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon meet in a small working group Oct. 10, 2019, in the Vatican synod hall. The small group reports, released Oct. 18, pledged the church's support for the rights of indigenous people and a renewed commitment to safeguarding creation. Some groups also proposed the ordination of some married men to the priesthood and the development of official ministries for women in the church, possibly including the diaconate.

Synod groups propose Amazonian rite, new ministries for women

VATICAN CITY -- Creating an Amazonian-rite liturgy and new ministries for laypeople, including the ordination of women deacons, are some of the recurring proposals made by small groups at the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon.

People near San Jose, Bolivia, march to defend Mother Earth Sept. 27, 2019.

Bishop calls for 'preferential option for the Amazon'

VATICAN CITY -- As tropical forests fall victim to loggers, miners and ranchers, the Catholic Church must take sides to defend the Amazon region and its people, said a bishop whose Bolivian diocese has been ravaged by fire this year.

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