Pope Francis met with his international Council of Cardinals at the Vatican this week, discussing the Synod on Synodality, safeguarding and the United Nations climate change summit. Source: NCR Online.
Also, “the meeting was an opportunity for a mutual exchange of updates on some current affairs in different key geographical areas and for an overall assessment of the council’s progress in recent years,” the Vatican said in a written communique yesterday.
All seven members of the council participated: Cardinals Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state; Seán P. O’Malley of Boston; Óscar Rodríguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, Honduras; Oswald Gracias of Mumbai, India; Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising, Germany; Fridolin Ambongo Besungu of Kinshasa; and Giuseppe Bertello, retired president of the commission governing Vatican City State.
According to the Vatican press office, the Pope and cardinals spent Monday reflecting on the discussions and outcomes of the 27th UN Climate Change conference, or COP27, held in November in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, following reports given by Cardinal Parolin and Cardinal Ambongo Besungu.
On Tuesday, they discussed the continental phase leading to the Synod of Bishops 2023-24 after hearing a report from Cardinal Mario Grech, synod secretary-general, which included what came out of Synod surveys and outreach done online in collaboration with the Dicastery for Communication.
Cardinal O’Malley also gave a report on the latest efforts by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors regarding serving the world’s bishops’ conferences and the Roman Curia.
The council is scheduled to meet again in April.
FULL STORY
Pope, Council of Cardinals meet, discuss synod, safeguarding, COP27 (By Carol Glatz, CNS via NCR Online)
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