The Lady of All Nations painting. / Credit: Judgefloro (shifted, cropped & recoloured by Rabanus Flavus), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Rome Newsroom, Jul 11, 2024 / 11:40 am (CNA).

The Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith on Thursday released new information about its 1974 ruling on alleged apparitions in Amsterdam connected to the “Lady of All Nations” devotion.

The DDF said July 11 that due to “persistent doubts” about the alleged Dutch apparitions, which took place in the 1940s and 1950s, it was revealing that in 1974, the doctrinal office voted unanimously that they were not supernatural and would not be further investigated.

While the Vatican’s judgment on the non-supernatural nature of the apparitions has been known for 50 years, the DDF divulged for the first time that the decision involved a unanimous negative vote by the cardinals participating in the doctrine office’s ordinary session on March 27, 1974.

Both negative judgments — on the supernatural quality of the alleged apparitions and on whether to investigate them further — were approved by Pope Paul VI on April 5, 1974.

The dicastery’s press release noted that while in the past, “as a rule” it had not made public the details of decisions of this nature, it was now choosing to communicate the information “so that the holy people of God and its pastors may draw the appropriate conclusions.”

“The Lady of All Nations” is the Marian title given to alleged visions that Ida Peerdeman, a secretary living in the Dutch capital Amsterdam, claimed to have received between 1945 and 1959.

In 1956, Bishop Johannes Huibers of Haarlem declared that after an investigation he had “found no evidence of the supernatural nature of the apparitions.” 

The Holy Office, a forerunner of the DDF, approved the bishop’s verdict a year later. The DDF, then known as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, confirmed the judgment in 1972 and 1974.

Peerdeman was born on Aug. 13, 1905, in Alkmaar, in the Netherlands. She claimed that on March 25, 1945, she saw her first apparition of a woman bathed in light who referred to herself as “the Lady” and “Mother.” 

In 1951, the woman reputedly told Peerdeman that she wished to be known as “The Lady of All Nations.” That year, the artist Heinrich Repke created a painting of “the Lady,” depicting her standing on top of a globe in front of a cross.

The series of 56 alleged visions concluded on May 31, 1959.

Bishop Johannes Hendriks of Haarlem-Amsterdam also issued a clarification about the alleged visions of “The Lady of All Nations” in December 2021 after consulting with the Vatican.

The bishop said that the Vatican regarded the title “Lady of All Nations” for Mary as “theologically acceptable,” but “the recognition of this title cannot be understood — not even implicitly — as the recognition of the supernaturality of some pheno­mena from which it seems to have come.”

Alongside the clarification, the bishop issued a further explanation that “devotion to Mary as the Lady and Mother of All Nations is good and valuable; it must, however, remain separate from the messages and the apparitions.”

null / Credit: Blue Planet Studio/Shutterstock

Rome Newsroom, Jul 10, 2024 / 10:33 am (CNA).

Pope Francis urged artificial intelligence leaders on Wednesday to “protect human dignity in this new era of machines.”

In a message to an AI ethics conference in Hiroshima, Japan, with leaders from Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, the United Nations, and representatives from all major world religions, the pope underlined that artificial intelligence has implications for the future of war and peace in our world.

The Holy Father called for a ban on lethal autonomous weapon systems — a class of weapons that use computer algorithms to independently target and employ weapons without manual human control of the system.

“No machine should ever choose to take the life of a human being,” Francis said in the message published July 10.

The pope underscored the symbolic importance of discussing AI ethics at the atomic bombing site in Hiroshima, a place that serves as a reminder of the consequences that can arise from advancing technology without considering the full implications.

“It is crucial that, united as brothers and sisters, we remind the world that in light of the tragedy that is armed conflict, it is urgent to reconsider the development and use of devices like the so-called ‘lethal autonomous weapons’ and ultimately ban their use,” Francis said, renewing a call he made at the G7 summit in Italy in June.

“This starts from an effective and concrete commitment to introduce ever greater and proper human control.”

The two-day conference in Hiroshima brought together tech industry leaders with representatives of world religions including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Bahá’í, and other Eastern religions.

Brad Smith, the vice chair and president of Microsoft, said that Hiroshima, with its profound place in human history, has served as “a compelling backdrop to help ensure a technology created by humanity serves all of humanity and our common home.”

In one of the opening speeches for the conference, Rabbi Eliezer Simcha Weisz said that “as individuals of faith, we carry a unique responsibility to infuse our pursuit of AI with moral clarity and ethical integrity.”

More than 150 participants from 13 countries took part in the event co-organized by the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life, Japan’s Religions for Peace Japan, the Abu Dhabi Forum for Peace, and the Chief Rabbinate of Israel’s Commission for Interreligious Relations.

Speakers included Amandeep Singh Gill, the U.N. secretary-general’s envoy on technology; Father Paolo Benanti, a professor of technology ethics at the Pontifical  Gregorian University in Rome; and a survivor of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima.

The Vatican has been heavily involved in the conversation on artificial intelligence ethics, hosting high-level discussions with scientists and tech executives on the ethics of artificial intelligence since 2016.

The pope has hosted IBM executive John Kelly III, Microsoft’s Smith, and Chuck Robbins, the chief executive of Cisco Systems, in Rome — each of whom has signed the Vatican’s artificial intelligence ethics pledge, the Rome Call for AI Ethics.

The Rome Call, a document by the Pontifical Academy for Life, underlines the need for the ethical use of AI according to the principles of transparency, inclusion, accountability, impartiality, reliability, security, and privacy.

Pope Francis chose artificial intelligence as the theme of his 2024 peace message, which recommended that global leaders adopt an international treaty to regulate the development and use of AI.

At the G7 summit in June, the pope stressed that human dignity requires that the decisions of artificial intelligence (AI) be under the control of human beings.

“We need to ensure and safeguard a space for proper human control over the choices made by artificial intelligence programs: Human dignity itself depends on it,” Pope Francis said at the summit.

Delegates to the Synod on Synodality meet in the final days of the synod, Oct. 25, 2023. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jul 9, 2024 / 15:05 pm (CNA).

Synod organizers revealed Tuesday that Pope Francis has asked the Vatican’s doctrine office to study women’s participation and leadership in the Catholic Church, including the possibility of women deacons, with the view of publishing a document on the subject.

At a Vatican press conference on July 9, Cardinal Mario Grech said the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is studying “the women’s diaconate” within the context of its in-depth study of ministries in coordination with the General Secretariat of the Synod. 

While the female diaconate is off the table for discussion at the second Synod on Synodality assembly in October, according to the working document, or Instrumentum Laboris, published today, the topic will be included in the Vatican’s study on women’s leadership.

“The Holy Father has notified the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith to study issues, including also the issue of ministries. And speaking of ministries there is also the theme of the women’s diaconate,” Grech said.

“The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith will study this theme — not only the theme of diaconate — but the theme of ministries,” he added. The cardinal did not make any mention of the possibility of women being ordained to the priesthood.

After Grech’s comments at the press conference, the Vatican confirmed that the DDF has already begun to study “theological and canonical questions around specific ministerial forms.” 

The in-depth study led by Monsignor Armando Matteo will focus particularly on the “the question of the necessary participation of women in the life and leadership of the Church” with a view of “publishing a specific document” on the topic.

The DDF study is one of 10 study groups on Synod of Synodality themes announced by Pope Francis earlier this year. The Vatican published the names of the members of each study group today, as well as a description of the DDF group, which is referred to as “Group Five.”

Pope Francis was asked about the possibility of women becoming deacons or clergy in a recent interview with “60 Minutes” to which the pope replied with a firm “no.”

Ministry of listening and accompaniment

At the Vatican press conference, synod organizers also highlighted the proposal for a new “ministry of listening and accompaniment,” which will be up for discussion in the Synod on Synodality’s final assembly in October.

The Instrumentum Laboris, or guiding document for the second session of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, called the proposed ministry a reminder that “listening and accompaniment is an ecclesial service.”

“It seems appropriate to create a recognized and properly instituted ministry of listening and accompaniment, which would make this characteristic feature of a synodal Church an enduring and tangible reality,” the Instrumentum Laboris states.

“An ‘open door’ of the community is needed, allowing people to enter without feeling threatened or judged.”

When asked at the press conference whether the proposal of a new ministry of listening and accompaniment might be a step toward more “bureaucratization” of the Church, Grech underlined that the purpose of the ministry would be to “educate the community” to make progress in its service of listening and accompaniment.

The secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops added that all Catholics are invited to proclaim the Word and to be catechists, but this does not make the existence of ministries of readers and catechists within the Church a “bureaucratization.”

Grech also announced that the Secretariat of the Synod will soon publish a “theological aid” to supplement the Instrumental Laboris, which will provide theological and canonical analyses on the Instrumentum Laboris to help the synod participants to “recognize and understand the roots and implications of what is contained therein.” 

‘Maturation in the synodal journey’

During the press conference, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, SJ, the relator general of the Synod on Synodality, said the reports submitted to synod organizers by bishops’ conferences around the world show that the multiyear synod process “has been and still is a time of grace that is already bearing numerous fruits in the life of the Church.”

“From Kenya to Ireland, from Korea to Brazil, reports underline this renewed dynamism that listening offered and received is bringing to communities,” he said.

Hollerich pointed to how he has observed a difference between the reports the General Secretariat received from bishops’ conferences at the beginning of the Synod on Synodality to the reports submitted this year by 108 bishops’ conferences.

“If the first ones emphasized more the resistance and opposition to the synodal process; these reports emphasize more the weariness and fatigue of a path of conversion that is not immediate,” he said.

The cardinal added that he views this as evidence of “a maturation in the synodal journey,” noting that many bishops’ conferences identified fruits from their local synod experience.

The Oct. 2–27 gathering of the Synod on Synodality will mark the end of the discernment phase of the Church’s synodal process, which Pope Francis opened in 2021.

Participants in the fall meeting, including Catholic bishops, priests, religious, and laypeople from around the world, will prepare and vote on the Synod on Synodality’s advisory final document, which will then be given to the pope, who decides the Church’s next steps and if he wishes to adopt the text as a papal document or to write his own.

The third phase of the synod — after “the consultation of the people of God” and “the discernment of the pastors” — will be “implementation,” according to organizers.

“The synod is already changing our way of being and living the Church regardless of the October assembly,” Hollerich said.

Pope Francis among the delegates of the Synod on Synodality, held in October of 2023. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jul 9, 2024 / 14:35 pm (CNA).

The Vatican published Tuesday the names of the members of 15 study groups doing deeper analyses on questions such as women deacons, the ministry of bishops, and synodal formation for future priests from last year’s session of the Synod on Synodality.

Some of the groups were formed at the request of Pope Francis, who asked the dicasteries of the Roman Curia to collaborate with the General Secretariat of the Synod to deepen the theological, pastoral, and canonical reflections on certain themes that emerged during the synodal assembly in October 2023.

Additional study groups were also created to provide deeper theological analysis of “five perspectives” ahead of the second session of the synod, to be held at the Vatican Oct. 2–27. 

The Instrumentum Laboris, the guiding document for the October 2024 assembly, makes reference to these study groups throughout.

The groups “are entrusted with the task of delving into 10 themes emerging from the [summary report of the first session] and identified by the pope at the end of an international consultation. These study groups, made up of pastors and experts from all continents, use a synodal working method,” the document said.

Here is the full list of study group members as presented by the Vatican:

Group 1

Some aspects of relations between Eastern Catholic Churches and the Latin Church (summary report 6)

1. Professor Péter SZABÓ, professor of canon law in the Post-Gradual Institute of Canon Law in Budapest (HUNGARY), consultor of the Dicastery for the Oriental Churches, coordinator

2. Cardinal Claudio GUGEROTTI, prefect of the Dicastery for the Oriental Churches

3. Archbishop Laurent ULRICH, archbishop of Paris and ordinary for the Eastern Faithful residing in France and lacking the hierarchy of their own Church “sui iuris” (FRANCE)

4. Archbishop Cyril VASIL’, SI, archbishop of Kosice for Catholics of the Byzantine Rite (SLOVENIA)

5. Archbishop Boghos Levon ZEKIYAN, archbishop of Istanbul, Constantinople, of the Armenians (TURKEY)

6. Archbishop Borys GUDZIAK, archbishop of Philadelphia of the Ukrainians (U.S.A.)

7. Archbishop Michel JALAKH, OAM, secretary of the Dicastery for the Oriental Churches

8. Bishop Joseph SRAMPICKAL, bishop of the Eparchy of Great Britain of the Syro-Malabars (GREAT BRITAIN)

9. Bishop Flaviano Rami AL-KABALAN, apostolic visitor for the Syrian Catholic Faithful residing in Europe and procurator of the Syrian Catholic Church in Rome (ITALY)

10. Father Filippo CIAMPANELLI, undersecretary of the Dicastery for the Oriental Churches

11. Father John D. FARIS, corepiscop of the Maronite Church (LEBANON)

12. Father Daniel GALADZA, official of the Dicastery for the Oriental Churches

13. Dr. Daoud Boutros TAYEH, secretary-general of the Pastoral Council of the Maronite Eparchy of Jounieh (LEBANON).

Group 2

Listening to the cry of the poor (summary report 4 and 16)

1. Dr. Sandie CORNISH, professor of Social Doctrine of the Church in the Australian Catholic University in North Sydney (AUSTRALIA), member of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development, coordinator

2. Cardinal Michael CZERNY, SI, prefect of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development

3. Father Francis MAZZITELLI, FDP, head of the Office of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity

4. Sister Maria CIMPERMAN, RSCJ, professor of Theological Ethics and Consecrated Life in the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, U.S.A.

5. Dr. Joseph GUNN, executive director of the Oblate Centre, A Voice for Justice in Saint Paul University in Ottawa (CANADA)

6. Dr. Mauricio LÓPEZ OROPEZA, vice president of the Amazon Ecclesial Conference

7. Dr. Leocadie LUSHOMBO, professor of theological ethics in the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, U.S.A.

8. Professor Agnes BRAZAL, professor of theology in De La Salle University in Manila (PHILIPPINES)

Group 3

Mission in the digital environment (summary report 17)

1. Dr. Kim DANIELS, director of Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life in Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. (U.S.A.), coordinator

2. Archbishop Rino FISICHELLA, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization (Section for Fundamental Issues of Evangelization in the World)

3. Dr. Paolo RUFFINI, prefect of the Dicastery for Communication

4. Bishop Paul Desmond TIGHE, secretary of the Dicastery for Culture and Education

5. Father Lucio Adrián RUIZ, secretary of the Dicastery for Communication

6. Father Antonino SPADARO, SI, undersecretary of the Dicastery f o r Culture and Education

7. Sister Nathalie BECQUART, Xavière, undersecretary of the General Secretariat of the Synod

8. Father Joseph BORG, professor of media and communications in the University of Malta (MALTA)

Group 4

The revision of the Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis.

In a missionary synodal perspective (summary report 11)

1. Cardinal José COBO CANO, archbishop of Madrid ( SPAIN), coordinator

2.  Cardinal Jean-Claude HOLLERICH, SI, archbishop of Luxembourg (LUXEMBOURG), general rapporteur of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops

3. Cardinal Lazarus HEUNG-SIK, prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy

4. Father Eamonn MCLAUGHLIN, assistant undersecretary of the Dicastery for the Clergy for the Office of Formation.

5. Father Mario ANTONELLI, rector of the Pontifical Lombard Seminary in Rome (ITALY)

6. Father Hubertus BLAUMEISER, director of the magazine Ekklesía and member of the Study Center of the Focolare Movement (ITALY), consultor of the Dicastery for the Clergy

7. Father Andrew RECEPCIÓN, spiritual director of the Pontifical Philippine College in Rome (ITALY)

8. Father Guy BOGNON, PSS, secretary-general of the Pontifical Missionary Work of St. Peter the Apostle

9. Dr. María Lia ZERVINO of the Servidora Association, council member of the Laudato Si' Movement, consultant to the Dicastery for Bishops and the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue

Group 5

Some theological and canonical issues around specific ministerial forms (summary report 8 and 9)

The in-depth study of the issues at hand — particularly the question of the necessary participation of women in the life and leadership of the Church — has been entrusted to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, under the coordination of the secretary for the Doctrinal Section, Monsignor Armando MATTEO, and in dialogue with the Secretariat General of the Synod. The dicastery has initiated its study according to the procedures established in its own Rules of Procedure, with a view to the publication of an appropriate document.

Group 6

The revision, from a synodal and missionary perspective, of documents governing relations between bishops, consecrated life, Church aggregations (summary report 10)

1. Cardinal Joseph William TOBIN, CSR, archbishop of Newark (U.S.A.), coordinator

2. Cardinal Luis Antonio G. TAGLE, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization (Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches)

3. Cardinal João BRAZ DE AVIZ, prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life

4. Cardinal Kevin Joseph FARRELL, prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life

5. Cardinal Robert Francis PREVOST, OSA, prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops

6. Sister Simona BRAMBILLA, MC, secretary of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life

7. Archbishop Luis MARÍN DE SAN MARTÍN, OSA, undersecretary of the General Secretariat of the Synod

8. Dr. Linda GHISONI, undersecretary of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family, and Life

Group 7

Some aspects of the figure and ministry of the bishop (particularly: criteria for the selection of candidates for the episcopate, judicial function of the bishop, nature and conduct of ad limina Apostolorum visits) in a missionary synodal perspective (summary report 12 and 13)

1. Archbishop Felix GENN, bishop of Münster (GERMANY), member of the Dicastery for Bishops, coordinator

2. Cardinal Luis G. TAGLE, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization (Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches)

3. Cardinal Jean-Claude HOLLERICH, SI, archbishop of Luxembourg (LUXEMBOURG), general rapporteur of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops

4.  Cardinal Leonardo Ulrich STEINER, OFM, archbishop of Manaus (BRAZIL), vice president of the Amazon Ecclesial Conference

5. Cardinal Mario GRECH, secretary-general of the General Secretariat of the Synod.

6. Cardinal Robert Francis PREVOST, OSA, prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops

7. Cardinal Claudio GUGEROTTI, prefect of the Dicastery for the Oriental Churches

8. Father Samuele SANGALLI, undersecretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization (Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches)

9. Father Giacomo COSTA, SI, president of the “San Fedele Cultural Foundation” in Milan (ITALY), Special Secretary of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops

10. Sister Hermenegild MAKORO, CPS, former secretary-general of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Southern Africa (SOUTH AFRICA)

11. Dr. Karlijn DEMASURE, head of the Centre for Safeguarding Minors and Vulnerable Persons in Saint Paul University in Ottawa (CANADA)

12. Dr. María Lia ZERVINO of the Servidora Association, council member of the Laudato Si' Movement, consultant to the Dicastery for Bishops and the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue

Subgroup in charge of deepening the topic of the bishop’s judicial function

1. Bishop Filippo IANNONE, O Carm, president of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, coordinator

2. Father Ivan KOVAČ, undersecretary of the Dicastery for Bishops

3. Father Samuele SANGALLI, undersecretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization (Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches)

4. Father Markus GRAULICH, SDB, undersecretary of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts

5. Father Erwin José Aserios BALAGAPO, head of the Office of the Dicastery for Evangelization (Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches).

6. Father Francesco PANIZZOLO, OFM Conv, head of the Office of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (Disciplinary Section)

Group 8

The Role of Pontifical Representatives in Missionary Synodal Perspective (summary report 13)

1. Cardinal Oswald GRACIAS, archbishop of Bombay (INDIA), coordinator

2. Cardinal Mario GRECH, secretary-general of the General Secretariat of the Synod

3. Archbishop Antonio FILIPAZZI, apostolic nuncio to Poland

4. Archbishop Salvatore PENNACCHIO, president of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy

5. Archbishop Luciano RUSSO, secretary for Papal Representations (Secretariat of State)

6. Father Joseph MURPHY, undersecretary for the Diplomatic Role Personnel of the Holy See (Secretariat of State)

7. Father Angelo TOGNONI of the Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, official of the Section for the Diplomatic Role Personnel of the Holy See (Secretariat of State)

8. Professor Myriam WIJLENS, professor of canon law in the Universität Erfurt (GERMANY), Consultant of the General Secretariat of the Synod

Group 9

Theological criteria and synodal methodologies for shared discernment of controversial doctrinal, pastoral, and ethical issues (summary report 15)

1. Archbishop Carlos Gustavo CASTILLO MATTASOGLIO, archbishop of Lima (PERU) and ordinary member of the Pontifical Academy for Life, coordinator

2. Archbishop Filippo IANNONE, O Carm, president of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts

3. Father Piero CODA, professor of dogmatic theology in the University Institute “Sophia” in Loppiano (ITALY), secretary-general of the International Theological Commission

4. Father Maurizio CHIODI, professor of moral theology at the Pontifical Theological Institute “John Paul II” in Rome (ITALY)

5. Father Carlo CASALONE, SI, professor of moral theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome (ITALY) and coordinator of the Scientific Section of the Pontifical Academy for Life

6. Sister Josée NGALULA, RSA, professor of dogmatic theology in the Université Catholique du Congo in Kinshasa (DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO), member of the International Theological Commission

7. Professor Stella MORRA, professor of fundamental theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome (ITALY) and consultor of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith

Group 10

The reception of the fruits of the ecumenical journey in Church practices (summary report 7)

1. Bishop Paul ROUHANA OLM, auxiliary bishop for Sarba of the Eparchy of Joubbé, Sarba ,and Jounieh (LEBANON), coordinator

2. Sister Nathalie BECQUART, Xavière, undersecretary of the General Secretariat of the Synod

3. Father Juan USMA GÓMEZ, head of the Office of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Christian Unity.

4. Father Anthony T. CURRER, official of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Christian Unity

5. Father Hacynthe DESTIVELLE, OP, official of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Christian Unity

6. Father Lawrence IWUAMADI, dean of the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey (SWITZERLAND)

7. Father Jorge Alejandro SCAMPINI, OP, professor of ecumenical theology in the Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina in Buenos Aires (ARGENTINA)

8. Professor Astrid KAPTIJN, professor of canon law in the Université de Fribourg (SWITZERLAND), consultant of the Dicastery for the Oriental Churches

9. Professor Teresa Francesca ROSSI, professor of ecumenical theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome (ITALY)

Five additional study groups

Five Perspectives to Deepen Theologically in View of the Second Session of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops

Group 1

The synodal missionary face of the local church

1. Father Riccardo BATTOCCHIO, president of the Italian Theological Association (ITALY), special secretary of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, coordinator

2. Father Dario VITALI, professor of dogmatic theology in the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome (ITALY), coordinator of the theological experts of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, coordinator

3. Archbishop Roberto REPOLE, archbishop of Turin and bishop of Susa (ITALY)

4. Father Alphonse BORRAS, professor emeritus of canon law in the Université Catholique de Louvain (BELGIUM), consultor of the General Secretariat of the Synod

5. Father Carlos María GALLI, dean of the faculty of theology in the Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina in Buenos Aires (ARGENTINA), member of the International Theological Commission

6. Father Gilles ROUTHIER, professor of theology in the Université Laval (CANADA), consultor of the General Secretariat of the Synod

7. Sister Maria CIMPERMAN, RSCJ, professor of theological ethics and consecrated life in the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, U.S.A.

Group 2

The synodal missionary face of Church groupings

1. Father Riccardo BATTOCCHIO, president of the Italian Theological Association (ITALY), special secretary of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, coordinator

2. Father Dario VITALI, professor of dogmatic theology in the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome (ITALY), coordinator of the theological experts of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, coordinator

3. Bishop Shane A. MACKINLAY, bishop of Sandhurst (AUSTRALIA)

4. Father Pedro BRASSESCO, assistant secretary-general of the Latin American Bishops’ Council (COLOMBIA)

5. Sister Birgit WEILER, MMS, professor of theology in the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú in Lima (PERU)

6. Professor Rafael LUCIANI, professor of theology in the Universidad Católica “Andrés Bello” in Caracas (VENEZUELA), member of the Theological- Pastoral Commission of CELAM

7. Professor Péter SZABÓ, professor of canon law in the Post-Gradual Institute of Canon Law in Budapest (HUNGARY), consultor of the Dicastery for the Oriental Churches

8. Professor Myriam WIJLENS, professor of canon law in the Universität Erfurt (GERMANY), consultant of the General Secretariat of the Synod

Group 3

The synodal missionary face of the universal Church

1. Father Riccardo BATTOCCHIO, president of the Italian Theological Association (ITALY), special secretary of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, coordinator

2. Father Dario VITALI, professor of dogmatic theology in the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome (ITALY), coordinator of the theological experts of the 15th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, coordinator

3. Father Clarence S. DAVEDASSAN, professor of moral theology in the Catholic Research Centre in Kuala Lumpur (MALAYSIA)

4. Father Gaby Alfred HACHEM, professor of theology in the Université Saint- Esprit in Kaslik (LEBANON), member of the International Theological Commission

5. Father José SAN JOSÉ PRISCO, dean of the faculty of canon law in the Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca (SPAIN)

6. Father Hacynthe DESTIVELLE, OP, official of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Christian Unity

7. Professor Catherine E. CLIFFORD, professor of systematic theology in Saint Paul University in Ottawa, CANADA.

Group 4

The synodal method

1. Father Piero CODA, professor of dogmatic theology in the University Institute “Sophia” in Loppiano (ITALY), secretary-general of the International Theological Commission, coordinator

2. Father Giacomo COSTA, SI, president of the “San Fedele Cultural Foundation” in Milan (ITALY), special secretary of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, coordinator

3. Father Philippe BORDEYNE, dean of the Pontifical Theological Institute “John Paul II” in Rome (ITALY), member of the Governing Council of the Pontifical Academy for Life

4. Father Matteo VISIOLI, professor of canon law at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome (ITALY)

5. Father Ormond RUSH, professor of theology in the Australian Catholic University in Brisbane (AUSTRALIA), consultant to the General Secretariat of the Synod

6. Father Paul BÉRÉ, SI, professor of biblical sciences in the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome (ITALY), consultor of the General Secretariat of the Synod

7. Father Christoph THEOBALD, SI, professor emeritus of fundamental and dogmatic theology in the Facultés Loyola in Paris (FRANCE)

8. Father María Clara Lucchetti BINGEMER, professor of fundamental theology in the Pontificia Universidade Católica in Rio de Janeiro (BRAZIL), consultant of the General Secretariat of the Synod

Group 5

The “place” of the synodal Church in mission

1. Father Piero CODA, professor of dogmatic theology in the University Institute “Sophia” in Loppiano (ITALY), secretary-general of the International Theological Commission, coordinator

2. Father Giuseppe BONFRATE, professor of dogmatic theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome (ITALY), consultant of the General Secretariat of the Synod, coordinator

3. Bishop Jean-Marc EYCHENNE, bishop of Grenoble, Vienne (FRANCE)

4. Father Felix WILFRED, professor emeritus of theology in the State University of Madras, director of the Asian Centre for Cross-Cultural Studies in Chennai (INDIA)

5. Sister Josée NGALULA, RSA, professor of dogmatic theology in the Université Catholique du Congo in Kinshasa (DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO), member of the International Theological Commission

6. Professor Antonio AUTIERO, professor emeritus of moral theology at the Universität Münster (GERMANY)

7. Professor Ana María CELIS BRUNET, director of the Department of Canon Law in the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in Santiago de Chile (CHILE)

8. Dr. Kim DANIELS, director of Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life in Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. (U.S.A.)

Pope Francis gives a blessing to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square during his general audience on Wednesday, June 19, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jul 9, 2024 / 13:56 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis was spotted visiting his optometrist near the Spanish Steps on Monday afternoon.

According to Italian newspaper Il Messaggero, the pope went to the eyewear store of Alessandro Spiezia to change out the lenses of his glasses after noting he was having difficulty reading his homily at a Mass over the weekend.

“I apologize for reading like this, but the sun moves everything for me,” Francis said in the northern Italian city of Trieste on July 7.

Photos of Francis’ approximately half-hour stop at the optometrist showed him surrounded by a crowd of lucky bystanders, who happened to catch sight of the pontiff during one of his rare secret excursions outside the Vatican walls.

After being driven up to the shop in his white Fiat 500, the pope had his vision tested and bought new lenses with the correct prescription but asked to keep the glasses frames he already had, Il Messaggero reported.

He also visited the same optometrist, located just a few steps from Piazza del Popolo in Rome’s historic center, in 2015. At the time, the pope needed to repair an arm of his eyeglasses.

According to Il Messaggero, Spiezia and his family, including son, Luca, and wife, Annamaria, have become friends of the pope over the years of his pontificate — even visiting him with other optometrists at his Santa Marta residence every year on the Dec. 13 feast of St. Lucy, a patron saint of the blind.

Pope Francis frequently wears glasses, especially when reading speeches, and had eye surgery for cataracts in 2019.

Bishops process into St. Peter's Basilica for the closing Mass of the first assembly of the Synod on Synodality on Oct. 29, 2023. / Credit: Vatican Media

Rome Newsroom, Jul 9, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The guiding document for the final part of the Synod on Synodality, published Tuesday, focuses on how to implement certain of the synod’s aims while laying aside some of the more controversial topics from last year’s gathering, such as women’s admission to the diaconate.

“Without tangible changes, the vision of a synodal Church will not be credible,” the Instrumentum Laboris, or “working tool,” says.

The six sections of the roughly 30-page document will be the subject of prayer, conversation, and discernment by participants in the second session of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, to be held throughout the month of October in Rome.

Instead of focusing on questions and “convergences,” as in last year’s Instrumentum Laboris, “it is now necessary that ... a consensus can be reached,” said a FAQ page from synod organizers, also released July 9, answering a question about why the structure was different from last year’s Instrumentum Laboris.

The guiding document for the first session of the Synod on Synodality in 2023 covered such hot-button topics as women deacons, priestly celibacy, and LGBTQ outreach.

By contrast, this year’s text mostly avoids these subjects while offering concrete proposals for instituting a listening and accompaniment ministry, greater lay involvement in parish economics and finances, and more powerful parish councils.

“It is difficult to imagine a more effective way to promote a synodal Church than the participation of all in decision-making and taking processes,” it states.

The working tool also refers to the 10 study groups formed late last year to tackle different themes deemed “matters of great relevance” by the synod’s first session in October 2023. These groups will continue to meet through June 2025 but will provide an update on their progress at the second session in October.

The possibility of the admission of women to the diaconate will not be a topic during the upcoming assembly, the Instrumentum Laboris said.

The new document was presented at a July 9 press conference by Cardinals Mario Grech and Jean-Claude Hollerich, together with the special secretaries of the synodal assembly: Jesuit Father Giacomo Costa and Father Riccardo Battocchio. 

“The synod is already changing our way of being and living the Church regardless of the October assembly,” Hollerich said, pointing to testimonies shared in the most recent reports sent by bishops’ conferences.

The Oct. 2–27 gathering of the Synod on Synodality will mark the end of the discernment phase of the Church’s synodal process, which Pope Francis opened in 2021.

Participants in the fall meeting, including Catholic bishops, priests, religious, and laypeople from around the world, will use the Instrumentum Laboris as a guide for their “conversations in the Spirit,” the method of discussion introduced at the 2023 assembly. They will also prepare and vote on the Synod on Synodality’s advisory final document, which will then be given to the pope, who decides the Church’s next steps and if he wishes to adopt the text as a papal document or to write his own.

The third phase of the synod — after “the consultation of the people of God” and “the discernment of the pastors” — will be “implementation,” according to organizers.

Prominent topics

The 2024 Instrumentum Laboris also addresses the need for transparency to restore the Church’s credibility in the face of sexual abuse of adults and minors and financial scandals.

“If the synodal Church wants to be welcoming,” the document reads, “then accountability and transparency must be at the core of its action at all levels, not only at the level of authority.”

It recommends effective lay involvement in pastoral and economic planning, the publication of annual financial statements certified by external auditors, annual summaries of safeguarding initiatives, the promotion of women to positions of authority, and periodic performance evaluations on those exercising a ministry or holding a position in the Church.

“These are points of great importance and urgency for the credibility of the synodal process and its implementation,” the document says.

The greater participation of women in all levels of the Church, a reform of the education of priests, and greater formation for all Catholics are also included in the text.

Bishops’ conferences, it says, noticed an untapped potential for women’s participation in many areas of Church life. “They also call for further exploration of ministerial and pastoral modalities that better express the charisms and gifts the Spirit pours out on women in response to the pastoral needs of our time,” the document states.

Formation in listening is identified as “an essential initial requirement” for Catholics, as well as how to engage in the practice of “conversation in the Spirit,” which was employed in the first session of the Synod on Synodality.

The document says the need for formation has been one of the most universal and strong themes throughout the synodal process. Interreligious dialogue also is identified as an important aspect of the synodal journey.

On the topic of the liturgy, the Instrumentum Laboris says there was “a call for adequately trained lay men and women to contribute to preaching the Word of God, including during the celebration of the Eucharist.”

“It is necessary that the pastoral proposals and liturgical practices preserve and make ever more evident the link between the journey of Christian initiation and the synodal and missionary life of the Church,” the document says. “The appropriate pastoral and liturgical arrangements must be developed in the plurality of situations and cultures in which the local Churches are immersed …”

How it was drafted

Dubbed the “Instrumentum Laboris 2,” the document released Tuesday has been in preparation since early June when approximately 20 experts in theology, ecclesiology, and canon law held a closed-door meeting to analyze approximately 200 synod reports from bishops’ conferences and religious communities responding to what the Instrumentum Laboris called “the guiding question” of the next stage of the Synod on Synodality: “How to be a synodal Church in mission?”

After the 10-day gathering, “an initial version” of the text was drafted based on those reports and sent to about 70 people — priests, religious, and laypeople — “from all over the world, of various ecclesial sensitivities and from different theological ‘schools,’” for consultation, according to the synod website.

The 16th Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod, together with consultants of the synod secretariat, finalized the document.

According to the working tool, soliciting new reports and feedback after the consultation phase ended is “consistent with the circularity characterizing the whole synodal process.” 

“In preparation for the second session, and during its work, we continue to address this question: How can the identity of the synodal people of God in mission take concrete form in the relationships, paths, and places where the everyday life of the Church takes place?” it says.

The document says “other questions that emerged during the journey are the subject of work that continues in other ways, at the level of the local Churches as well as in the 10 study groups.”

Expectations for final session

According to the guiding document, the second session of the Synod on Synodality can “expect a further deepening of the shared understanding of synodality, a better focus on the practices of a synodal Church, and the proposal of some changes in canon law [there may be yet more significant and profound developments as the basic proposal is further assimilated and lived].”

“Nonetheless,” it continues, “we cannot expect the answer to every question. In addition, other proposals will emerge along the way, on the path of conversion and reform that the second session will invite the whole Church to undertake.”

The Instrumentum Laboris says: “Synodality is not an end in itself … If the second session is to focus on certain aspects of synodal life, it does so with a view to greater effectiveness in mission.”

In its brief conclusion, the text states: “The questions that the Instrumentum Laboris asks are: how to be a synodal Church in mission; how to engage in deep listening and dialogue; how to be co-responsible in the light of the dynamism of our personal and communal baptismal vocation; how to transform structures and processes so that all may participate and share the charisms that the Spirit pours out on each for the common good; how to exercise power and authority as service. Each of these questions is a service to the Church and, through its action, to the possibility of healing the deepest wounds of our time.”

Roberto Corbella (center, with tie) and other family and friends of Chiara Corbella Petrillo attend the closing of the diocesan phase of the investigation into her life and virtues in Rome on Friday, June 21, 2024 / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, Jul 9, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Last month, the Diocese of Rome closed its investigation into the virtues and reputation for holiness of Chiara Corbella Petrillo, a 28-year-old wife and mother who died in 2012 from cancer after delaying treatment until after the birth of her son. 

Chiara is known for her joy and simple faith — which persevered even after the young bride and her husband, Enrico Petrillo, experienced the devastating loss of their first two children shortly following birth.

“One of the fundamental characteristics of Chiara’s faith: She was never ostentatious, she was not someone who went around saying ‘I am good,’” Chiara’s father, Roberto Corbella, told CNA at the closing ceremony for the diocesan phase of her cause for beatification at the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran on June 21.

With the closing of the diocesan phase, documented testimonies and other materials will now be sent to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints for further scrutiny. The next step in the process will be for the pope to recognize her as someone who lived a life of heroic virtue and declare her venerable.

Chiara was “always smiling, loved a joke … always ready to find the bright side of things. And she didn’t take herself too seriously,” Corbella recalled.

“The fact that we see that so many people in the world rely on her helps us to accept [her death] better, in the sense that it’s clear that I would rather ... still have her sitting on my lap,” he said with tears in his eyes. “But seeing so many people ask for her help certainly makes us accept everything much better.”

Below is a lightly edited version of CNA’s full interview with Roberto Corbella.

CNA: Who was Chiara?

Roberto Corbella: I think Chiara was the daughter everyone would wish to have — a very cheerful child, very attentive to everything around her, people, but also animals, things. She was very curious and took care of everything around her. Always smiling, loved a joke, so always ready to find the bright side of things. And she didn’t take herself too seriously.

Do you have a favorite memory with Chiara? 

I have so many beautiful memories. Maybe the moment I always remember with the most joy is after lunch, when Chiara had the habit of sitting on my knee. She would do this even as a grown up, even after she was married. When she would come to lunch at our house, after lunch [she would sit on my knee]. It was her way of showing affection.

After seeing your daughter experience great suffering together with her husband, Enrico, has your perspective on pain and suffering changed?

Chiara was always very careful to not let us see her suffer. When she felt very bad during her illness, she would go back into her room saying she didn’t feel very well. She never complained, never let us see [her suffering]. Actually, she minimized what she was going through, so we only partially realized what her real situation was. But certainly, yes, she taught me to understand that everything is relative in life. We complain daily — “It’s so hot today” — everyone complains. And then in a little while, we will complain it is too cold. There are some things that are part of life that are natural. Chiara was able to bear them, clearly because of her great faith. 

How does it feel to have a daughter who is now known around the world for her faith?

I always say that we are lucky parents, because every day, watching the news, we hear of young kids who have died in violent situations ... Meanwhile, she left us with a smile, meanwhile, she left after telling us all, “I love you.”

Then, the fact that we see that so many people in the world rely on her, helps us to accept [her death] better, in the sense that it’s clear that rather than being here today doing this [interview], I would rather still have her sitting on my lap. But seeing so many people ask for her help certainly makes us accept everything much better. 

Has this experience changed something for you and your experience of God, faith, the Church?

Well, yes. I always say that I was the most secular of the family, because Chiara, her sister, her mother, they always attended church. I was one of what Pope Francis calls “the Sunday Catholics.” I would go to Mass, but I was just doing the expected things, though, not particularly driven. I often find myself questioning. The road is very long, at least for me, so I’m trying to learn.

What was Chiara’s faith and prayer like, especially as she was part of a world and generation that is practicing the faith less and less?

I would say [Chiara lived the faith] very simply and very naturally. From when she was a very young child, her mom brought her, together with her sister, to a prayer group. So she grew up in this group of children who met regularly, prayed and so on, and so she developed a very strong inner faith. Both her and her sister would find time to devote to prayer every day. They would lock themselves in their room in silence. It was more of a listening prayer than a verbal prayer. This marked her throughout her life — then there were evolutions: Her adult life, during the period of her relationship [with future husband Enrico] she leaned on the friars in Assisi; there she did vocation courses with the [youth center] and ... There she came back to give witness talks after losing her first child. And there she returned when she was in crisis with Enrico [during their engagement], and then there they got married. So she matured. But one of the fundamental characteristics of Chiara’s faith: She was never ostentatious, she was not someone who went around saying “I am good...”

She had relationships with everybody, even people absolutely contrary to the faith. And she didn’t discount [their lack of faith] but she didn’t judge anybody or criticize anybody. It was more her example, her knowing how to listen, that made an impact. So a simple faith. Chiara was what you call a “fresh-faced” girl or “the girl next door.” She was very simple: jeans, a T-shirt. Compared to her sister or her mother, her makeup took 30 seconds, so she was always very quick. I think that’s what gets transmitted more, especially to young people. Today Chiara is appreciated because they see her as one of them. I always say if she was still here today she would blend in with the others. 

What is the message Chiara would have wanted to share with the world and which you carry in your heart?

I would say maybe the most relevant message in these times is the message of peace. Chiara as a child lived through the war in Yugoslavia. She was very little, seeing the news on the television, and she was very upset to see these people who were affected. So today she would have a hard time accepting what is going on around the world in so many places and which unfortunately many people are helping to fuel. Therefore I think we need to lower the tensions and try to think about peace. 

How is Chiara’s living son, Francesco, doing?

Francesco recently turned 13 years old and he’s already as tall as his grandma ... He is very much like Chiara. When he was very small, not just physically, but his gifts, his characteristics, his creative abilities, and so on. Otherwise, he’s a 13-year-old, so wild and used to doing what 13-year-olds do. But a nice grandson. We also have three other grandchildren.

Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral Basilica, the seat of the Archbishop of Agana, Guam. / Credit: Public domain

Vatican City, Jul 8, 2024 / 11:33 am (CNA).

Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Ryan Jimenez to lead the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Agaña on the island of Guam, transferring the 52-year-old Filipino from the neighboring Northern Mariana Islands.

The July 6 move may mark the beginning of a more stable period for the Church on the U.S. island territory after the archdiocese suffered bankruptcy, a sex abuse scandal involving one former archbishop, and the premature departure of another archbishop for unspecified medical reasons.

A local Catholic leader said the archbishop-elect has a “tough job ahead” of him, Pacific Daily News reported.

“He is taking over an archdiocese that is in the throes of getting out of bankruptcy. He needs to win the confidence of our faithful as we work collectively to settle our debt to the victims of clergy sex abuse and their families,” David Sablan, president of the group Concerned Catholics of Guam, told the Guam newspaper July 7.

“Bishop Jimenez has his work cut out for him,” Sablan added.

Jimenez will fill a seat left vacant by Archbishop Michael Byrnes, who formally resigned as head of the Agaña Archdiocese in March 2023 after dealing with medical issues.

Byrnes, who is from Detroit, had succeeded former Agaña Archbishop Anthony Apuron, following his removal by Pope Francis after the Vatican found him guilty of the sexual abuse of minors in 2019.

Jimenez comes from the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa, a suffragan diocese of Agaña, which he has led since June 2016.

Chalan Kanoa is the diocese covering the Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth and unincorporated territory of the United States in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.

The 14 Northern Mariana Islands are part of a crescent-shaped archipelago that also includes the separate U.S. territory of Guam, the southernmost island.

According to 2022 statistics, the Archdiocese of Agaña has over 148,000 Catholics, totaling more than 87% of the population.

Archdiocese’s challenging past

While still formally archbishop, Apuron was relieved of his pastoral and administrative authority in June 2016 following accusations he had sexually abused minors. Four months later, in October 2016, Pope Francis appointed Byrnes coadjutor archbishop of Agaña.

Apuron was found guilty of several abuse-related charges by the Vatican’s then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in March 2018. The conviction was upheld on appeal in February 2019, and the final sentencing was announced April 4, 2019.

Apuron was deprived of his office as archbishop of Agaña; forbidden from using its insignia, including the bishop’s miter and ring; and banned from living within the jurisdiction of the archdiocese. He was not removed from ministry and remains a priest under Church law.

In January 2019, the archdiocese filed for bankruptcy in federal court in the wake of numerous sex abuse allegations. The move, decided upon in November 2018, allowed the archdiocese to avoid trial and to begin to reach settlements in the abuse lawsuits, which amounted to over $115 million.

Byrnes, who succeeded Apuron in April 2019, went on extended leave from his duties in December 2022 for unspecified medical reasons. His resignation was accepted in March 2023.

New archbishop’s biography

Jimenez was born in Dumaguete City in the Philippines on Dec. 18, 1971. 

He did initial studies in the Philippines before volunteering as a religion teacher to high school students in remote areas of his country. 

Jimenez later immigrated to the United States, where he completed his seminary training at St. Patrick’s Seminary and University in California, completing a bachelor’s degree and two master’s degrees in divinity and theology in 2003.

He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Chalan Kanoa in 2003. In the mid-1990s, he had served the diocese as a teacher at the only Catholic school on the island of Rota.

In 2010, right before his 39th birthday, Jimenez was named apostolic administrator of Chalan Kanoa, becoming the spiritual leader of the over 43,000 Catholics of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

He was recently awarded a doctorate in divinity from Fordham University.

Documents from the Pontificate of Pius XII released by the Vatican Apostolic Archive. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Vatican City, Jul 6, 2024 / 09:05 am (CNA).

Pope Francis has named an Augustinian priest as the new prefect of the Vatican Apostolic Archive, which preserves Church documents dating back to the eighth century.

The Vatican announced on July 5 that Father Rocco Ronzani, a patristics professor from Rome, will serve as the head of what was formerly called the Vatican’s “secret archive.”

The Vatican Apostolic Archive contains 53 miles of underground shelving preserving documentation from historic papacies, ecumenical councils, conclaves, and Vatican nunciatures, or embassies, around the world.

Pope Leo XIII opened the archive to scholars in 1881. Qualified researchers can request permission to visit and view specific documents.

Many historians researching World War II have come to the Vatican’s underground stacks since 2020 when Pope Francis opened the archives of the pontificate of Pius XII.

The Vatican archive also contains the original 1530 letter addressed to Pope Clement VII requesting permission for an annulment for King Henry VIII so that he could marry Anne Boleyn.

Pope Francis changed the name of the archive, which had been known as the Vatican Secret Archive since the 17th century, to Vatican Apostolic Archive in 2019 to avoid the negative associations that accompany modern interpretations of the word “secret.”

As the new prefect, Ronzani succeeds Archbishop Sergio Pagano, who worked in the Vatican archives for 45 years, serving as prefect since 1997.

Pagano recently published a book titled “Secretum,” which describes some of the noteworthy historical “nuggets” documented in the archives from the Galileo trial to when Napoléon Bonaparte’s troops raided the Vatican archive in 1810.

The former prefect will take up a new role as the assessor for the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences.

Ronzani was born in Rome on Feb. 21, 1978. He entered the Order of St. Augustine in 1997 and was ordained a priest in 2004. He holds a doctorate in theology and patristic sciences from the Pontifical Patristic Institute Augustinianum in Rome, where he currently teaches.

He serves as a consultant to the Vatican Dicastery for the Causes of Saints and as the current director of the historical archives for the Augustinians’ Italian province.

Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life. / Credit: Walter Breitenmoser/CNA

CNA Staff, Jul 5, 2024 / 13:10 pm (CNA).

The Pontifical Academy for Life has released a guide that it says will help the faithful in discussing the “religious and moral ethical implications” surrounding euthanasia, assisted suicide, and other controversial end-of-life topics.

The Vatican Publishing House released the brief booklet on July 2, Catholic News Service (CNS) reported this week. The pontifical academy “distributed the booklet to every bishop in Italy,” with the book as of yet available only in Italian.

The Vatican publisher on its website describes the document as a “little end-of-life lexicon,” one that offers “a series of explanatory and in-depth entries” in order to foster “a language understandable even to the uninitiated” regarding end-of-life matters.

The document is meant to “[help] those who are trying to disentangle these issues,” in part by avoiding “that component of disagreement that depends on an inaccurate use of the notions implied in the discourse.”

The topics “are presented through the lens of Catholic understanding and are connected by several fundamental tenets, such as the Christian meaning of life, death, freedom, responsibility, and care,” CNS said in its report.

CNS reported that the guide covers a variety of issues including comas, palliative care, pain management, euthanasia, organ donation, and “artificial nutrition and hydration,” among other matters.

Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia — who serves as the president of the Pontifical Academy for Life — urged the faithful to pursue “heartfelt and in-depth dialogue” on life issues rather than “prepackaged and partisan ideologies.”

The Catholic Church in recent years has taken strong stances against government policies such as euthanasia that devalue human life.

Bishops in France, Ireland, and the U.S. have urged the defeat of numerous euthanasia and assisted suicide proposals.

Pope Francis has similarly urged respect for life instead of euthanasia, calling on the faithful to “accompany people toward death, but not provoke death or facilitate assisted suicide.”

“You don’t play with life, neither at the beginning nor at the end. It is not played with!” he told journalists last year.

This article was updated on Saturday, July 6, at 2:00 p.m. to reflect that the report on the lexical book came from Catholic News Service.