Christopher White

As part of NCR's new podcast, The Vatican Briefing, one of the voting members of the Synod of Bishops has indicated an openness to restoring the early Catholic Church's tradition of ordaining women as deacons.

Pope Francis has expressed openness to Catholic blessings for same-sex couples, under the condition they are not confused with marriage ceremonies for men and women, in what could be a watershed moment for the church.

Members of the Synod of Bishops are taking part in a retreat led by Dominican Fr. Timothy Radcliffe. Themes include clericalism; better inclusion of LGBTQ Catholics; the role of women in the church; and clergy sexual abuse.

Pope Francis on Sept. 30 elevated 21 Catholic prelates, including the Vatican's U.S. ambassador, to the rank of cardinal. In a homily in St. Peter's Square, the pope told the new cardinals they should not be defined by past traditions.

Pope Francis' ambassador to the U.S. Cardinal-designate Christophe Pierre admonished Catholic bishops who claim to adhere to papal authority, while at the same time openly criticizing the current pontiff. 

Cardinal Mario Grech of Malta stands at the center of the pope's plan to change the global Catholic Church. As he prepares to open the synod assembly, Grech told NCR he has "a free heart" about what is to come. 

On his return flight from Marseille, France, the pope decried euthanasia, abortion and war, and he repeated pleas for compassionate thoughts and actions to migrants. 

Pope Francis on Sept. 23 blasted those who seek to weaponize the issue of migration by "fueling people's fears" through "alarmist propaganda," and called for countries and individuals around the Mediterranean to reexamine their policies and attitudes toward asylum seekers. 

Amid tensions among European leaders over a new influx of migrants, Pope Francis on Sept. 22 arrived in the French port city of Marseille and warned that civilization is at a crossroads over the continuing migrant crisis.

Pope Francis is traveling to Marseille, France, this weekend to meet with Mediterranean bishops on Europe's migrant crisis. The pope's pro-migrant message is already igniting fierce debate across the continent.

Among those trying to drum up resistance to Pope Francis' closely watched Vatican summit on the future of the Catholic Church are a far-right Latin American traditionalist group, political activists, and retired U.S. Cardinal Raymond Burke.

Pope Francis on Sept. 4 said that next month's hotly anticipated Synod of Bishops will be open to the Holy Spirit — but not so much the press or the public. "This is not a television program," he told journalists on the papal plane returning to Rome from his four-day visit to Mongolia.

Less than a month ago, Pope Francis made global headlines for a Mass in Portugal that attracted a crowd of over 1.5 million attendees. Here in Mongolia, on Sept. 3, the pontiff turned his attention to a local church that boasts fewer than 1,500 Catholics in the entire country.

With one neighbor actively waging war and the other becoming an increasingly totalitarian state, Pope Francis praised Mongolia's commitment to charting a different course through democracy and diplomacy in pursuit of peace.

Pope Francis will hold an online dialogue with students across South Asia on Sept. 26 as part of a program that provides young people a rare opportunity to engage with him.

Pope Francis on Sept. 1 arrived in Mongolia, becoming the first pope to visit the vast country with one of the world's smallest Catholic populations, nestled between Russia and China — two nations with complicated Vatican relationships.

Pope Francis will release a follow-up document on the environment on Oct. 4, providing an update to his 2015 encyclical, Laudato Si' — a landmark letter that offered a rallying cry for global action in the fight against climate change. 

By visiting the vast nation of only 3.3 million inhabitants, with one of the world's smallest Catholic communities, Pope Francis, in his distinct way, will put Mongolia on the map.  

Pope Francis blasted what he described as groups of "very strong, reactionary" American Catholics, warning against becoming "backwardists" who oppose change in the Catholic Church. 

A new program trains senior church leaders with skills needed for a more collaborative church. Its leader, U.S. Jesuit Fr. David McCallum, will also serve as an expert and facilitator at October’s Synod of Bishops meeting.