CV NEWS FEED // Participants in Rome’s Synod of Bishops will fast and pray for peace on October 7, the Vatican announced in a press conference.
Pope Francis had called for the date to be a day of fasting and prayer in light of the upcoming anniversary of Hamas’s attack on Israel, as CatholicVote previously reported.
The press conference highlighted other aspects of the Synod, such as the overall focus and method. Father Giacomo Costa, S.J., special secretary of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, explained the methodology of the second Synod.
In 2023, the Synod focused on listening to diverse perspectives. However, the goal this year, as Vatican News summarized, is “to offer the Pope orientations as the fruit of the journey taken so far, aiming to foster harmony without creating uniformity.”
Father Costa stated, “The method now helps to identify key points for deeper analysis through a ‘spiritual conversation,” adding that the method left space “for further exploration, avoiding any rigid conclusions.”
Theologian Monsignor Riccardo Battocchio reflected on the theme of forgiveness and its prominence during the Penitential Vigil that took place in St. Peter’s Basilica on October 1.
He said the vigil provided “a model, a consciousness of what it means to be the Church,” continuing that the sinner is “not an outsider, but someone whose burden I must help carry.”
He stated, “We are the Church as recipients of God’s mercy.”