https://politicalresearch.org/ The latest research related to synod on the family en https://religiondispatches.org/2015/12/29/top-five-pope-francis-quotes-2015 Pope Francis had another banner year in 2015, from his historic climate encyclical Laudato si’ to his rock-star reception in the United States. And once again, a large part of his allure stemmed from his uncanny ability to turn a… Tue, 29 Dec 2015 01:07:24 EST Patricia Miller 393032dc-8896-4004-b9c6-c3bc55823562 https://religiondispatches.org/2015/11/01/catholic-bishops-end-family-synod-little-say-gays-world-congress-families-has-plenty-say Intersex Awareness Day was observed around the world on October 26. In what one advocate has called a “life-saving” move, the U.S. State Department has indicated that it will include same-sex partners in the definition of “spouse” when dealing with… Sun, 01 Nov 2015 07:37:00 EST Peter Montgomery 334427f2-7e73-4f61-b122-c3d87bc7b2c8 https://religiondispatches.org/2015/10/23/conservative-bishops-headed-synod-victory-indonesian-sharia-official-says-gay-caning-law The World Congress of Families, which brings together American Religious Right activists with their counterparts from around the world, gathers next week in Salt Lake City, Utah, the first time one of its annual summits has been held in the… Fri, 23 Oct 2015 11:55:44 EDT Peter Montgomery 4d5c3798-fe8c-41b0-adbd-d48d9ee2dcfd https://religiondispatches.org/2015/10/22/conservatives-have-officially-become-catholic-churchs-tea-party As the much-ballyhooed family synod lurches into its final days, with no clear consensus on even the most mild of reforms suggested by Pope Francis and lots of backbiting and political posturing (one prelate even suggested that Satan was at… Thu, 22 Oct 2015 02:41:06 EDT Patricia Miller 44a2d7ce-9956-470c-aa2b-8bcf73754d42 https://religiondispatches.org/2015/10/19/plot-turn-synod-plot It’s official—with Ross Douthat’s conspiracy-drenched Sunday column, the idea that the synod is somehow a “plot to change Catholicism” has leapt from the far-right Catholic fringe to the conservative Catholic mainstream. Conservatives have been pushing the idea for months that… Mon, 19 Oct 2015 02:40:05 EDT Patricia Miller eabe5245-83c6-4f71-941a-cf29438f71bb https://religiondispatches.org/2015/10/18/conservative-bishops-unhappy-synod-ignore-walkout-call-australian-religious-leaders-step Novelist Marlon James became the first Jamaican author to be awarded the Man Booker Prize. “However,” writes Joe Williams at Pink News, “a number of Jamaican commentators have highlighted that while being celebrated as a Jamaican author, James in fact… Sun, 18 Oct 2015 11:08:08 EDT Peter Montgomery 41f48f0b-bff5-4d66-8fd9-b74e355d2711 https://religiondispatches.org/2015/10/14/conservative-cardinals-controversial-letter-cites-church-appeal While most reactions to the 13 conservative cardinals who sent a letter to Pope Francis complaining that the outcome of the family synod was rigged in favor of progressives focused on the intrigue over the letter’s content and (supposed) signers… Wed, 14 Oct 2015 04:42:00 EDT Patricia Miller 61c7c8d4-3dc9-4f05-84d1-773284f4d9b1 https://religiondispatches.org/2015/10/09/conservative-hardliners-synod-prompt-question-what-are-we-doing-here As the first week of the second installment of the bishops’ synod on the family draws to a close, it seems that some of the bishop participants haven’t gotten the memo from Pope Francis that they’re supposed to find ways… Fri, 09 Oct 2015 12:58:05 EDT Patricia Miller 6bf2a8a4-9cf2-4cea-8de1-03f48c6627bb https://religiondispatches.org/2015/10/05/welcome-spin-od-conservatives-look-halt-reforms-divorce-and-other-family-matters Now that Pope Francis has concluded his historic US visit, all eyes turn to Rome for the second part of the Synod of Bishops on family life. Opening the synod yesterday, Francis demonstrated the challenge before the bishops, calling for… Mon, 05 Oct 2015 01:01:28 EDT Patricia Miller 81c0ace2-bc3d-4b8c-a5df-7c65ae965ef2 https://religiondispatches.org/2014/11/14/us-bishops-meeting-pope-who The U.S. bishops’ semi-annual meeting, which concluded in Baltimore on Thursday, was one giant raspberry to Pope Francis’ agenda. The meeting was heavy on the bishops’ favorite culture war themes, but largely dissed issues near and dear to Francis like… Fri, 14 Nov 2014 01:46:28 EST Patricia Miller 580f4bda-954d-41e9-a7a8-909c93c8ac39 https://religiondispatches.org/2014/11/07/vatican-enlists-allies-against-gay-marriage-iranian-gays-pushed-change-gender-and-more New Vatican Confab on ‘Complementarity’ in Marriage Before the dust had settled from the Catholic bishops’ synod on the family, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith announced that it will be hosting an interfaith colloquium this month on… Fri, 07 Nov 2014 12:50:34 EST Peter Montgomery bb323a3e-7056-4ef5-a59b-ea492d981c47 https://religiondispatches.org/2014/10/31/russian-politician-wants-ban-apple-ceo-who-says-being-gay-gods-gift-violence-after Apple CEO Tim Cook, who heads what is certainly one of the most visible global corporations, came out as gay this week. His statement included a phrase that brought joy to LGBT religious activists: “I’m proud to be gay, and… Fri, 31 Oct 2014 01:48:57 EDT Peter Montgomery 595f7e88-ba98-4f59-b4ee-a53617d857ad https://religiondispatches.org/2014/10/28/douthat-conservatives-will-take-their-ball-and-go-home-if-francis-changes-their-church In the New York Times, Ross Douthat cheers the conservative rebuff at the recently concluded family synod of the “implied papal position” favoring liberalization both “in the church’s attitude toward nonmarital relationships” and in “admitting the divorced-and-remarried to communion.” Douthat… Tue, 28 Oct 2014 01:45:02 EDT Patricia Miller 82040049-1627-4b74-a713-df2b61a34ce6 https://religiondispatches.org/2014/10/27/church-synod-recap-micromanaging-morals-others Changes in tone are no substitute for changes in substance. Mon, 27 Oct 2014 12:18:55 EDT Mary Hunt 48f2a53b-5c8a-43c0-8035-10b70c619424 https://religiondispatches.org/2014/10/24/conservative-bishops-still-mad-pope-oligarch-launches-orthodox-network-yoga-wont-change Heads up: next week Mexico will host the International Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) World Conference. According to the Washington Blade, Rosanna Flamer-Caldera, executive director of Equal Ground, a Sri Lankan LGBT advocacy group, said the conference… Fri, 24 Oct 2014 09:00:37 EDT Peter Montgomery 4c09f068-e25b-4038-a454-67b46d7ec2d2 https://religiondispatches.org/2014/10/21/did-pope-francis-win-lose-or-draw-family-synod How you view the no-consensus outcome of the just-concluded Extraordinary Synod on the Family very much depends on whether or not you are rooting for Pope Francis to change the Catholic Church. The unexpectedly warm welcome given to gay Catholics… Tue, 21 Oct 2014 02:20:55 EDT Patricia Miller b8a7a279-af33-4350-b619-e2600183d204 https://religiondispatches.org/2014/10/17/conservative-bishops-get-different-translation-dialing-back-language-lgbt-acceptance Will the Francis revolution be lost in translation? Fri, 17 Oct 2014 12:52:41 EDT Patricia Miller b664df9e-d855-4a72-997f-b62ae191ff33 https://religiondispatches.org/2014/10/16/synod-fight-soul-catholic-church-flap-english-translation-key-report-anti-gay-law The big story this week is the ideological warfare and spin-control struggles that broke into the open after the public reading on Monday of a working document called a relatio that was intended to summarize discussions to date at the… Thu, 16 Oct 2014 12:40:32 EDT Peter Montgomery 70098d5c-6a16-48e2-9200-dbb140582947 https://religiondispatches.org/2014/10/14/bishops-more-welcoming-lgbt-not-women The surprisingly conciliatory tone regarding gay Catholics in the working document for the family synod released yesterday is being described by some as an “earthquake” and “revolutionary.” But it’s not so much the content that’s groundbreaking—it’s the fact that the… Tue, 14 Oct 2014 03:13:38 EDT Patricia Miller f7407f15-9ea1-4795-9101-200b50f29f52 https://religiondispatches.org/2014/10/09/rip-pope-john-pauls-contraceptive-mentality-1979-2014 The biggest news to come out of the bishops’ synod in Rome so far is the acknowledgement that when it comes to talking about issues of family and sexuality, language matters. Among the examples of “harsh” rhetoric that bishops discussed… Thu, 09 Oct 2014 04:10:57 EDT Patricia Miller 0cdccd12-cc83-4508-a34a-b12c05beeb52 https://religiondispatches.org/2014/10/06/pope-calls-out-bad-shepherds-conservatives-prepare-fight-change Just a day before gay marriage in the U.S. received a significant boost from the Supreme Court, the much-anticipated Extraordinary Synod on the Family opened in Rome yesterday with Pope Francis pointedly criticizing “bad shepherds” who seek money and power… Mon, 06 Oct 2014 05:03:45 EDT Patricia Miller 4ef20a90-2727-4fb8-bb5c-545434874364 https://religiondispatches.org/2014/10/06/youve-got-male-synod-family-slideshow The Vatican flickr stream takes us behind the female-free scenes. Mon, 06 Oct 2014 03:42:56 EDT Mary Hunt 3637b13c-3bf9-43d3-b700-0a71e7d2e059