Christopher White

Pope Francis has canceled plans to travel to Dubai this weekend for a U.N. climate conference at the advice of his doctors following ongoing health issues, the Vatican announced on Nov. 28. 

The pope has canceled several appointments due to an inflammation of the lungs, but he plans to travel to Dubai Dec. 1-3 to address the annual U.N. climate summit, the Vatican says.

Australian Bishop Vincent Long tells NCR in an interview: "I try to follow Pope Francis' lead by focusing on pastoral priorities such as a church that is more inclusive, participatory, open to the gifts of all members."

Pope Francis said he will attend the United Nations' COP28 climate change conference in Dubai next month, becoming the first pontiff to ever address such a high-level summit.

Listen: In this episode of The Vatican Briefing, Jesuit Fr. Agbonkhianmeghe Orobator discusses the synod and how its final text made sure that "the space is there to continue to have this conversation."

In an exclusive joint interview just hours after the closing of Pope Francis' Synod of Bishops, Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich and San Diego Cardinal Robert McElroy told NCR it would be "impossible to go back" to an era where synods did not involve lay persons as full, voting members.

The Vatican summit on the future of the church concluded on Oct. 28 by postponing action on ordaining women as deacons and failing to acknowledge deep tensions over how to care for LGBTQ Catholics.

View from the Vatican: It was less than two weeks into the synod on synodality when  multiple reports emerged about participating delegates storming out of the room. Tensions, it seems, are part of the synod process. 

The Oct. 25 "Letter to the People of God" from the ongoing Synod of Bishops highlights the significance of women participating in the event as full members, and the duty of the church to listen to clergy abuse victims.

Listen: In this episode of "The Vatican Briefing," Vatican experts Joshua McElwee and Christopher White have an exclusive conversation with Cardinal Michael Czerny about the ongoing Synod of Bishops.

As Pope Francis' major summit on the future of the Catholic Church enters its final week, bishops and laity were reminded of the Second Vatican Council's emphasis on the church's "living tradition," including the participation and inclusion of all of the "people of God."

Listen: In a special episode of "The Vatican Briefing," Joshua McElwee and Christopher White have an exclusive conversation with Loretto Sr. Jeannine Gramick about her Oct. 17 meeting with Pope Francis. Gramick says the pope "is trying to get us to move forward."

Participants in a closely watched ongoing Vatican summit heard testimony about a young LGBTQ person who committed suicide and were provoked to tears, Dominican Fr. Timothy Radcliffe revealed on Oct. 18. 

In an exclusive NCR interview, Australian Bishop Shane Mackinlay, one of the 13 members of the committee drafting the final document from the ongoing synod, expressed an openness to ordaining women as deacons.

The second week of Pope Francis' summit on the future of the Catholic Church included emotional debates among bishops and lay delegates over whether ministries could be expanded to include LGBTQ persons. 

View from the Vatican: In many ways, the story of Pope Francis' synod on synodality is best told through images. In fact, it's actually one of the only ways it can be told.

As Pope Francis' high-stakes summit on the future of the Catholic Church entered its second week on Oct. 9, the some 460 participating bishops and lay members considered how the church might provide greater welcome to all of its members. They also were given news of four COVID infections among their ranks.

A Catholic cardinal who is a former head of the Vatican's doctrinal office and a vocal critic of Pope Francis' ongoing monthlong summit on the future of the church has defied the pontiff's request that summit members maintain confidentiality about its proceedings.

Pope Francis on Oct. 4 released a new document taking direct aim at climate change deniers and castigating Western nations, particularly the United States, for "irresponsible lifestyle[s]" causing irreparable harm to the planet.

Officially opening the monthlong Synod of Bishops on Oct. 4, Pope Francis encouraged the participants, bishops and laypeople alike, to reject the temptations of doctrinal rigidity and to embrace a vision of the church that is open and welcoming to all.