Following the close of last month’s Synod of Bishops, a leading Latin American cardinal has signaled openness in some cases to ordaining women deacons and also called for swift justice in sexual abuse cases, including the potential dissolution of a lay community in his own country currently under Vatican investigation.
Cardinal Pedro Barreto made the comments in an Oct. 30 exclusive interview with Crux, prior to leaving for Rome’s Fiumicino airport to return to Peru following the close of the synod.
The Archbishop of Huancayo and President of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA), Barreto also spoke of the growing influence of Latin America in the Church and the fact that Catholicism’s centre of gravity has shifted from the west to the global south.
On the topic of women, one of the biggest themes of the pope’s Oct. 4-29 Synod of Bishops on Synodality and among the most divisive issues in the discussion’s final synthesis document, Barreto noted that throughout the Church’s history, “it is always women influenced by society’s machismo, they have been relegated.”
“Today in the Church, especially in Latin America, if women stopped participating, the Church would not exist,” he said, noting that women religious even in his own diocese often lead liturgies and other initiatives in areas that have no priests.
On the possibility of ordaining women as deacons, a major hot-button synod talking point, Barreto said, “There are some, not all, who are against the women’s diaconate.”
“Women do not demand that, but they can, in some cases, be given the possibility of that,” he said, noting that every paragraph in the final synthesis document was voted on and approved, including the ones that talked about the women’s diaconate.
“We can still continue reflecting, but the role of women in the Church and in society is being evaluated a lot,” he said.

Is secularization gradually overtaking Latin America? Either way, the Catholic Church, which remains very strong in this part of the world, is showing signs of decline. This is borne out by figures from a recently published study conducted by the Episcopal Conference of Latin America (CELAM).
Latin America still has the world’s largest Catholic population. The Church in the region reported some 562 million baptized members in 2020, that’s 41% of the world’s share. It is well ahead of Europe (which has 286 million Catholics or 21% of the world’s total) and Africa (which counts 256 million Catholics or 19%).

The number of Catholic priests and bishops worldwide have decreased while the overall number of Catholics have increased, according to the latest Church’s Book of Statistics.
Every year Fides News Agency puts together a Church statistics ahead of World Mission Sunday, which this year is celebrated on October 22, The numbers were collated from the latest Church’s Book of Statistics that was updated to December 31, 2021. The statistics relate to members of the Church, church structures, healthcare, welfare and education.
World Mission Sunday falls on the penultimate Sunday of October every year. The theme of this year’s observance is “Hearts on fire, feet on the move”, taken from the story of the disciples of Emmaus, in the Gospel of Luke (LK 24:13-35).
Pope Pius XI instituted World Mission Sunday in 1926, The annual day encourages prayers, cooperation and help for missions as well as reminding Christians about the fundamental missionary character of the Church and of every baptized person,
Watch the video created to celebrate World Mission Day 2023
Church statistics as of December 31, 2021
‘World population was 7,785,769,000, with an increase of 118,633,000 compared to the previous year (Increase registered in all continents except Europe)
‘Catholics in the world numbered 1,375,852,000, with an overall increase of 16,240,000 compared to the previous year. (Increase affects all continents, except Europe (-244,000)), Increases were registered in Africa (+8,312,000) and in America (+6,629,000), followed by Asia (+1,488,000) and Oceania (+55,000).
“Total number of Bishops in the world decreased by 23, to 5,340.
“Total number of priests in the world decreased to 407,872 (-2,347)

Pope Francis told members of the synod on synodality that they should respect and honor the faith of all baptized Catholics, including the women, trusting “the holy, faithful people of God” who continue to believe even when their pastors act like dictators.
“I like to think of the church as the simple and humble people who walk in the presence of the Lord — the faithful people of God,” he told participants at the assembly of the Synod of Bishops Oct. 25.
In a rare intervention as the assembly was nearing its conclusion, Pope Francis told members to trust the fidelity of the people they listened to in preparation for the synod over the past two years.
“One of the characteristics of this faithful people is its infallibility — yes, it is infallible in ‘credendo,’” in belief, as the Second Vatican Council taught, he said.
“I explain it this way: ‘When you want to know ‘what’ Holy Mother Church believes, go to the magisterium, because it is in charge of teaching it to you, but when you want to know ‘how’ the Church believes, go to the faithful people,” the pope said.
“And here I would like to emphasize that, among God’s holy and faithful people, faith is transmitted in dialect, and generally in a feminine dialect,” he said.
“The faithful people, the holy faithful people of God” have a soul, a conscience and a way of seeing reality, he said.

Brother Godwin Eze, one of three Benedictine monks kidnapped by an armed gang on the night of 17 October from the Eruku Monastery in Kwara State, North Central Nigeria, has been killed by his captors.
The other two abducted postulants, Anthony Eze and Peter Olarewaj, were freed on 21 October. Brother Godwin Eze was killed on 18 October, a day after being taken by the gun men.
According to the two freed postulants, a large group of armed men, described as a gang of Fulani herdsmen, attacked the Monastery’s novitiate dormitory around 1 a.m. on 17 October. About 10 novices and postulants were in the building, sleeping. Three were captured and forced to walk barefoot into a forest. Upon reaching the bank of a river, the bandits shot Brother Godwin and threw his body into the water. The bandits then threatened the two postulants with machetes.
News of kidnapped Catholic priests, religious sisters, seminarians, novices and postulants or those attached to Church services in Nigeria has been relentless for some years now. Sometimes, the victims have been tortured or killed. Very few are released unscathed.
Apart from the tragic incidents involving the Benedictine Monastery on 5 October, this month alone, three Sisters of the Missionary Daughters of Mater Ecclesiae (MDME), a seminarian, Peter Eyakeno Sunday of the Missionary Sons of the Most Holy Trinity and Mr. Awoke Emmanuel, a driver were kidnapped. They were on their way to attend a funeral in another region of the country.

The Synod of Bishops has issued a “Letter to the People of God,” describing the work of the October meeting and asking all the faithful to “concretely participate” in the synod process that will continue through the next year and conclude with another plenary assembly in October 2024.
As this year’s assembly nears its conclusion, the participants discussed a draft of the message that was presented on October 23, and—after a few amendments—approved the text by an overwhelming 336—12 vote on October 25.
The Synod message placed heavy emphasis on the wide-ranging consultations that have characterized the Synod on Synodality and given rise to concerns that the process will bring about changes in—or confusion about—Church doctrine. Pope Francis encouraged discussion of criticisms levelled by Catholic dissidents and by non-Catholics. The Letter to the People of God confirmed that decision, saying: “To progress in its discernment, the Church absolutely needs to listen to everyone, starting with the poorest.”
Unlike previous meetings of the Synod of Bishops, the Synod on Synodality has adopted an extended three-year process. Whereas previous meetings culminated with a plenary assembly at which delegates voted to approve a set of propositions, Pope Francis has directed that the Synod on Synodality will meet again before issuing a final statement. So the Letter looks forward to a continuation of the process.
The Letter opens with thanks to those who supported the Synod deliberations with their prayers, and reports that it was a “beautiful and enriching experience” for the participants, a “blessed time in profound communion.” Looking forward, the message says:
And now? We hope that the months leading to the second session in October 2024 will allow everyone to concretely participate in the dynamism of missionary communion indicated by the word “synod.”
This month’s meeting was “an important phase of this process,” the Letter says. It was also an “unprecedented experience” because Pope Francis chose to invite lay men and women to be full participants in the discussions. Thus although the message came from the Synod of Bishops, about 20% of those who voted to approve it were not bishops.
It means listening to those who have been denied the right to speak in society or who feel excluded, even by the Church; listening to people who are victims of racism in all its forms—in particular in some regions to indigenous peoples whose cultures have been scorned.

Pope Francis has blamed Western military interventions for the rise of the Islamic State terror group and for the distabilising of Libya and the ensuing migration crisis in the Mediterranean.
In an interview for a new book, the Holy Father said the invasion of Iraq and support for jihadi groups in the so-called “Arab Spring” had created more problems than they have solved.
The British and French support for jihadi groups in the Libyan civil war of 2011, which led to the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi, had particularly disastrous consequences, the Pope said.
The instability that followed the conflict has since allowed warlords to traffic weapons to jihadis attacking Christians in the Sahel region of sub-Saharan Africa and criminal gangs to traffic vast numbers of migrants across the Mediterranean, tens of thousands of whom have drowned during attempted crossings.
The Pope also said that the invasion of Iraq by an American-led coalition in 2003 directly led to the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq neighbouring Syria a decade later.
Francis said the West was misguided in their policies to “import its own type of democracy” into countries with a political culture “similar to” tribal.
“Let’s think about Libya,” said the Pope. “A Libyan told me that they once only had one Gaddafi, but now they have 53.”

When an Israeli air raid destroyed Walaa Sobeh’s house and much of her neighbourhood, the Palestinian Muslim sought shelter in Gaza’s oldest church.
At the Church of Saint Porphyrius, she found not just sanctuary, but a feeling of belonging to “one family” — united by both the terror of bombs exploding around them and a hope that they could survive Israel’s attacks.
So she telephoned other relatives in north Gaza and asked them to make their way to the church, too. Sobeh and her family are among hundreds of Palestinians across different faiths who have found safety — at least for now — at the church.
At a time when the deadly Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 and Israel’s subsequent bombardment of Gaza have sparked a surge in Islamophobia in parts of the world, the Greek Orthodox church has emerged as an emblem of a deeper identity as Palestinians.
“We are here living the day, not sure if we can make it to the night. But what eases our pain is the humble and warm spirit of everyone around,” Sobeh said. She described receiving “enormous support from the priests and other people in the church who volunteer tirelessly around the clock to help the displaced families”.
So far, the church has escaped Israeli missiles.
“The Israeli military has bombed many places of sanctuary,” said Father Elias, a priest at Saint Porphyrius, adding that he was “not sure that Israel won’t bomb the church”, even though it provides shelter for hundreds of civilians.
Israeli bombs have hit several mosques and schools sheltering people whose homes have been blown up.
Any strike on the church “would not only be an attack on religion, which is a vile deed, but also an attack on humanity”, Father Elias said. “Our humanity calls us to offer peace and warmth to everyone in need.”

Pope Francis and U.S. President Joe Biden spoke by phone on October 22 afternoon to discuss “the latest developments in Israel and Gaza,” according to a statement from the White House.
The Holy See Press Office said earlier the phone call lasted about 20 minutes and focused on “conflict situations in the world and the need to identify paths to peace.”
“The president condemned the barbarous attack by Hamas against Israeli civilians and affirmed the need to protect civilians in Gaza,” the White House statement said. The two also talked about Biden’s trip to Israel last week and his efforts at humanitarian assistance in the region.
The pope and the president also discussed “the need to prevent escalation in the region and to work toward a durable peace in the Middle East,” the White House said.
Earlier in the day, Pope Francis in his Sunday Angelus appealed for peace in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, which is entering its third week.

A recent official census of religious identity in Hungary offered bad news for those concerned with the future of Christianity in central Europe.
For the first time, a majority of Hungarians (56.6%) failed to declare membership of a faith tradition, with 16.5% declaring “no religion” and a further 40.1% choosing not to answer the question at all.
While all the country’s main denominations were hit badly, results for the Roman Catholic Church, historically the nation’s majority tradition, were worst of all — a drop of 1.1 million (nearly 30%), compared to 2011. The numbers went from an estimated 3.69 million people identifying as Catholics in 2011 to 2.6 million today.
Combined with a smaller loss between 2001 and 2011, Hungary’s Catholic population has shrunk an astounding 50% this century, to just 27.5% of the population.
These facts contrast starkly with the rhetoric of Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s far-right prime minister, who has described ”Christian Hungary” as a supposed bulwark against immigration of Muslims and other religious minorities into Europe.