Benedictine abbot also called Grimwald, invited to England by King Alfred in 885. Grimbald arrived in England and declined the see of Canterbury, preferring to remain a monk. He became the abbot of New Minster Abbey at Winchester appointed by King Edward the Elder. Grimbald is credited with restoring learning to England.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Hesitation and resistance to the Church's synodal journey can be addressed with clearer explanations, better training and more hands-on experience of what synodality is, bishops representing North America said.

"A very clear takeaway is the need for more formation in synodality, including its meaning, its methods and its spirituality," Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said.

"Synodality is often presented and perceived by many as a cumbersome and complicated process with language and terminology that is unfamiliar to most Catholics. Unless we can simplify how synodality is presented, it risks becoming the exclusive domain of specialists or 'the initiated' rather than a way of simply living our faith together," he told Catholic News Service. 

Archbishop Coakley was one of a number of leaders of the so-called "continental bodies" who met at the Vatican in late June as part of their work during the continental stage of the global Synod on Synodality, which was launched by local churches in 2021.

Representatives from Latin America, Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, the Middle East and North America, together with the coordinators of the continental synodal teams, met privately with Pope Leo XIV and members of the General Secretariat of the Synod June 23-25 at the Vatican. Part of the meeting involved reporting on major developments in implementing, across the different continents, the final document that was released in October 2024.

The team representing North America included: Archbishop Coakley; Auxiliary Bishop Juan Miguel Betancourt of Hartford, Connecticut, who is the USCCB's bishop liaison for the synod; Bishop Pierre Goudreault of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière in Québec, Canada, who is president of Canada's Conference of Catholic Bishops; and Julia McStravog, senior advisor to the U.S. synod leaders' team and coordinator of the diocesan synod teams.

Responding to questions from CNS after their meeting, the three bishops shared the progress they have seen and the challenges that remain in implementing the Synod on Synodality's final document in North America.

U.S. synod leaders meet monthly and share what they learn with all leaders and teams across the country, Bishop Betancourt wrote. These virtual gatherings "have strengthened relationships among the dioceses in the United States" and provided important "consultation, feedback, synthesis and the setting of priorities."

Many places in the United States have successfully implemented synodality "in a more intentional way, using the method of conversations in the spirit" and promoting the participation of the laity, religious and clergy "to discern the good and the challenges occurring in the particular dioceses of their provinces," he added. 

"This process has been helpful in guiding pastoral planning, discernment in parish consolidation, assessment of Mass times and the priest's workload, and more effective resource allocation," the bishop told CNS.

Archbishop Coakley said the Church in the U.S. is "very accustomed to welcoming and fostering lay involvement, from both men and women, at every level of church life. We have well-established consultative bodies, such as parish and diocesan pastoral councils, presbyteral councils, finance councils, school advisory councils and so forth."

"It seems to me that we need to continue to deepen our practice of discernment within those bodies and to develop and deepen an appropriate spirituality based on discernment and rooted in prayer," the archbishop wrote.

The Church in the U.S. is also "blessed with remarkable cultural diversity," Bishop Betancourt added. 

Having "brothers and sisters from countless nations offers an opportunity to continue engaging in multicultural dialogue, broaden participation, practice co-responsibility, and, above all, strengthen missionary outreach," he wrote.

However, Bishop Betancourt wrote, they have faced two big challenges: "the language around synodality, including the term itself, and second, resistance to participating in the process."

"Increasing participation by the lay faithful across the global Church, especially among the marginalized or distant, is essential to making the Church’s work more synodal, because all baptized persons share co-responsibility for the Church’s mission, which is rooted in their common dignity," he wrote. "This approach helps overcome clericalism, dismantle self-referential structures and ensure that the Church’s discernment reflects the diverse spiritual gifts of the entire People of God."

"Synodality is not parting from Catholic tradition but a deeper return to it," Bishop Betancourt wrote. "It’s about discerning God’s will, not about personal preferences or agendas, and that the ultimate goal of synodality is stronger evangelization, finding more effective ways to bring Jesus to the modern world and to bring distant or hurting souls back to his Sacred Heart."

Bishop Goudreault told CNS the Church in Canada also finds it "difficult to engage those who are more hesitant to join the process."

They are developing an online resource for Catholics, and they launched a network this spring to facilitate "learning, reception and conversion to synodality. This will take time and patience," he wrote.

"The concrete 'entry points' presented on page 20 of the 'Pathways' document have been very helpful to us, as some communities still did not know where to begin," he wrote. "We learn synodality by living it rather than by talking about it."

In his own diocese, Bishop Goudreault set up a synodal team led by a woman and a priest as "a sign in favor of synodal leadership," and they organized diocesan synodal assemblies to help him, "as bishop, to clarify pastoral guidelines on a specific issue." 

"Another initiative regarding the appointment of priests to parishes," he wrote, was inviting priests to engage in communal discernment guided by conversation in the Holy Spirit.

"The first meeting focused on the needs of the diocese, the second on the charisms of the priests, and the third on identifying which priests would be best suited to serve in those communities," he wrote. "At the end, the priests were open to receiving their appointments because they had taken part in a synodal process."

Also, "after eight years of service as a bishop, I asked the diocesan team to evaluate me," the Canadian bishop told CNS, because "synodality calls for accountability."

"This evaluation process was a genuine opportunity for growth for me, allowing me to celebrate what is going well and to become aware of areas for improvement," he added.

Archbishop Coakley said Pope Leo "clearly wants to build on the synodal vision outlined and presented by Pope Francis" in his own unique way.

Bishop Betancourt said, "I believe Pope Leo's focus on synodality is about communion: that all members of the Church feel united with one another as God's family."

"In acknowledging and appreciating each one’s responsibility, according to their specific vocation, to build the Church in a missionary way, Pope Leo believes that formation at all levels is essential to address fears and resistance to synodality," he added.

The pope has "repeatedly made clear that synodality is not about changing doctrine or undermining the hierarchical communion of the Church," the bishop wrote. Rather, it "serves as a foundation for evangelization, a shared process of listening, discerning, and building relationships, making the Church in the modern world attractive as the beacon of truth and salvation in Christ."

"It is up to the baptized and their pastor in each local church to be creative and take bold steps to put synodality into practice," Bishop Goudreault wrote.

"It is a call to discern paths for mission today," he wrote, inviting those who are hesitant "to trust and listen to the Holy Spirit so that, together with others, we may discern what He is calling us to do in proclaiming the Gospel in today’s world."

The leaders of the continental bodies will continue to accompany the synodal process back home during this implementation phase in light of the publication of "Towards the Assemblies 2027-2028: Stages, Criteria and Tools for Preparation."

That text outlines the next four stages: diocesan and eparchial evaluation assemblies will review the implementation of the final document in the first half of 2027; national and regional assemblies of the bishops' conferences will interpret those evaluations during the second half of 2027; continental assemblies will produce "forward-looking" reports and guidance in the early part of 2028; and an ecclesial assembly of the whole Church will gather with the pope at the Vatican in October 2028.

LAMPEDUSA, Italy (CNS) -- For more than 30 years, Dr. Pietro Bartolo said he has examined more than 350,000 people and performed postmortem examinations on those who died making the crossing to Lampedusa, where migrants rescued from the Mediterranean first arrived.

One story, he said, has stayed with him.

After a shipwreck near Malta, a father told Bartolo how he had tried to keep his family alive in the water. He held his youngest child against his chest, his wife with one hand and his 3-year-old son with the other as he swam. When he realized he no longer had the strength to save everyone, he let go of his older son.

"'If I had held on for one more minute, my son would still be here,'" Bartolo recalled the father telling him. Rescue crews arrived moments later.

"Understand," Bartolo said in an interview with Catholic News Service June 3, "how terrible it is that a father has to choose which child to let go."

Stories like this, he said, explain why Pope Leo XIV came to Lampedusa.

For Bartolo, who spent decades as Lampedusa's physician and former member of the European Parliament, these human tragedies explain why Pope Leo chose this tiny Mediterranean island for one of the defining visits of his pontificate.

"People ask why the pope comes to Lampedusa," Bartolo told CNS. "Because this is the icon of solidarity."

As the first American pope marked the 250th anniversary of the United States' Declaration of Independence July 4, he did so not in celebration of his homeland, but on a European migrant entrypoint, praying for migrants buried in the island's cemetery, meeting survivors and celebrating Mass where tens of thousands of people flee war, persecution and poverty.

Before delivering a single public address, Pope Leo laid flowers at the graves of migrants who died trying to cross the Mediterranean. He met a migrant family at the "Door of Europe" monument, blessed a plaque naming Favaloro Pier after Pope Francis, and later celebrated Mass beneath an image of Our Lady of Safe Harbor.

The visit deliberately echoed Pope Francis' first journey outside Rome in 2013, when Pope Francis came to Lampedusa to denounce what he called the "globalization of indifference."

"I am grateful to the Lord for the opportunity to visit you, following in the footsteps of Pope Francis," Pope Leo said in his homily at the Arena sports field in the Salina district of Lampedusa.

But while repeating his predecessors' focus on migrants, Pope Leo gave the message his own theological emphasis.

Reflecting on the parable of the Good Samaritan, he said Lampedusa today lies "along a path as dangerous as the one that led down from Jerusalem to Jericho."

"Those who have lost their lives in this sea are victims both of decisions that were made and of decisions that were not made," he said.

The pope praised the fishermen, volunteers, rescue workers, civil authorities and ordinary island residents who have welcomed migrants for years, thanking them for demonstrating "the miracle of compassion."

"There is no love of God without love of neighbor," he said, "and there is no neighbor if I do not draw near."

"Indifference to the common good and corruption in their countries" generates poverty and exclusion, Pope Leo said. Yet quoting his first encyclical "Magnifica Humanitas," he said, "no one is without responsibility."

Pope Leo also urged Europe to move beyond emergency responses, calling for long-term policies capable of "receiving, protecting, supporting and integrating migrants," while helping developing countries so that "no one is forced to emigrate."

His message extended beyond Europe.

In addition to his July 4 homily, Pope Leo released a message marking the United States' 250th birthday, praising the nation's founding ideals of liberty and religious freedom while reminding Americans that immigrants "have formed part of the history of this country from its very beginning."

"Defending human life also includes welcoming, protecting and assisting immigrants," he wrote, calling such welcome "not only an act of charity, but also a recognition of the dignity that belongs to every human person."

For the first U.S. pope, migration has been a priority as a matter of human dignity. Pope Leo tied in his trip to the migrant entrypoint on the U.S. holiday, saying immigrants "have formed part of the history of this country from its very beginning."

"To receive them with compassion and generosity is not only an act of charity, but also a recognition of the dignity that belongs to every human person."

Pope Leo said the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence is not only an invitation to celebrate, "but also to reflect upon the responsibilities that the sons and daughters of this country bear to one another."

That message resonates deeply on Lampedusa.

According to Mediterranean Hope's annual report on the Migration Observatory of Lampedusa, nearly 40,000 migrants arrived on the island in 2025, with more than 80% departing from Libya. The observatory documented at least 1,314 deaths along the central Mediterranean route during the year, while noting that the actual number is likely higher because many shipwrecks go unrecorded. 

For Bartolo, however, statistics tell only part of the story. The retired physician said conducting postmortem examinations on drowned children and families "turned my life upside down." The doctor now spends his time traveling across Europe speaking in schools and universities about what he witnessed during his years at the migrant entrypoint.

Remembering the dead has also become the life's work of Tareke Brhane, an Eritrean refugee who crossed the Mediterranean himself before reaching Italy in 2006.

After surviving the journey, Brhane founded the Committee of Oct. 3 following the 2013 shipwreck off Lampedusa that claimed more than 360 lives. The organization works to identify those who die at sea and return names to victims buried as unknown migrants.

"The majority have only numbers," Brhane said.

His committee has helped identify roughly 100 bodies and successfully campaigned for Italy to establish Oct. 3 as a national day of remembrance for migrants who died trying to reach Europe, he told CNS. 

For Brhane, Pope Leo's decision to begin his visit in the cemetery was the day's most powerful gesture. Brhane has made it one of his life's missions to identify migrants buried without names. 

Many bodies recovered from the Mediterranean have historically been buried with only a case number because authorities could not establish their identities. The Committee of Oct. 3 has worked with forensic experts, Italian authorities and victims' families to change that. He told CNS that there is a huge difference in the graves of residents and the unmarked graves of migrants. 

"People will talk about the port," he said. "But the real message was that he went first to the cemetery to pray for those who died."

He called Lampedusa "a place of suffering and a place of hope."

Many migrants who later become citizens of Britain, Sweden or the Netherlands return simply to stand once more on the island where they first arrived alive, he said.

"They say this is where we were born again," Brhane told CNS. 

With a similar message, Mayor Filippo Mannino told the pope during his visit that the island is as a beacon that "does not judge" and "does not choose whom to illuminate," but remains lit through the night for anyone searching for shore.

"No one is too small to point the way," he said.

The visit echoed the pope's June apostolic journey to Spain, when he devoted some of his strongest remarks on migration to the Canary Islands, another major gateway for migrants seeking to reach Europe. Speaking there, he urged Europeans not to allow tourism to obscure the human suffering unfolding along migration routes and challenged visitors to "have the courage to think differently," saying authentic rest should lead people to rediscover the meaning of life and solidarity with others.

Pope Leo repeated that theme in Lampedusa, again using the image of the Good Samaritan to argue that Christian discipleship requires drawing near to those in need rather than "passing by."

"Have the courage to think differently," the pope urged those who vacation on the island, encouraging them not to ignore the suffering unfolding in the surrounding sea.

From this "far-flung corner of Europe," he said, the challenge facing both Europe and the wider world can be seen with unusual clarity.

"All of this must be done with vigilance, ensuring respect for the dignity of every person," the pope said July 4. "This is a task not only for public institutions but also for civil society as a whole and for the Church."

Maria Goretti was born on October 16, 1890, in Corinaldo, in the Province of Ancona, Italy. Her family lived in deep poverty, and when her farmworker father moved them to Ferriere di Conca, near Anzio, their hardship only increased. After her father died of malaria, Maria's mother was left to care for and provide for her children alone. While her mother and older siblings labored in the fields, young Maria assumed great responsibility at home. She cooked, sewed, kept the house, and lovingly ...

Cofounder of the Barnabites. Born in 1502 in Cremona, Italy, Anthony became a medical doctor. In 1528 he was ordained a priest and cofounded the Barnabites, the religious congregation so called because it was headquartered in St. Barnabas Monastery in Milan. The Barnabites occupied the monastery in 1538, having been approved in 1533. Anthony popularized the forty-hour prayer ceremony, promoted the use of altar sacraments, and introduced the ringing of church bells on Friday. He is depicted in ...

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WASHINGTON – Marking the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America, Pope Leo XIV has addressed a letter to the American people. The U.S. bishops are grateful to the Holy Father for his inspiring message, and for his prayers as we commemorate this milestone anniversary of our nation. 

All are invited to read Pope Leo XIV’s message which may be found here.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican declared July 2 that the six bishops involved in the Society of St. Pius X's unauthorized episcopal consecrations had incurred automatic excommunication and said its clergy "are in schism and therefore must be considered schismatics."

The decree from Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, marks the strongest Vatican action against the traditionalist society since its founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, consecrated four bishops without papal approval in 1988, leading to similar Vatican censure.

While the society claims it was compelled to ordain new bishops July 1 in Ecône, Switzerland in order to guarantee to celebrate what they consider the true Mass, Vatican officials and scholars say the dispute that culminated in the excommunications has never primarily been about the traditional Latin Mass.

Founded in 1970 by French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in opposition to reforms following the Second Vatican Council, the Society of St. Pius X grew into an international traditionalist movement with hundreds of priests, seminarians and schools around the world. 

While best known for celebrating the pre-Vatican II Latin Mass, the society's disagreements with Rome extend far beyond liturgy and center on its rejection of key teachings of Vatican II, objecting to its declaration on religious liberty.

Speaking to reporters after the consecrations, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, said the Vatican's concern extended far beyond the unauthorized ordinations themselves.

"The fundamental issue, however, is the council – that is, whether or not the Second Vatican Council is accepted," he said. "The history of the Church continues and, as I said before, the Second Vatican Council is a milestone in the Church's history. It must be accepted and implemented in the proper way."

For decades, public discussion surrounding the Society of St. Pius X has focused on its attachment to the pre-Vatican II liturgy. But Massimo Introvigne, an Italian sociologist of religion who has studied the movement for decades and interviewed Archbishop Lefebvre personally, said that narrative misses the central issue.

"I keep reading in the media that the problem is the Latin Mass," he told Catholic News Service July 2. "Liturgy is an important point, but it's not the key point."

The dispute is not that the SSPX prefers the traditional Latin Mass, because many other groups in full communion with Rome celebrate it as well, Introvigne said, but that the fraternity rejects the post-conciliar liturgical reform in ways the Vatican says call into question its acceptance of the Church's authority.

Introvigne recalled the late archbishop telling him that even if the pope restored the pre-conciliar liturgy overnight, his principal objections would remain because his real concerns centered on Vatican II's teaching on religious liberty and the Church's relationship with other religions. 

Those concerns remain at the center of the society's position today.

"I believe a key point here is they want the pope to agree with them that the other religions are 'the work of the devil,'" Introvigne said, and that the public activity of non-Catholic believers "should be prohibited by the state."

There are two notable texts from Vatican II that focus on religious liberty, "Dignitatis Humanae," which recognizes a civil right to religious freedom, and "Nostra Aetate," which encourages dialogue with non-Christian religions while recognizing elements of truth and holiness within them. 

The council's declaration on religious freedom, "Dignitatis humanae," is not about denying the truth of Jesus and the faith, Introvigne said, but is about the importance of every human's freedom to arrive at the truth without state interference or coercion.

The SSPX argues that because the council described its work as "pastoral" and issued no new dogmatic definitions, Catholics are not required to accept every conciliar teaching, particularly where the fraternity believes the council departed from previous doctrine. 

The SSPX argues some teachings are difficult to reconcile with earlier magisterial statements.

The Vatican has consistently rejected that interpretation, saying the Church can evolve in its understanding of the truth and, therefore, its teachings, and the Vatican II texts belong to the Church's authentic and authoritative magisterium.

Although the July 2 decree represents the strongest Vatican action against the fraternity in decades, it also follows a familiar pattern. After Archbishop Lefebvre consecrated four bishops without papal approval in 1988, St. John Paul II declared the act schismatic but simultaneously established a commission to facilitate reconciliation with traditionalist Catholics. Pope Benedict XVI later lifted the bishops' excommunications to reopen dialogue, and Pope Francis granted SSPX priests faculties to validly hear confessions and provided for the recognition of marriages.

Vatican officials have repeatedly coupled canonical sanctions with invitations to return to full communion, a pattern that many observers expect will continue under Pope Leo XIV despite the recent rupture.

Cardinal Fernández had proposed dialogue earlier this year focused on Vatican II and the minimum requirements for full communion, according to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. The Vatican conditioned those talks on the fraternity abandoning plans to consecrate new bishops.

Instead, the society proceeded.

Thousands gathered July 1 at the society's seminary in Ecône as Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta consecrated four new bishops despite repeated Vatican warnings that doing so would constitute a schismatic act.

A day earlier, Pope Leo made an extraordinary personal appeal.

"Please turn back!" he wrote in a brief message. He warned that proceeding would "tear the seamless garment of Christ" and described the planned consecrations as "a sin of extreme gravity."

The society nevertheless insists it has no intention of leaving the Catholic Church.

During the consecration Mass, Father Davide Pagliarani, superior general of the SSPX, rejected accusations that the fraternity was separating itself from Rome.

"We cannot choose between the faith and the Church," he said. "We belong to the Church because we have the same faith."

He argued that the fraternity was acting not against the Church but for her good, insisting that its bishops were preserving Catholic tradition during what the society calls an unprecedented crisis in the Church.

For Introvigne, however, the dispute ultimately concerns authority more than liturgy.

"Some of the questions the society asked were valid questions," he said. "The problem is when the society started not only asking questions, but substituting itself for the pope and also giving the answers." 

That, he said, is where theological disagreement became schism.

"The pope has tried everything possible to reconcile them," Introvigne said. "But everything possible is not equal to everything." 

The Church can continue dialogue, he said, "but it cannot allow people to replace the authority of the pope with their own." 

The Vatican's July 2 decree declared that the six bishops had been automatically excommunicated upon the act of consecration without papal authority. It also stated that clergy belonging to the SSPX "are in schism and therefore must be considered schismatics." 

Introvigne said that this level of excommunication was what he expected because "it's clear that generosity and kindness didn't work out," referring to the previously lifted excommunications by Pope Benedict XVI and restoration of some priestly faculties by Pope Francis.

Lay faithful who "formally adhere" to the fraternity likewise incur excommunication, although canonists say the decree leaves open questions about what constitutes formal adherence. Seeing as SSPX sees itself as a part of the Catholic Church, they do not retain membership data, Introvigne said. The society's website claims to have 600,000 members, but the theologian estimates the true number of lay people who attend Mass with the society regularly to be between 30,000 and 40,000. 

Introvigne also believes the movement has already reached its high-water mark.

"Another personal opinion, which I'm sure the society would dispute, is that this movement is past its prime and this schismatic attitude is not a sign of strength but it's a sign of weakness," he said.

He argued that the fraternity was most successful when it could portray itself as defending traditional Catholics from Pope Francis' restrictions on the celebration of the Latin Mass. With Pope Leo widely viewed as a unifying figure, Introvigne said, much of that momentum has faded.

"In other words, many Catholics will gladly embrace a conservative position, but not a fundamentalist position," he said. 

In the months leading up to the consecrations, Pope Leo devoted a series of Wednesday general audience talks to explaining the principal documents of Vatican II, signalling the same fidelity as his predecessors demonstrated to the council's teachings. 

Introvigne believes the latest rupture represents less a new beginning than a return to a familiar place.

"It puts the clock back to 1988," he said, adding that, despite the excommunications, he expects dialogue to continue eventually. 

Cardinal Parolin told journalists July 1 that he hopes "dialogue can resume and that we may truly find a solution here as well." Introvigne also said the cycle is unlikely to end with the latest excommunications. 

"The dialogue, at least under the table, will continue," he said. "But to have a meaningful dialogue, some things should change," including, he suggested, changes in the fraternity's leadership.

Despite the Vatican's sweeping action against the SSPX, Introvigne does not believe the fraternity represents the greatest challenge facing Pope Leo's pontificate.

Instead, he pointed to ongoing tensions in Germany, where bishops and lay organizations continue to advocate for women's ordination and sacramental recognition of same-sex unions.

"I believe the challenge is on the other side," he said. "I believe Pope Leo is more concerned with the movements in the German church than with the Lefebvrists."

Those demands, he said, are also ones "Pope Leo cannot accept," raising the possibility of another rupture within the Church -- this time from the opposite end of the theological spectrum.

"It will not be enormous," he said. "But it will be as significant as schism, and perhaps more significant than this one on the right." 

St. Thomas was born a Jew and was called to be one of the twelve Apostles. His birth and death dates are unknown, but his feast day is celebrated July 3. He lived before the formal establishment of the Catholic Church but is recognized as the patron saint of architects. He was a dedicated but impetuous follower of Christ. When Jesus said He was returning to Judea to visit His sick friend Lazarus, Thomas immediately exhorted the other Apostles to accompany Him on the trip which involved certain ...

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