What happened?
Catholics have taken part in prayer vigils ahead of the controversial Amazon synod, asking for the Church to be protected from “diabolical influence”.
On September 28, 200 lay Catholics stood outside the Vatican in a prayer event organised by the traditionalist group Acies Ordinata. At the same time, priests in a church in Rome prayed for God to expel the “diabolical influence from the Vatican”.
The synod begins at the Vatican on Sunday October 6.
What synod supporters are saying
Fr Michael Czerny, who has just been appointed a cardinal by Pope Francis, told a press conference that “We welcome the interest in this synod.” Speaking at the launch of “Amazon: Common Home”, a series of talks and exhibitions which will run throughout the synod, Fr Czerny downplayed talk of doctrinal confusion. “Members of the synod are all mature and I don’t think there is any danger of confusion,” he said, according to Crux. Whatever happens at the synod, it “can only make the process richer”.
