THE NAMES of 360 people attending next month’s family synod were unveiled by the Vatican this week.
Forty-five of the synod fathers have been appointed by Pope Francis while the rest have been elected by bishops’ conferences or are the heads of Vatican departments, religious orders or Eastern Catholic Churches. The list for the October 4-25 gathering also includes 18 married couples.
Almost half of the 45 papally appointed voting members are from Europe with another 15 from the Americas, three from Africa, two from Oceania and one from Asia. At the extraordinary synod last year, almost all appointees were from Europe, and none of the papal appointees were from North America or other English-speaking countries.
