“The victims of abuse and violence in the Archdiocese of Munich turn to you, Holy Father, with open and at the same time wounded hearts,” the group said in a letter hand delivered to the Holy Father at the end of his weekly general audience in St Peter’s Square, Wednesday May 17.

Everyone has a talent, the Holy Father has last weekend told more than 10,000 young people gathered at Budapest Stadium, Hungary, but using it just to earn money or have fun will not bring happiness.

In his main address, Pope Francis spoke about the day’s Gospel reading, John 20:19-31, which recounts the story of St Thomas doubting the other disciples’ claim that they had seen the risen Lord.

To begin drafting the working document, the group of experts – including Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB – have met behind closed doors to discuss the continental stage of the Synod on Synodality as a whole and analyse the seven final documents submitted by each of the regional assemblies.

Speaking Wednesday 12 April, Pope Francis focused on the need for missionary disciples to be ready to set out and to be open to exploring new paths as they seek to share the Gospel through word and deed.

The Fifth Plenary Council of Australia and the global Synod on Synodality were key discussion points for Australian Catholic Bishops Conference President and Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB and Pope Francis when they met in October.

“It’s all about recognising that we all have a part to play,” Archbishop Costelloe said, explaining that Pope Francis, throughout his pontificate, has been striving “to shift the Church’s culture to one of active engagement in this task of being the visible sign that Christ is with us.”

Secretary of the Vatican Dicastery for Legislative Texts, Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta, said the updated document was based on four years of experience operating under the previous version, but the update also was needed to incorporate changes Pope Francis made in 2021 to the Code of Canon Law’s “Book VI: Penal Sanctions in the Church.”

During the five weeks of Lent, four short video messages (in addition to the Introduction from Archbishop Costelloe) speaking about What is Sacramentality, Why we Gather to celebrate Liturgy, Signs and Symbols in the Liturgy and What is Liturgy, were shown in our parish communities. The videos feature Fr Vincent Glynn, Sr Kerry Willison RSM and Mildred Rego.

Pope Francis kisses the hand of residential school survivor Alma Desjarlais of the Frog Lake First Nation during a welcoming ceremony at Edmonton International Airport 24 July 2022. Photo: CNS /Paul Haring. By Justin McLellan Establishing clear procedures for protecting vulnerable people against abuse "must become a priority in every local church," Pope Francis said. In a message to p...