Pope Francis and the synod

Sir, – The “Synod on Synodality” which opened in the Vatican is not alone a “defining moment for the long-term legacy for Pope Francis”, as your editorial stated (October 4th) but for the church itself.

Change is in the wind.

Pope Francis’s recent suggestion that there could be a way for the Catholic Church to bless same-sex unions marks a reversal of its previous teaching issued in 2021 that “The Church cannot bless same-sex unions because God cannot bless sin” and is a remarkable advance in his thinking about a more inclusive church of the future.

Hopefully, this radical move by Francis is but the first of many that will occur during the course of this Vatican assembly. – Yours, etc,