As Pope Francis from his hospital bed rolls out a new 3-year implementation process for his Synod of Bishops on Synodality, recent developments raise questions as to what extent his reforms on women and laypeople, in particular, will be applied.
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ROME – In the heart of St Peter’s Square, where every night for the past month the Roman Curia has been staging a rosary for Pope Francis, there stands a towering statue of Saint Peter with one hand pointing out and another hand pointing to the ground.
Roman wags have long said the symbolic meaning in this is that the hand pointing to the ground means this, Vatican City, is where laws are made, and hand pointing out, to the world, is where they are obeyed.
