VATICAN CITY - Greater emphasis on small-group discussions and incorporating that work into the Synod's final draft document is helping alleviate any suspicion of the Synod being manipulated, said one of the four Synod presidents.

VATICAN CITY - Canadian Archbishop Paul-Andre Durocher of Gatineau, Quebec, said the synod should reflect on the possibility of allowing for female deacons as it seeks ways to open up more opportunities for women in church life.

The front of St. Peter’s Basilica was lined with green and scarlet as the Synod Fathers gathered around the altar for the opening mass of the Ordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family on Sunday presided over by the Holy Father, Pope Francis.

VATICAN CITY  — In a world filled with challenges to marriage and family life, the Catholic Church is called “to carry out her mission in fidelity, truth and love,” Pope Francis said at the Mass opening the world Synod of Bishops on the family.

MISSISSAUGA, ONT. - The Church must rediscover its role in helping and supporting families at this fall’s Synod on the Family, one of the leading Asian cardinals told The Catholic Register.

TORONTO - Robert Mickens is expecting Pope Francis to “rattle cages” during the Synod of Bishops on the Family by challenging the world’s bishops to face and address the problems within the Church.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis planned two gatherings of the Synod of Bishops to focus on the family and urged participants to use the year between the assemblies as a time for "true spiritual discernment" with both study and prayer.

PHILADELPHIA - It's difficult to forget Pope Francis' passionate Sept. 26 speech, his gestures and the tone of his voice when he addressed the value of the family in Philadelphia.

VATICAN CITY - More than 360 participants, including 18 married couples from around the world, were expected to attend October's Synod of Bishops on the family.

VATICAN CITY - Eleven cardinals, at least four of whom will participate in the world Synod of Bishops on the family in October, have urged fellow church leaders to maintain the church's rules regarding marriage and strengthen Catholic education about marriage and family life.

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA - One of the leading voices among Africa’s bishops predicts a new flexibility in Catholic teaching at this October’s Synod on the Family, allowing bishops and bishops’ conferences in different parts of the world to adapt Church teaching on the family to the culture, economic situation and political landscape in their part of the world.

GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador - Even if a pastoral proposal for helping a Catholic family with problems seems scandalous at first, it is possible God could use that proposal to bring healing and holiness, Pope Francis said.

The immediate repercussions from the Irish referendum where voters overwhelmingly supported same-sex marriage were obvious, but the long-term impact on the Church may come beginning this October.

VATICAN CITY - The presidents of the bishops' conferences of Germany, France and Switzerland decided their preparation for the Synod of Bishops on the family could benefit from listening to theologians, biblical scholars and canon lawyers from all three countries, said the spokesman for the German bishops.

VATICAN CITY - In the run-up to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, Pope Francis decried humanity's ability to systematically exterminate its own brothers and sisters.