At the Consistory: Cardinals Underscore Peace, Unity, and Listening

The Vatican has presented the gathering as a strictly consultative, closed-door meeting, focused on prayer, reflection, and “common discernment” to support the pope in his “high and demanding responsibility” in governing the universal Church. Those who spoke to the press as they entered the consistory all said they welcomed the pope’s decision to host the two-day meeting. It comes after the 2014 suspension by Pope Francis of almost all such papal meetings with the Sacred College.