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Pope Francis talks with Domenico Giani, his lead bodyguard and head of the Vatican police force, at the conclusion of a canonization Mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Oct. 13, 2019. The pope accepted Giani’s resignation Oct. 14, nearly two weeks after an internal security notice was leaked to the Italian press. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

By Junno Arocho Esteves 
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Domenico Giani, head of the Vatican police, nearly two weeks after an internal security notice was leaked to the Italian press.

The Vatican announced Oct. 14 that the pope accepted the resignation of the 57-year-old Vatican police chief who, although “bears no personal responsibility” for the leak, “tendered his resignation to the Holy Father out of love for the church and faithfulness to Peter’s successor.”

The pope accepted Giani’s resignation, and in a conversation with him, “expressed his appreciation to the commander for his gesture.”

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Pope Francis accepts offertory gifts from Melissa Villalobos of Chicago and her family during the canonization Mass for five new saints in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Oct. 13, 2019. Villalobos’ healing through the intercession of St. John Henry Newman was accepted as the miracle needed for the British cardinal’s canonization. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

By Cindy Wooden 
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Saints are people who recognized their need for God’s help, who took risks to discover God’s will and to help others and who nurtured a habit of thanksgiving, Pope Francis said.

“The culmination of the journey of faith is to live a life of continual thanksgiving. Let us ask ourselves: Do we, as people of faith, live each day as a burden, or as an act of praise?” the pope said in his homily Oct. 13 after formally declaring five new saints for the Catholic Church.

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Medical Mission Sister Birgit Weiler attends a news conference after a session of the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon at the Vatican Oct. 11, 2019. Sister Weiler said women should be included among synod voting members and in church leadership positions. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

By Junno Arocho Esteves 
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — While the Catholic Church has made strides to include the voice of women, especially in the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon, women should be included among synod voting members and in church leadership positions, a German theologian said.

Medical Mission Sister Birgit Weiler, a member of the Peruvian bishops’ pastoral ministry for the care of creation, told journalists at a Vatican news briefing Oct. 11 that such changes would allow the church to become “a community of sisters and brothers, sharing faith, discerning together.”

“When you have participated fully in the whole process of sharing faith, of discerning together,” then the vote is a natural expression of wanting to participate fully in the decision-making phase of the synod, she said.

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