By LifeSiteNews (Politics) | Created at 2026-06-23 15:16:37 | Updated at 2026-06-23 16:24:14
1 hour ago
Tue Jun 23, 2026 - 11:14 am EDT
VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — The Vatican has confirmed that the upcoming extraordinary consistory will be conducted through structured small-group discussions and plenary reporting sessions.
On June 22, the Holy See confirmed the program of proceedings for the extraordinary consistory convened by Pope Leo XIV for June 26-27, revealing that participating cardinals will carry out much of their deliberation through small-group discussions followed by presentations to the full assembly, in like manner with the Synod on Synodality proceedings.
According to an information note distributed by the Holy See Press Office to accredited journalists ahead of the gathering, and leaked by the Italian blog Messainlatino, the cardinals will be divided into 20 working groups and will discuss a series of themes concerning evangelization, international affairs, peace, the common good, and the implementation of the synodal process.
The consistory will take place in Vatican City and will begin on Friday, June 26, before concluding on Saturday, June 27, with a final liturgical celebration scheduled for June 29, the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul.
“Cardinals are requested to maintain confidentiality regarding the proceedings and not to make statements to the press during the Consistory, in order to preserve a climate of fraternal exchange,” the press office stated in its note to journalists.
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The same document confirms that media representatives will not be admitted to the hall where the sessions are held. Only the Pope’s opening and closing addresses will be broadcast live, while official summaries of the discussions will be released by the Holy See Press Office after the first three sessions. Texts of the biblical meditation and introductory presentations will also be made available to accredited journalists.
The Vatican has specified that participants will be separated into two larger categories. One will consist of nine groups of cardinal-electors who currently serve, or previously served, as diocesan ordinaries. The other will comprise 11 groups formed by members of the Roman Curia and non-elector cardinals.
Each group will have a president responsible for moderating discussions and ensuring adherence to the timetable. A secretary will collect contributions from participants and prepare the final report on behalf of the group with the collaboration of its members.
The working method will follow three successive stages. In the first phase, each cardinal will be permitted up to three minutes to address the questions assigned for discussion. A second round will then allow interventions of up to two minutes, during which participants are asked to highlight significant points emerging from the previous exchanges rather than introduce new proposals. The final phase will be devoted to drafting a report summarizing the group’s conclusions.
The reports prepared by the groups of diocesan ordinaries will be presented to the assembly, with a maximum of three minutes allotted to each presentation. The remaining groups will also have an opportunity to present their reports during the proceedings.
The official program identifies the cardinals selected to introduce the principal themes of the consistory. The first session will include a biblical meditation by Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś, archbishop of Kraków, on the theme of proclaiming the Gospel in the contemporary world.
The second session, devoted to “The Culture of Power and the Civilization of Love,” will be introduced by Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. Discussion will focus on international tensions, divisions, and conflicts, as well as “practices” which “can help build reconciliation, coexistence and peace.”
On the morning of June 27, Cardinal Stephen Brislin, archbishop of Johannesburg, will introduce a session entitled “Building in the Good: The Challenges of Our Time,” which will examine “obstacles to the common good” and possible responses by local Churches and the universal Church.
Fernández and Brislin will ground their meditations in Magnifica Humanitas, the recent encyclical of Pope Leo XIV, which continues to spark wide debate within the Church.
The final session will be led by Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops. Cardinals will discuss the implementation phase of the Synod on Synodality and examine the document, “Towards the Synodal Assemblies 2027–2028: Stages, Criteria and Instruments for Preparation.”
The program provides for a period of direct dialogue between the cardinals and Pope Leo XIV, with individual interventions limited to three minutes.
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The Italian blog Messainlatino characterized the organization of the consistory as the “synodalist ‘Bergoglio method,’” whereby the cardinals are “divided into first‑class and second‑class tables,” with a “secretary‑spokesperson for each group, and extremely limited time for interventions in the assembly.”
The four cardinals assigned to deliver the introductory addresses and meditations for the consistory sessions – Ryś, Fernández, Brislin, and Grech – had been closely aligned with Pope Francis and have a record of supporting heterodox positions.
The organizational model of the upcoming consistory produces an appearance of broad participation and deliberative consensus, yet its structure significantly limits the conditions for genuine collective discernment. The fragmentation into small groups, each with strict time constraints and mediated through designated coordinators, shifts the center of gravity away from open, continuous debate in the full assembly toward pre-filtered and procedurally standardized exchanges.
In such a framework, the real content of discussion may be more easily condensed, selected, and reformulated before it reaches the plenary level, where only brief summaries are presented without being subject to full argumentation.
These elements generate a procedural image of synodality – officially characterized by listening, participation, and shared discernment – while in practice they centralize control over framing, synthesis, and final reporting. The result is a carefully managed consultative mechanism, in which consensus is structurally pre-shaped rather than freely formed through open confrontation of positions.
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