Antonio Spadaro SJ

So what's really going on at the synod .... stealth reform? Whatever is going on, I saw an interesting mention by Robert Mickens of a certain Jesuit taking part in the synod who may know ... Antonio Spadaro SJ. Mickens writes ...

[...] Keep your eye on Father Antonio Spadaro. The 48-year-old Italian is one of only six men that are not bishops but, nonetheless, are full voting members at the current Synod assembly .... Pope Francis personally appointed Fr Spadaro .... the journalist/editor has been more and more present in the Vatican ever since his interview with the Pope was published last year. And people on the inside say he’s even very much involved behind the scenes.

Francis obviously trusts him and fellow journalist have found in Padre Antonio a reliable interpreter of the mind of the pope. The synod is yet another proving ground for the bright, friendly and media-savvy Sicilian. Rumors have been swirling the past several months that he is being groomed to replace his 72-year-old Jesuit confrere, Fr Federico Lombardi, as director of the Vatican Press Office or head of Vatican Radio. But Pope Francis could appoint him to be first head of a new office to oversee all the Vatican’s media operations. That bureau is likely to be created once Lord Patten and his 11-member commission finish reviewing the various communication sectors at the Vatican and offer recommendations to better coordinate them. That should happen some time next spring.

I noticed this story about Fr. Spadaro because I had posted about him before ... The Jesuits and Second Life ..... The Spiritual Exercises and the virtual world ... he's very into computer stuff, virtual reality, and how all that connects to Ignatian spirituality.

You can read the interview he had with Pope Francis in 2013 here - A Big Heart Open to God

He also blogs at CyberTeologia