Allen on yesterday:

On Thursday night, Pope Benedict XVI made his first intervention in the synod. Speaking in Italian, the pope went on for 12 minutes (well exceeding the three minutes set aside for each participant during open discussion, but no one moved to turn off his microphone).

Benedict offered a theological reflection of the nature of the Eucharist, essentially observing that there is no contradiction between the Eucharist as a sacrifice and the Eucharist as a communal meal. One synod participant told NCR that he suspects the pope intervened because the difference between the sacrificial and communal dimensions of the Eucharist was shaping up as a potential point of debate, and the pope wanted to steer the conversation away from what he sees as a false opposition.

One of the strongest rounds of applause so far came Thursday evening, after the intervention of Patriarch Emmanuel III Delly, head of the Chaldean Catholic church in Iraq.

"Allow me to ask for your prayers for Iraq," Delly concluded, "so that the Lord of peace, Jesus in the Eucharist, will give tranquility and security to Iraq and all the Middle East, and our Christians will remain faithful to their Eucharistic faith, source of grace, well being and peace