Word: synods
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Next year a conference in Rome will give even broader church approval to lay activity like C.L.'s. The International Synod of Bishops, which meets every three years to advise the Pope on church teaching and practice, has set the role of the laity for its 1987 agenda. When the debates end, the Pontiff, who customarily issues a document summarizing the synod's conclusions and giving his own teaching, will establish more specific guidelines for lay action in reforming society...
Since the end of Vatican II in 1965, the Popes have summoned eight synods, but previous ones discussed only specific themes, such as religious instruction and evangelization. Prior to the opening of this synod on Nov. 25, there were ill-informed rumors that the Pope wanted the meeting to roll back some of Vatican II's reforms. The bishops' "message" was designed to allay any such fears with a staunch endorsement of the council's work...
Another product of the synod was a 17-page, issue-oriented document summing up its deliberations and proposals. Responding to a strong sentiment among the bishops, the Pope agreed to release it this week. The detailed document calls for improved teaching about Vatican II throughout the church, further study of the place of national bishops' conferences and a deepened commitment to the poor. One noteworthy proposal, endorsed by the Pope in his closing speech, was for a churchwide catechism, or compendium of teachings, issued under Vatican auspices to clear up confusion about the beliefs of Catholicism...
...become the leader of the conservative wing of the U.S. hierarchy. Prominent among the progressives was Godfried Cardinal Danneels, 52, of Belgium, a disciple of his predecessor Leo Jozef Cardinal Suenens, one of the great liberals of the Second Vatican Council. John Paul's appointment of Danneels as the synod official assigned to summarize the discussions was one indication that the Pope is not quite so conservative as he is sometimes depicted. So was the Pope's bow toward ecumenism last week when he led worship with a group of non- Catholic observers that he had invited. In a significant...
During the synod, one lay Catholic, a U.S. feminist who was wearing a priest's stole, attempted to celebrate a mock Mass on an altar in St. Peter's Basilica; two Vatican guards removed her. Bizarre though the incident was, it dramatized a growing issue in U.S. Catholicism: demands of women for fuller involvement in the church. The synod fathers did allow women, including Mother Teresa of Calcutta, to attend, but only as nonvoting "auditors." Bishop Malone sought to bring the women's message to his colleagues, but lack of interest among the majority of delegates from developing nations...