Word: synods
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...longer appears a question of if, but how the Vatican will try to restrict homosexuals from joining the priesthood. As 256 of the world's bishops gathered in Rome for a three-week synod--the first under Pope Benedict XVI--details filtered out to the Italian press that something a bit less draconian than a blanket ban was in the works. A long-shelved document providing specific admission instructions to seminaries is expected to be issued in November. The "instruction" from the Congregation for Catholic Education would add some teeth to a long-standing but often loosely enforced...
Though no one expected Hermaniuk's suggestion to be endorsed by the synod, the fact that it was even voiced underscored the frank atmosphere of the session. So did speeches by two archbishops who asked that the church rethink its ban on Communion for divorced Catholics who remarry. Pope John Paul helped establish the synod's forthright mood with an opening homily that avoided touching on specific issues; it seemed clear to Vatican observers that the Pope was presenting the synod participants with a blank page on which to express their thoughts freely. Godfried Cardinal Danneels of Belgium...
Danneels also took issue with Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and a leading church conservative, who feels that Vatican II led to a lamentable confusion about what Catholic teaching truly is. Asked whether the synod would launch a "restoration" of the church, a term used by Ratzinger in a recent controversial book to describe the efforts to counteract supposed damage from liberal interpretations of Vatican II, Danneels snapped, "We are not having a synod about a book...
...synod's start, Danneels delivered a summary of reports from more than 100 national episcopal conferences and Curia departments, and his presentation of the state of the church was distinctly optimistic. The bishops, said Danneels, embrace "neither pessimism nor resignation nor discouragement," and the first week's discussions bore...
...discuss what sort of recommendations to send to the Pope. The bishops have already commissioned a five-member committee to draft a statement to the world's Christians on Vatican II. Nonetheless, it was unclear whether any concrete proposals for new interpretations of the council would emerge before the synod's close on Dec. 8. --By Richard N. Ostling. Reported by Daniela Simpson and Wilton Wynn/Rome