Word: vaticans
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...intensive debate about secularization has raged within the ranks of Roman Catholicism. Liberals say the church should plunge more deeply into social problems; conservatives contend such involvement has already gone too far. Late last week Pope John Paul, summing up an extraordinary synod of bishops in a modern Vatican meeting hall, called for a careful balance of both views. The church is the "mystical body of Christ," he said, thus emphasizing its spiritual quality, but it is simultaneously "at the service of the world...
...questions as readmitting divorced and remarried Catholics to the sacraments and the need for more ecumenical progress, but often without achieving any consensus. That may have been the inevitable result of trying, within twelve working days, to cope with an impossibly ambitious task: analyzing the consequences of the Second Vatican Council, whose sessions stretched over four years...
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...
Arinze, who is the president of a Vatican ministry that handles church relations with other religions, praised the center's work...