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Bishops gather in Rome for Synod
Rome Daily American, December 1, 1985

Vatican City – The Catholic Church can't afford "to go backwards", but must continue to move forward and develop from the path it took since the Second Vatican Council, say bishops attending the Extraordinary Bishop's Synod.

A questionnaire answered by the bishops prior to the Synod reveal their concern and dissatisfaction with changes in liturgy and the removal of confession and other forms of religious devotion, announced Brussels' Cardinal Godfried Danneels

The bishops also noted some positive changes in the Church since the Second Vatican Council, in particular, the ameliorated relationship between themselves and priests and the active collaboration between the old Church and the new.

Danneels says one major problem facing the Church today is how to transmit the Catholic faith to a new generation of followers: a reality that requires commitment through evangelism and catechism.

U.S. Cardinal John Krol, one of three delegated presidents for the Synod, said the next two weeks will be a time for the Church to examine its internal problems and to discuss the relationship between the Church as a whole and individual churches. It will also be a time to confer on the promotion of collegiality among bishops and attempt to better relations with the Roman Curia.

Feeling the strain of the last 20 years, the Church will have to deal with the increase in secularism, atheism, materialism in wealthy countries and poverty and misery in the Third World.

Western bishops are asking to confront, above all else, ecclesiastical concerns such as problems between the Pope and bishops, the role of women in the Church and society, and sacerdotal celibacy.

Other voices were also heard.

The Church in Eastern and Communist countries are soliciting for their religious freedom. Latin America is asking for a debate on human rights and on how to deal with the spread of religious sects in their countries. African bishops would like a discussion on the teaching of the Catholic faith and the problems they face making Africans understand and accept many of the sacraments, like matrimony.

Individual requests were also brought forth by Cardinal Lubachivsky, who renewed his request for a patriarch for the Ukrainian church, and by the archbishop of Winnipeg, who proposed the creation of a permanent Synod composed of members elected by delegates.