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The
Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
Vol. 23. No. 41
Thursday, November 21, 1985
$12.00 Per Year
Twelve-Day Synod Reviews Two Decades Of Change
BY AGOSTINO BONO
VATICAN CITY (NC) -
Pope John Paul II, the key
figure in determining how
the Nov. 24-Dec. 8 extraor
dinary Synod of Bishops
will affect the church, has
kept publicly silent about
the specific agenda he
wants the synod to tackle.
He has let others carry
the presynod debate over
controversial questions.
The synod revolves
around the pojle because it
is an advisory body. Its
resolutions have no authori
ty unless approved and set
into motion by the pontiff.
When Pope John Paul
made his surprise an
nouncement of the synod
last January, he said its
aims would be to relive the
atmosphere of the Second
Vatican Council, exchange
experiences about the ap
plications of council
teachings and deepen
understanding of those
teachings in the light of con
temporary needs.
Since then, the pope has
had an ample opportunity
to gather opinions about the
status of Catholicism 20
years after the end of
Vatican II.
Some of the 164 voting
members of the synod have
made specific proposals.
These include reexam
ining the role of women in
the church, increasing lay
training programs and
establishing a permanent
body of bishops with
legislative powers.
The synod agenda is be
ing drawn from the
responses to a Vatican
questionnaire sent to 136 na
tional bishops conferences,
said Archbishop Jan
Schotte, synod general
secretary, at a presynod
press conference.
“The pope hopes the
synod will focus on two
things: pastoral issues and
ecclesiology,” said Joaquin
Navarro-Valls, Vatican
press spokesman, several
days before the synod
began. Ecclesiology is the
study of the nature and
functions of the church.
The pope hopes that col-
legiality — the shared
authority of the pope and
bishops — will be taken up
in the ecclesiological
discussions, said Navarro-
Valls.
But he does not have a
specific agenda item in
mind, such as the relation
ship between national
bishops’ conferences and
the Curia, the church’s cen
tral administrative offices,
the press spokesman said.
“The pope likes to listen
and gather the opinions of
others,” said Navarro-
Valls.
The pope, who as a Polish
bishop attended the council,
has said that some cases of
misunderstandings and
poor applications of council
teachings have led to
“disarray and divisions” in
the church. But he also has
expressed hope that the
synod will give a “new im
pulse to that leap forward”
of the church begun by the
council.
A SCENE from the 1983 Synod of Bishops in the Vatican.
(NC photo from UPI)
20 Years Later:What Has The Council Meant To You?
BY RITA McINERNEY
Twenty years after the Second Vatican Council an Ex
traordinary Synod will be held in Rome from Nov. 24 to
Dec. 8 to discuss the application of the historic council
convened by Pope John XXIII.
In announcing the 1985 synod last Jan. 25, Pope John
Paul said it would be held “to favor the further study and
constant introduction of Vatican II in the life of the
Church, in the light also of new needs.” The synod is ex
traordinary because it is called outside the normal
three-year cycle of bishops’ synods. The next ordinary
synod is scheduled for 1987.
The Second Vatican Council, held in three sessions, the
last of which ended Dec. 8, 1965, resulted in major
reforms of the liturgy, promoted dialogue with other
Christians churches and emphasized collegiality in rela
tions between the bishops and the pope.
On the parish level it challenged and strengthened the
Spirituality of many Catholics while severely testing the
strong faith of others, especially older Catholics. It
brought the laity about the altar, to the pulpit and to
partnership in the parish. It called for a new focus on
Scripture and made the Bible a valuable prayerbook for
many. Adults found new areas of service to the Church,
children were led to the sacraments without fear.
The Georgia Bulletin asked Catholics from areas
around the Archdiocese of Atlanta to share their
thoughts on what Vatican II has meant to them. Here are
the questions they were asked:
1. Did the changes brought about by Vatican II help
make you a better Catholic or (in the case of priests and
religious) help you to better fulfill your vocation as a
priest or Religious?
2. Is there any renewal or restoration you would like to
see?
Their answers begin here and continue on page six in
side:
Anne Amerson is a member of St. Luke’s parish in
Dahlonega where she is organist, chairman of the liturgy
committee, editor of “The Epistle,” the monthly parish
newsletter, and does “Sunshine” work for the sick in the
parish.
1. Not only would I be a
worse Catholic today if
Vatican II had not hap
pened, I wouldn’t be a
Catholic at all! When I ac
cepted a job as choir
director for a Catholic
church nine years ago, it
never occurred to me that
I would ever become
Catholic, and but for the
changes brought about by
Pope John XXIII’s vision,
I doubt seriously that I
would ever have con
verted. What I found hap
pening in the Catholic
Church was a real effort to
get back to the essence of
original Christianity and
to express it in ways rele
vant for this century. In
stead of the rigid, stag
nant, dogmatic institution
I had expected, I dis
covered a living, growing
faith community.
Coming from a strong
Protestant background
with recent studies of
Oriental philosophy, I was
Anne Amerson
surprised and pleased to
discover that my new
Catholic associates did
not disparage or condemn
but rather honored the
truth in other religions
even as they rejoiced in
their own faith. Re
membering how my best
friend was forbidden to be
part of my wedding many
years ago because she
was Catholic, I was ex
cited about the new spirit
(Continued on Page 6)
Msgr. John F. McDonough, vicar general of the arch
diocese, has been rector of the Cathedral of Christ the
King since 1972. He had previously served as rector there
from 1964 to 1966. He is spiritual moderator of the Arch
diocese of Atlanta Council of Catholic Women.
1. Looking back, I would
say my identity as a priest
has been confirmed.
The Church has shown
itself open to the future
and rooted in the past.
Vatican Council II proved
that the Church was
aware of the changes in
the world, and was ready
to adjust, wherever it was
possible, to these changes
— admit its mistakes of
the past and try to better
fulfill the teachings of
Jesus Christ.
I can’t help being proud
of being a priest in such a
Church.
2. As far as what should
be restored, I would pro
bably say, “A sense of
personal sin.” This, it
seems to me, has been
lost. Why, I don’t know,
but there appears, at least
to me, a diminishing sense
of sin in Catholic
Msgr. John F.
McDonough
America. Excuses are
made for the sins we com
mit: peer pressure; strain
and stress; it’s not my
fault; my genes are not
right; there is no sin. All of
which have taken away
(Continued on Page 6)