The working document that will guide the discussions during the Synod of Bishops from October 7 to 28 has been published by the Vatican. The Synod will discuss ‘The New Evangelisation for the Transmission of the Christian Faith’.

The document says the objective of New Evangelisation is the provision of “an adequate response to the signs of the times, to the needs of people of today and to the new sectors with their cultures through which we express our identity and the meaning of our lives”.

Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops, said the October meeting will be “enriched by its association with the Year of Faith” decreed by Pope Benedict XVI, which will open on October 11.

US Sisters strike back

After meeting officials of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, officials of the Leadership Conference for Women Religious (LCWR), which is locked in a conflict with the Vatican, said that during June and July the American female religious will hold regional meetings followed by their annual assembly in August.

The Vatican Congregation has investigated the Leadership Conference and said that “the current doctrinal and pastoral situation of LCWR is grave and a matter of serious concern”.

The LCWR officials said their meeting with the Vatican was open and honest but they acknowledged that it was a difficult meeting because of the differing perspectives of the LCWR and the Vatican.

Cardinal Bertone plays down ‘Vatileaks’ scandal

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said the Vatican was passing through difficult times due to the ‘Vatileaks’ scandal, adding that “none of us intends to hide the shadows and defects of the Church”. But he said “there is no sign of any cardinals being involved or of disputes between clerics”.

Cardinal Bertone said the release of confidential papal documents is “an immoral act of unprecedented gravity”. But he said the Church would overcome the crisis.

Many commentators say Bertone is the main target of the ‘Vatileaks’. He said the media exaggerate problems within the Vatican. He argued that reporters enjoy conspiracy theories, and that “many journalists play at the imitation of Dan Brown, inventing fables and legends”.

On June 16 Pope Benedict met with the commission of cardinals investigating the ‘Vatileaks’ scandal.

Ruling dismays bishops

Archbishop John Michael Miller of Vancouver, Cana­da, urged the gov­ern­ment to appeal a British Columbia Supreme Court ruling that the Canadian criminal code’s anti-assisted suicide and euthanasia provisions is unconstitutional.

Archbishop Richard Smith, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, asked: “Do we show concern for the sick, the elderly, the handicapped and vulnerable by encouraging them to commit suicide or through deliberating killing them by euthanasia? Or, instead, do we fashion a culture of life and love in which each person, at every moment and in all circumstances of their natural lifespan, is treasured as a gift?”

Exodus from Middle East

Catholic leaders warned of the dangers of a continued exodus of Christians from the Middle East during a Christian-Muslim dialogue meeting in a Beirut mosque. “If the East is emptied of Christians, it will pave the way for a destructive conflict between Christians and Muslims,” said Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue.

(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)

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