SYNOD OF BISHOPS 2008 The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church
On October 5, our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, will celebrate the opening Mass for a synod on The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church with over 200 bishops from around the world. He invited the bishops to participate; they come as elected representatives of the conference of bishops to which they belong. Starting October 6, the bishops will meet six days a week for three weeks.
What is a synod, what are we discussing and why is this important?
A synod is a gathering of a representative group of bishops from around the world. It differs from a council, which includes every bishop. More than 2,500 bishops participated in the last general council, the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). The purpose of a council is to teach, explain and apply the faith in the circumstances of the time, often resulting in significant documents.
Synods as we know them today began after the Second Vatican Council, when Pope Paul VI, in consultation with the bishops, determined it would be helpful if periodically some bishops would meet with the Pope, discuss important issues affecting the Church and offer guidance. In the past, synod reflections have usually led to a document from the Pope called an apostolic exhortation.
This synod asks the Church to reflect on the Word of God and also to see it in relation to the basic truths of Revelation, Tradition, the Bible and the Magisterium. It also highlights how the Word of God should inform both preaching and catechesis.
The preparatory document indicates that the synod “also wants to bring about deep love for Sacred Scripture, so that ‘the faithful, by having greater access’ to the Bible (cf. DV 22), might come to know the unity between the bread of the Word and the Body of Christ so as to fully nourish the Christian life” (Sacramentum Caritatis 6, 52).
Photo Briefs
Pope Benedict XVI is shown reading the bible in a live television feed projected inside the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Rome Oct. 5. The pope kicked off a Bible-reading marathon on Italian television. The pope read for several minutes from the Book of Genesis from his apartment at the Vatican, while other speakers read in the basilica. (CNS photo/Alessandro De Meo, Reuters)
Israeli Rabbi Shear-Yashuv Cohen is interviewed by a television crew at his hotel in Rome Oct. 6, the day he became the first Jew to address a worldwide Synod of Bishops. Rabbi Cohen asked synod members to speak out against anti-Semitism and attacks on the state of Israel. (CNS photo/Alessandro Bianchi, Reuters)
The image of Pope Benedict XVI reading the Bible on a live television feed is projected inside the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Rome Oct. 5. Pope Benedict XVI kicked off a Bible-reading marathon Oct. 5 on Italian television. The pope read for several minutes from the start of the Book of Genesis live from his apartment at the Vatican while other speakers read in the Basilica of Holy Cross. (CNS photo/Alessandro De Meo, Reuters)
Italian actor Roberto Benigni reads from the Book of Genesis for a live TV broadcast inside the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Rome Oct. 5. Pope Benedict XVI kicked off a Bible reading marathon Oct. 5 on Italian television. The pope read for several minutes from the start of the Book of Genesis live from his apartment at the Vatican while other speakers read in the Basilica of Holy Cross. (CNS photo/Alessandro De Meo, Reuters)
Bishops listen to Pope Benedict XVI during the opening meeting of the Synod of the Bishops at the Vatican Oct. 6. The focus of the gathering was "The Word of God in the Life and the Mission of the Church." (CNS photo/Max Rossi, Reuters)
Pope Benedict XVI blesses with holy water during the Oct. 5 opening Mass of the Synod of Bishops on the Bible at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome. (CNS photo/Alessia Giuliani, Catholic Press Photo)
An Italian cardinal who repeatedly pushed for a synod on the Bible said he hopes the October gathering of bishops will focus on practical pastoral initiatives to bring Catholics closer to the Scriptures. Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, retired archbishop of Milan, told the Jesuit journal La Civilta Cattolica that too many Catholics still do not read the Bible alone or in groups. (CNS photo illustration/Nancy Wiechec)