Pope Paul VI Opens Fourth Synod of Bishops in Rome, Italy, Citing Church Difficulties

Pope Paul VI, speaking at one of his weekly noon audiences, cited “radical opposition,” a shortage of priests, “nearly empty seminaries,” and “faithful who are no longer afraid to be unfaithful.” He said sadly, “The church is in difficulty. It is more troubled than happy.” He spoke shortly before he convened the month-long fourth Synod of Bishops in Rome on September 28.

The synod drew 209 delegates, including bishops, archbishops and cardinals, from seventy-five nations. Its announced topic was “Evangelization in the Contemporary World,” but the delegates quickly used the gathering to raise a wide range of problems they saw as hindering evangelization or needing attention before it could proceed.

The synod traced its origins to Vatican Council II (1962–65), which emphasized collegiality, the concept that the bishops together with the pope hold full power over the church. Pope Paul then convened synods of bishops, the first three in 1967, 1969 and 1971. The source reports that the pope nonetheless set the agenda, as the bishops had chosen family life rather than evangelization as the fourth synod’s topic but were overruled. He reserved all decisions to himself, treated the bishops’ recommendations as advice only, and rejected some of Synod ’74’s findings outright.

In his keynote address, the pope set limits on the discussion. He said Catholic missionaries must never embrace violence, revolution or colonialism in spreading the Gospel, and he cautioned the faithful against reducing their mission “to mere sociological or political activity.” The source notes that in a few well-publicized cases, priests in Latin America, Asia and Africa have been identified with revolutionary movements and harassed by government authorities as a result.

Regional delegations offered differing priorities. African bishops called for “indigenization,” a large measure of self-determination for local dioceses. Latin American bishops emphasized liberation from social, economic and political exploitation, arguing that the church must address justice before it can evangelize effectively. Brazilian archbishop Dom Helder Camara declared, “It is we Christians who have proven Marx correct.” Asian delegates asked for recognition of positive values in the great non-Christian religions of the East, a position some observers saw as leaning dangerously toward syncretism. Archbishop Joseph L. Bernardin of Cincinnati spoke of a crisis of faith among North American Catholics, including priests, many of whom were leaving the ministry. He said the laity must share the work of evangelization and suggested consideration of a married clergy and the ordination of women, as well as recognition of pluralism in church theology and discipline.

European delegates urged the church to give less attention to internal matters and more to Christ and humanity. Polish cardinal Stefan Wyszinski described Communist-bloc nations as a fertile field for evangelization. Irish cardinal William Conway said the conflict in Northern Ireland is political rather than religious, calling it “an accident of history” that most who favor a united Ireland are Catholic and most who favor union with Britain are Protestant. He said only a small number of people engage in violence and that the majority are “utterly sickened of the violence and pray for peace.” Several European prelates lamented the spiritual condition of the bishops themselves, suggesting some should “undergo personal conversion” before attempting to evangelize others, a point that reflects the principle that much is required of those given much (Luke 12:48).

In the synod’s final two weeks, delegates discussed the theology of evangelism and missionary methods. There was strong emphasis on decentralization to give local dioceses and congregations greater autonomy, but the proposal met firm opposition, especially from cardinals in the curia, the Vatican government. The official Vatican daily, L’Osservatore Romano, stated that local churches function only as they are responsible to “the successor of Peter” and carry out his wishes. Curial cardinal Pericle Felici told the synod that a new church constitution, Lex Ecclesiae Fundamentalis, was nearly ready, and said that as constitutional law it would be superior to all other positive church laws and valid for the entire Catholic Church, not only the Latin church.

Felici, 63, who is said to have his eye on the papal throne when it becomes vacant, questioned guest speaker Philip Potter, secretary general of the World Council of Churches. Potter had compared the synod with the WCC’s 1972 Bangkok conference on salvation and with the evangelical-sponsored International Congress on World Evangelization at Lausanne the previous July, and he suggested that the time was ripe for a more ecumenical approach to evangelism. Felici chidingly asked about the lack of authority and hierarchical structure in WCC churches, then asked point-blank when the WCC would accept the primacy of the Pope.

Source: Read the original report