Synod Ends Working Sessions; Pope Backs 3 Proposals

Pope John Paul II, speaking at the final working session Saturday of a worldwide assembly of Roman Catholic bishops, announced his support for three key proposals of the synod and surprised many of the delegates by announcing that he plans to quickly publish a detailed summary of their findings.

The proposals the pontiff backed are the preparation of a universal Catholic teaching text, a study of the value of national bishops’ conferences, and a speedy revision of church law for Eastern rite Catholics.

A universal catechism, or teaching guidebook, was requested by many of the bishops attending the synod.

North American prelates had pressed for a deeper study of how bishops exercise power in their local and national churches, and how they share that power with the Vatican.

And the revised code of canon law for the Eastern rite Catholics will put those branches of the church--whose communicants come primarily from the Middle East and the Soviet Union--on an equal basis with the main Western, or Latin rite church, which completed its revisions of canon law two years ago.

The so-called Extraordinary Synod was convened by John Paul to assess the state of worldwide Catholicism in light of the wide-ranging reforms of the Second Vatican Council of 1962-65, commonly known as Vatican II.That conclave was summoned by Pope John XXIII, a great liberalizer of the church in his short four-year papacy.

On Saturday, John Paul received prolonged applause in his closing speech when he told 165 cardinals, archbishops and bishops that he plans to quickly publish a detailed summary of their findings and a list of the recommendations they drew up from their two weeks of work.

The surprise move ended speculation about whether the bishops would push to have their findings published or would simply turn them over to the Pope to use at his discretion.

None of the previous seven synods held in the 20 years since the close of Vatican II released a full list of recommendations.

Potential Clash

A majority of the bishops, including the American prelates, had favored publication, Vatican spokesmen said. A potential clash of authority between the pontiff and the bishops was thus averted when John Paul said that the 14-page summary would be printed, probably today.

A press officer said the document strongly reaffirms Vatican II and stresses the need for Christian unity, evangelization and piety.

In his 30-minute address to the bishops, delivered in Latin, the Pope warned against false interpretations of the 1960s council and said that its intention had been to open the church more widely.

He also praised the bishops for speaking freely at the synod, saying such freedom does not hinder the unity of the 800-million-member Catholic Church. The synod officially ends today with a papal Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica jointly celebrated with the bishops.