[marshmallow]

See also the thread below. Head of Polish bishops' conference gives the report a thumbs down.

The Great Division - Wojtyła Nation to the Rescue. President of the Polish Bishops' Conference: "Synod Document Unacceptable"

[freedumb2003]

That is a lot of wading — what is the upshot of the Synod Document?

[GOP_Party_Animal]

Too late. The FR Kalvinist Kook Squad already believes the Pope has fully embraced homosexuality because it means more money for his secret underground vaults.

[Salvation]

**An international coalition of pro-family groups has rejected the mid-way report of the Extraordinary Synod on the Family, calling it “a betrayal”. **

I agree, Bishops, don’t change anything!

[Sergio]

bkmk

[Salvation]

Contact (FReep) your Bishop!

http://usccb.org/about/bishops-and-dioceses/all-dioceses.cfm

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

This might help clarify things, while the media has a field day with this.

The Synod of Bishops, in the Roman Catholic Church, is an advisory body for the Pope. It is "a group of bishops who have been chosen from different regions of the world and meet together at fixed times to foster closer unity between the Roman Pontiff and bishops, to assist the Roman Pontiff with their counsel in the preservation and growth of faith and morals and in the observance and strengthening of ecclesiastical discipline, and to consider questions pertaining to the activity of the Church in the world".

Of its nature, the Synod of Bishops is permanent, even when not in session. Periodically, it holds assemblies, which are either general, if called to consider matters directly concerning the universal Church, or special, if called for problems of a particular geographical area. The general assemblies are either ordinary (held at fixed intervals) or extraordinary (held to treat of some urgent matter).

As well as holding these periodical assemblies, the Synod of Bishops has a permanent secretariat which is headquartered in Rome but is not part of the Roman Curia. The Code of Canon Law's chapter on the Synod of Bishops comes after that on the Pope and the College of Bishops, and before that on the cardinals. In the Annuario Pontificio, information on it is given before that on episcopal conferences.

On 15 September 1965, as the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) was drawing to a close, Pope Paul VI set up the Synod of Bishops, convinced that the Pope needed "to make ever greater use of the bishops' assistance in providing for the good of the universal Church" and to enjoy "the consolation of their presence, the help of their wisdom and experience, the support of their counsel, and the voice of their authority".

The Synod of the Bishops is a form not of collegial governance of the Church, but of collaborating with the primatial function of the Pope: it discusses topics proposed to it and makes recommendations, but does not settle questions or issue decrees, unless the Pope grants it deliberative power in certain cases.