Changes get bishops’ nod
PA Wellington Rather than turn the clock back, as some people feared, a special synod of Bishops called by the Pope has affirmed the changes of Vatican H, Cardinal Thomas Williams said. Cardinal Williams attended the synod as president of the New Zealand Bishops’ Conference. It was held in Rome from November 24 to December 8. Among the 164 delegates from around the world were 10 observers from nonCatholic Churches, including the Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, Reformed, Baptist and Pentecostal denominations. The Vatican II Council of 1962-65 introduced major reforms in the Catholic Church.
At the synod there was no talk of correcting the council, said Cardinal Williams. “The whole thrust was to advance it"
Only a third of those in the synod had taken part in the council.
Cardinal Williams said there would be no changes in thrust for Catholics in New Zealand after the synod. . “By and large, New Zealand dioceses have shown a high degree of acceptance of Vatican.ll and have been seeking to live it out.”
He saw the main task as ensuring Vatican H was better understood and implemented.
Asked about the disappointment expressed by some Catholics that the synod did not tackle issues such as whether priests should be married, and whether women should be allowed into the priesthood, he said this indicated an unreasonable expectation. There was no time to go into such specifics, which could be discussed in other forums. The aim of this synod was to look at the over-all direction of Vatican H, he said.
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Press, 17 December 1985, Page 25
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258Changes get bishops’ nod Press, 17 December 1985, Page 25
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