VATICAN, Mar. 15, 01 (CWNews.com) -- Pope John Paul II has appointed
three newly elevated cardinals as co-presidents of the Synod that will be
held in Rome this fall. Another new cardinal will be the relator general.
The three presidents will be Cardinals Giovanni Battista Re of the
Congregation for Bishops, Bernard Agre of Abidjan in the Ivory Coast, and
Ivan Dias of Bombay. Cardinal Edward Egan of New York will be relator
general. Bishop Marcello Semeraro of Oria, Italy will be the secretary of the
Synod, which is scheduled for September 30- October 27.
Thus four continents will be represented in the leadership of the Synod. The
meeting will be the 10th general assembly of the Synod of Bishops and the 6th
convened during the pontificate of John Paul II.
The theme for the Synod is "the role and mission of the bishop in his
diocese." The discussions will inevitably touch on the issues of collegiality
and papal primacy. The "instrumentum laboris" that outlines the themes for
the Synod discussion is now under preparation, and is expected to be made
public before Easter.
Pope John Paul has also called together the College of Cardinals for a special
consistory, to take place May 21 to 24, to reflect on the challenges facing the
Church at the outset of the new millennium. The starting point for
discussions at that consistory will be the Pope's apostolic letter, Novo
Millennio Ineunte.