Martini paves the way for Vatican III

Italian cardinal in 'sensational' plea at Synod
By Luke Coppen and Bruce Johnston in Rome
CARDINAL Carlo Maria Martini, one of Europe's leading Churchmen, has caused a stir among European bishops meeting in Rome, by making a thinly disguised call for a Third Vatican Council to reform the Church.
Cardinal Martini's appeal for "greater collegiality" was greeted with "timid applause" by delegates, according to the Rome daily II Messaggero, which described Martini's address as a "sensational" and "unequivocal" call for a new Vatican Council.
Although he did not use the word "council" to describe the meeting he envisioned, Cardinal Martini told delegates that a synod with only a representative number of bishops and no real authority was not enough to tackle the problems of the Church.
Telling the synod that he wanted to share some of his dreams with them, he said he saw "the possibility of new and broad experiences of collegiality" in view of "the problems which modern life puts before us".
He said that starting with the Apostles, church leaders have gathered at various times "to loosen doctrinal and disciplinary knots which reappear periodically as sore points in the church".
He then listed subjects which a gathering of the world's bishops might discuss, including the shortage of priests, the role of women and lay people in the church, remarriage after divorce, relations with the Orthodox churches and the relationship between moral values and democracy.
"Perhaps a synod is not sufficient," Cardinal Martini said. "Perhaps we need a universal, collegial instrument to tackle these problems."
The Cardinal said a thematic council would be "a place where we can discuss in freedom, exer
cising full episcopal collegiality, listening to the Holy Spirit and considering the common good of the church and the whole of humanity."
The Cardinal's address was one of the most arresting of the 188 speeches delivered during the first phase of the Synod, which ended on Saturday.
In the second phase, which began on Monday, the bishops met in smaller language groups to discuss topics raised over the previous nine days.
At a press conference reviewing the first phase, Archbishop Jozef Zycinski of Lublin dismissed Cardinal Martini's comments.
The Archbishop insisted that "structures are not the problem, but the content of our message, and the problems are not resolved with proposals that receive much publicity or are sensational."
These topics were summarised in a report on phase one by Synod chairman Cardinal Antonio Rouco Varela of Madrid, which earmarked three key points for in-depth discussion in phase two.
The first was "the urgency for our churches to proclaim and clearly make known Jesus Christ, his personal presence and work, the source of hope which Europe needs."
The second was "the need to propose and formulate the new evangelization of Europe."
The third was the need "to carry out an ecclesial examination of conscience,looking at what is happening within the church and in European society.
Other proposals for consideration included ecumenical dialogue; the Church's dialogue with the political and cultural world, and the parlous state of some of the sacraments, such as Confession.
Another key feature of the first nine days of open debate was a lively discussion of the role of the new movements in the Church.
Cardinal Miroslav Vlk, Archbishop of Prague and president of the Council of the Episcopal Conferences of Europe, said that the new movements offered a way of evangelising secular culture, not offered by the religious orders.
"I'm not saying the movements should have precedence," he said. "But perhaps they express more the needs of our time. I don't want to say religious orders don't express this, but they were certainly born for another time — and if they still have strength and dynamism, they will continue," he said.
Cardinal Vlk told the US news agency CNS that he hoped the synod would "recognise a model of the church that is less wedded to structures of the past, and in that sense give the lay movements space to expand" along with other more recent "manifestations of the Holy Spirit."
Even the scarcity of priests, he said, could be a positive sign that reminds the laity that they, too, are called on to live and announce the Gospel.
The priest shortage has serious impli cations for sacramental life , but "the life of the church is not only the sacraments." he said.
The political dimension of the Church in Europe was addressed by former Prime Ministerof Italy and current president of the European Commission, Romano Prodi.
In a letter to the synod, Mr Prodi said that Europe could not be understood without Christianity.
"Europe c annot be conceived vv ithout its memory," he said.
"And in its in emory there is the indelible mark of Christianity. "In the diffenent cultures of the European nations, in the arts. in literature and in the hermeneutic s of thought, there is the sap of Christianity, which nourishes both those who believe, and those who do not belie ve."
The Vatcan used the synod to announce plans to issue a catechism of Catholic Social Teaching, based sn the model of the Catechism of the Catholic Church Archbishop Francois Xavier Nguyen "Van Thuan, president of tl-ze Vatican justice atd peace council, told delegates that the Pope had approved tl-xe idea and that it wotld be published in Rome in Nay. David Quirtrz — p4