Cardinal presents Easter People document to Pope

CARDINAL HUME and Archbishop Worlock of Liverpool presented the message of the English and Welsh bishops issued in the light of the National Pastoral Congress to Pope John Paul in a private audience on Saturday at Castelgandolfo.
The Pope was keeping predictably quiet about the document, The Easter People, and said nothing more in public than that he was greatly interested in the detailed account offered by the Cardinal and the Archbishop.
He had been kept fully informed about the preparations for the Congress, its procedings and the various sector reports.
Among the requests that the documents outlines for consideration by Rome are the possibility of ordaining women deacons and the question of married priests. The bishops saw no point in referring the ordination of women to the priesthood to Rome.
In their report, the bishops had made clear with duty to unite themselves with the magisterium, the body of teaching, of the whole Church.
"We the bishops of England and Wales, as vicars of Christ in our dioceses, have the duty and the right to preach the Gospel to our people in season and out of season, and always in communion with our fellow bishops and especially the Bishop of Rome.
We have the duty and the right to call upon all, priests and people alike, for a loyal and respectful acceptance of our teaching."
At the same time they welcomed the interest of other churches in Britain in the Congress. The British Council of Churches have welcomed the bishops' reports and their promise to re-examine membership of the council.