CARDINAL.

CRITICISES SECRECY
From a Rome Correspondent
CARDINAL HEENAN criticised "needless secrecy" surrounding the Rome Synod when he addressed the bishops last Friday. Advance publication of the agenda would have avoided confusion and anxiety among both clergy and laity, he said.
Cardinal Heenan began his address by expressing his pleasure that the Synod had borne out the Pope's hope for an example of collegial unity and charity in action.
"We must, nevertheless, admit that the confusion and anxiety of both clergy and people before the Synod opened might have been avoided if the agenda had been published quite openly. Unfortunately the agenda was entrusted to us sub secreto.
"A secret shared by more than 3,000 people, however, cannot possibly be preserved. The whole schema was, in fact, known widely within a few months and eventually published in the papers.
"In the Synod itself all the documents we received were once more marked sub secreto.
"We all know that there was not a single document nor any word spoken in the Synod concerning which the good of the Church required a cloak of secrecy."
Needless secrecy provided grounds for suspicion and rumour. Whenever possible, Synod agendas should be published without restriction.
"LONG INTERVAL"
"1 would like to raise a second point. In my view there was too long an interval between the last Synod and any action on its proposals.
"Let me give the example of the International Theological Commission which the Synod recommended to be set up. A whole year went by without a single word about the Commission. The result was predictable. Those who never fail to attack the Holy See immediately accused the Vatican of being afraid to grant liberty to its theologians.
"Similarly, although we discussed mixed marriages in the last Synod, we are still awaiting further pronouncements.
"I therefore propose, in all
humility, that the Holy See make the least possible delay in issuing a statement after this Synod."