BRIEFING BY CARDINAL SCHOTTE ON SYNOD FOR EUROPE

VATICAN CITY, SEP 30, 1999 (VIS) - Cardinal Jan Schotte, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, held a briefing this morning on the Second Special Assembly for Europe of the Synod of Bishops which begins tomorrow in the Vatican and concludes October 23.

He began with an overview of a history of synods, which began under Pope Paul VI, and then proceeded to give background on the European synod which commences tomorrow.

The cardinal noted that Pope John Paul II, in his 1994 Apostolic Letter "Tertio Millennio Adveniente," had asked that continental synods be celebrated prior to and in preparation for the Jubilee Year 2000. This is the last of those synods, he observed, pointing out, however, that it is the second time that a special assembly has been convened for Europe.

The first European synod was held in 1991 and was, Cardinal Schotte explained, "'sui generis', that is, based on the historical context of the time, in particular the fall of the Berlin Wall and communist regimes." He remarked that "the superficial euphoria of that moment is gone, but hope for the future of that part of the continent is not gone."

This synod for Europe, he underlined, will focus more on the ecclesiastical, rather than historical, situation in the various European countries and how the Church in those countries has put into practice the teachings and guidelines of Vatican Council II.

Cardinal Schotte, turning to the preparatory stages of this second European synod, indicated that there was wide consultation with episcopal conferences, the Oriental Churches, the Roman Curia and the Union of Superiors General in choosing the theme and the formulating the "lineamenta". He concluded by explaining the various categories of participants, and emphasized that there would be an equal proportion of Synod Fathers from both Eastern and Western Europe, unlike the 1991 synod.

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