SYNOD OF BISHOPS' COUNCIL FOR ASIA HOLDS FOURTH MEETING

VATICAN CITY, NOV 17, 2000 (VIS) - The Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops for the Special Assembly for Asia held its fourth meeting in the Vatican from November 14 to 16, according to a communique released today by the Synod of Bishops.

The synod's secretary general, Cardinal Jan P. Schotte, C.I.C.M., presided at the sessions whose participants included three cardinals, two archbishops, four bishops and four staff members of the General Secretariat. Among those in attendance was Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil, S.D.B. of Guwahati, India, who succeeded the late Archbishop Alan Basil De Lastic of Delhi, India.

Following Cardinal Schotte's remarks at the opening session, there was a debate, in both a plenary session and in language groups, on the application of the Post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation "Ecclesia in Asia." The communique states that "the debate gave rise to an overall informative picture, which shows how the document has received broad consensus on the Asian continent, given its completeness and how it responds to the culture, sensitivity and ecclesial hopes of the Church in Asia."

The council scheduled its next meeting for November 20-22, 2001.

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