COMMEMORATION OF 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF SYNOD OF BISHOPS

VATICAN CITY, OCT 8, 2005 (VIS) - A special General Congregation was held this afternoon in the Vatican's Synod Hall to commemorate 40 years since the foundation of the Synod of Bishops. The president delegate on duty was Cardinal Telesphore Placidus Toppo, archbishop of Ranchi, India.

  At the beginning of the session, Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, spoke on the subject of the Synod as an expression of episcopal collegiality, affirming that the 40th anniversary "represents a propitious occasion for more profound study into the theological and juridical nature of this institution, born of Vatican Council II." The Synod, he said, "has had the great merit of developing the synodal dimension of the 'corpus episcoporum,' of fomenting episcopal collegiality between bishops and the Holy Father."

  After recalling that the Synod of Bishops was established on September 15, 1965, Archbishop Eterovic noted that "up to now it has had four presidents: Paul VI, John Paul I, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, of whom the latter is presiding the Synod for the first time."

  The Synod of Bishops, he continued, "has had the privilege of two of its relator generals for Ordinary General Assemblies later becoming Pope: cardinals Karol Wojtyla and Joseph Ratzinger, respectively in 1974 and 1980."

  Archbishop Eterovic stressed "a tangible sign of the youthfulness of the Synod" in the fact that "more than half the Synod Fathers of the Eleventh Ordinary General Assembly are participating in a synodal meeting for the first time."

  Next to speak were Cardinal Jozef Tomko, president of the Pontifical Commission for International Eucharist Congresses, and former secretary general of the Synod from 1979 to 1985, and Cardinal Peter Erdo, archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, Hungary, who discussed, respectively, the theological and juridical aspects of the Synod of Bishops.

  Cardinal Adrianus Simonis, archbishop of Utrecht, Netherlands, spoke on the Special Assembly for the Netherlands - called by John Paul II and celebrated in January 1980 - of which he had been a member.

  Archbishop Paul Verdzekov of Bamenda, Cameroon, spoke on the Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops - held in April and May of 1994 - of which he had been a member.

  Archbishop Cyril Salim Bustros M.S.S.P., eparch of Newton of the Greek-Melkites, U.S.A., presented some reflections on the results of the Special Assembly for Lebanon, held in November 1995, of which he had been relator general.

  Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iniguez, archbishop of Guadalajara, Mexico, spoke of the fruits of the Special Assembly for America, held in November and December 1997, of which he had been relator general.

  Cardinal Paul Shan Kuo-hsi S.J., of Kaohsiung, Taiwan, addressed the assembly on the subject of the Special Assembly for Asia, held in April and May 1998, of which he had been relator general.

  Archbishop John Atcherley Dew of Wellington, New Zealand, read out a text prepared by Cardinal Thomas S. Williams, emeritus of the same archdiocese, on the subject of the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for Oceania. Cardinal Williams was president delegate of that meeting, held in November and December 1998.

  Finally Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela, archbishop of Madrid, Spain, spoke on the Second General Assembly for Europe of the Synod of Bishops, held in October 1999, of which he had been relator general.
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