Bishops discuss how to run Church

BISHOPS from around the world yesterday began discussing proposals on running the Catholic Church.

These will include ways to address the priest shortage, speeding up annulment of marriages, and how to resolve the problem of giving Communion to Catholics who divorce and remarry.

While it seems the synod won't recommend relaxing the celibacy rule for priests, there is a growing consensus to recommend speeding up annulment processes so Catholics can remarry in church and thus be allowed to receive Communion.

Church teaching holds that Catholics who divorce and remarry without getting an annulment cannot receive the sacrament because their condition "objectively contrasts with God's law." An annulment is a Church ruling that the marriage was invalid.

The priest shortage and the situation of Catholics who are denied Communion have been key themes of the October 2-23 meeting, which is designed to let bishops from around the world vote on proposals that are then sent to Pope Benedict XVI to consider in a future document.

Thursday was the first full day in which bishops met in small groups, after having heard speeches from all 250 bishops and other experts gathered.

Cardinal Angelo Scola, the meeting's key moderator, has emphasised the need for Church tribunals to be more efficient, saying several bishops suggested procedures be simplified or tribunals be created where they don't exist.

Pope John Paul II, however, had complained that annulments were too easily obtained and expressed worry that tribunals face the risk of corruption.

Cardinals dismissed the apparent contradiction.

Cardinal Francis Arinze said: "What John Paul II said was that these tribunals must work according to truth, and not according to 'Oh, these people are suffering so and let us declare it invalid'."

Several synod participants who appeared at a news conference said the priest shortage was among the major synod issues. But they dismissed questions about whether married priests were an option, saying a celibate priesthood was not the reason for the shortage.

Cardinal Telesphore Pacidus Toppos said: "The shortage of priests is a symptom of the problem. The real problem is the crisis of faith."

Several bishops have raised the issue, including references to married men of proven virtue who could be ordained.

Others spoke of the need to better distribute existing priests, while bishops of the Eastern rite, which allows married priests, spoke about their experiences.