In the Cellar of Broken Heads

In Rome last week, Pope Paul VI opened a month-long synod of the Catholic bishops with a clear warning to walk, not run, toward further reform. "Immense dangers" confront Catholicism, he said, "insidious dangers, which even from within the church find utterance in the work of teachers and writers." After that keynote, following a concelebrated Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, the foregathered prelates knew that their role in the sessions ahead would at best be advisory and consultative.

The papal injunction was a gloomy beginning to a meeting that many Catholics regard as a real test of how willing church leaders are to extend the accomplishments of the Second Vatican Council. Specifically, the synod represents the first real test of collegiality--the democratic notion, adopted by Vatican II, that the bishops collectively share ruling power with the Pope. As a kind of ecclesiastical senate, the synod is expected to advise the Pope on current problems troubling the church and to extend the legislative accomplishments of the council. But as at the beginning of Vatican II, change-fearing conservatives of the Roman Curia--perhaps acting under papal orders--have worked hard to limit the synod's scope.

Quintet of Questions. Meetings of the synod will take place in the Vatican's "Cantina delle Teste Rotte" (Cellar of Broken Heads).&* Two of three presiding officers at the meetings--William Cardinal Conway of Ireland and Pericle Cardinal Felici, the secretary-general of Vatican II--are generally regarded as conservatives. The agenda ignores the two most bothersome issues facing the church today--priestly celibacy and birth control. Instead, the bishops are expected to focus on a quintet of less pressing questions: canon-law reform, updating doctrine, seminary renewal, mixed marriages and liturgy.

The Curia-prepared secret reports outlining the agenda topics vary considerably in imagination and scope. Least impressive is the one on seminaries--a two-page memo that offers no specific proposals for the improvement of priestly training. The document on canon law, however, recommends that reformation of the church's code he undertaken in a spirit of charity rather than conformity to regulation, and that the duties of ecclesiastical superiors as well as their subjects be spelled out, since "the rights of every member of the faithful must be recognized and safeguarded." The document on mixed marriages raises the possibility that bishops may be given the power to let Catholics be married by ministers from another faith.

Papal Will. Although the ground rules for the synod limit discussion to the five picked topics, it is not impossible that the agenda will be broadened. The 182 attending bishops include a strong representation of renewal-minded prelates, some of whom have already indicated that they want the floor thrown open for debate on other issues. Whether they succeed depends largely on the mind and will of Pope Paul, who now seems to have recovered sufficiently from his prostate condition so that an operation may not be necessary until after the synod ends next month. Unlike an ecumenical council, which has well-defined ecclesiastical powers to legislate for the church, the synod is a purely papal creation. If Paul wants no further reform, the bishops can hardly rebel against his wishes.

*A vaulted room in the Vatican Palace that for 300 years was used as a storage space for discarded and broken statues. The cellar has been hastily tidied up and furbished with white leather armchairs, air conditioning, and earphones for simultaneous translation of the multilingual discussions.

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