Pope Gives Bishops More Decision-Making Options

Pope Francis decreed on Tuesday that ordinary Catholics should be consulted about issues facing the Catholic Church and that bishops gathering for periodic meetings can make binding decisions on church teaching. Francis issued new rules reforming the Synod of Bishops, the consultative body established 50 years ago to give popes an organized way of bringing bishops together to debate problems facing the church. In the past, synods have been talkfests by churchmen who made nonbinding...

© La Voix de l'Amérique - mardi 18 septembre 2018