Archbishop
McCarrick to go to Vatican for Synod of Americas
Pope John Paul II has named Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick of Newark as a vice-president of the month long Synod for the Americas to be held at the Vatican from November 16 to December 12, 1997. The Archbishop is one of only 4 members of the American hierarchy the Pope designated as an official of the Synod. Archbishop McCarrick will function as vice-president of the Message Commission. This commission is entrusted with the responsibility of writing the final message of the Synodal meeting and submitting it to the Pope. In preparation for the work, Archbishop McCarrick will have to become completely familiar with the 'Instrumentum Laboris' or the "working document" under which the Synod will be conducted. The position calls for interpretation and reports of the deliberations by the bishop representatives from The United States, Canada, Latin America and South America. The Archbishop was originally elected as one of 15 delegates to the Synod by the other Bishops of the United States last November. Archbishop McCarrick expressed "his gratitude to Pope John Paul for this opportunity to serve the Church in the Americas in such a special way". "I look forward to working with Jean-Claude Cardinal Turcotte of Montreal, Canada who was named President of the Commission and Archbishop Kelvin Felix of the Antilles, who was also named a vice-president. The work of the Synod is so important to the life of the Church as we face the future", stated the Archbishop. The Synod for the Americas is one of several continental meetings called by Pope John Paul II to help prepare the Universal Church for the Third Millennium of Christianity. It will be a gathering of some 200 bishops representing every country in the New World. Preparations for the Synod began in 1996 with a call from the Vatican for the whole Church in the Americas to participate: diocesan and religious priests, women and men religious, lay men and women, seminaries and faculties of theology, pastoral councils, Catholic movements and groups, parish communities and all Catholic organizations. These groups were asked to respond to sixteen areas of concern so that the bishops at the Synod will have the necessary material for in-depth treatment of topics of great importance to the Church in America. The theme of the Synod is "Encounter with the Living Jesus Christ: Way to Conversion, Communion and Solidarity". The General Secretariat of the Synod has gathered responses concerning: (1)Encounter with the Living Christ, how is he proclaimed to men and women of the current era. (2) Conversion in Church and Society, signs of religious awakening. What needs conversion within the Church? (3) Positive and Negative elements in contemporary society in regard to the Gospel. (4) Communion in the Church, what are factors causing division? (5) Evaluation, the teachings of Vatican II. (6) Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue. (7) Interfaith Relations. (8) The Problem of Sects (9) Evangelization and Culture. (10) Indigenous Culture. (11) Popular Piety. (12) Social Communication. (13) Social Solidarity, aiding society with solidarity. (14) Social Problems, use of the Church's social teaching in areas that demand social action, e.g., human development, immigration, world work. (15) Promotion of Human Life, from conception to natural death. (16) Other Common Themes, items of common concern to the whole Church not treated sufficiently in your opinion. The Archbishop brings many perspectives to the Synod of the Americas. He presently serves as chairman of the National Council of Catholic Bishops' International Policy Committee. He has twice served as chairman of the Bishops' Committee on Migration and is the former President of the Catholic University of Puerto Rico in Ponce. He has also served on committees on aging, social development, world peace, and Latin America. He is a member of the Department of State's Advisory Committee on Religious Persecution Abroad and a member of the board of directors of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation. Archbishop McCarrick holds a doctorate in Sociology from Catholic University of America.
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