There's room for improvement in church consultation, say speakers

Published: 2006-10-18

FORT WORTH, Texas (CNS) -- There's room for improvement in church consultation, said speakers at the annual convention of the Canon Law Society of America. The Code of Canon Law prescribes various structures for church consultation, but in practice they are not always effective, the speakers said during the Oct. 9-12 meeting in Fort Worth. The theme of the convention, "Consultation in the Life of the Church: In Service of Communio," was inspired by Pope John Paul II's 2001 apostolic letter, "Novo Millennio Ineunte" ("At the Beginning of the New Millennium"). In it the late pope called for strengthening a "spirituality of communion" by effectively using the structures of participation and consultation provided for in church law. In an Oct. 9 keynote address, Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, identified consultative bodies on all church levels, from the Synod of Bishops and College of Cardinals assisting the pope, to various lay and priests' councils helping diocesan bishops and finance and pastoral councils aiding pastors. "Truly, the Code of Canon Law proposes perfect structures for consultation," Cardinal Rodriguez said. However, they will be effective only if those who request and offer advice have the ability to listen, especially to "listen wisely," he added.

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