In preparation for next year’s General Ordinary Synod of Bishops, the Holy See has released the «Lineamenta», a document that lays out the framework of discussions for the meeting.
The XIV General Ordinary Assembly of the Synod on Bishops will take place from October 4 – 25, 2015, and will discuss the theme: «The vocation and mission of the family in the Church and in the contemporary world.»
The «Lineamenta» – or preparatory document – lays down the points made in the Relatio Synodi of the Extraordinary Synod along with questions that will go further in depth on the themes discussed.
In a statement released by the Holy See, the Secretary General of the Synod stated that the preparatory document will «help to continue the Synodal path that has already begun and to prepare the upcoming Instrumentum laboris of the next Ordinary Assembly.»
«The composed document – which is published today in Italian – will be sent to the Episcopal Conferences, the Synods of the Eastern Catholic Churches sui iuris, the Unions of Religious Superiors and the Dicasteries of the Roman Curia,» the statement read.
The ecclesial bodies that have received the documents will hand in the results and answers to the Lineamenta by April 15, 2015. Their responses will then be studied and implemented in the forthcoming Instrumentum Laboris.
The Holy Father has also called on dioceses and Episcopal conferences to continue praying for the upcoming Synod, especially on December 28th, Feast of the Holy Family.
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On the NET:
To view the Italian –language preparatory document (Lineamenta), go to: http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2014/12/09/0935/02013.html
