Synod's Working Document Is Due Out

VATICAN CITY, JULY 5, 2005 (Zenit.org).- The working document of the Synod of Bishops, to be held here Oct. 2-23, will be presented at a press conference this Thursday.

The theme of the synod is "The Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church." The synod will close out the Year of the Eucharist.

The presentation of the working document will be made by Archbishop Nikola Eterovic and Monsignor Fortunato Frezza, secretary-general and undersecretary, respectively, of the Synod of Bishops, according to the Vatican press office.

The document will serve as a guide for the discussion of bishops from all over the world.

The document is the result of answers to a questionnaire published by the Holy See in May 2004, together with the synod's "lineamenta," or outline.

The synod, first called for by Pope John Paul II, was confirmed in May by Benedict XVI. He trimmed the synod's original schedule by a week.

Three cardinals will rotate as president of the synod, even if the Pope is present, the Vatican press office announced Saturday. The three cardinals are Francis Arinze, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments; Juan Sandoval Íñiguez, archbishop of Guadalajara, Mexico; and Telesphore Toppo, archbishop of Ranchi, India.