The historic Synod of Bishops on the Bible, "The Word of God in the Life and the Mission of the Church", began on Sunday.Apart from the 278 representatives from Catholic dioceses from around the world there will be 25 representatives from the Vatican and religious orders.
Also present will be 41 experts from 21 countries and 37 auditors from 26 countries. 25 women are included amongst these experts and auditors.
Representatives from the Orthodox Churches, the Anglican Communion, the World Lutheran Federation, the Church of the Disciples of Christ and the World Council of Churches will also be present.
Pope Benedict has also invited three special guests to address the synod, who will each present a unique perspective to the bishops.
- Chief Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen of Haifa, Israel, who will speak about how the Jewish people read and interpret Sacred Scripture.
- Rev. A. Miller Milloy, secretary general of the United Bible Societies
- Frere Alois, prior of the Taize Community.
The Draft Guidelines, or ‘Lineamenta’, for the Synod provide a comprehensive outline of the many questions that the representatives are invited to address.
Only 32 of the 250+ participants will have voting rights.
Three Australian voting representatives are Cardinal George Pell, Bishop Michael Putney and Bishop Peter William
Previous information on this topic entered on September 11, 2008
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