VATICAN CITY
Grand Forks Herald
NICOLE WINFIELD
Associated Press
VATICAN CITY - Bishops from around the world on Saturday approved a set of 50 recommendations for Pope Benedict XVI on running the Roman Catholic Church that reaffirm church teaching on such issues as celibacy for priests.
They also dealt with whether Communion should be denied to Catholic politicians who support laws that contradict church teaching, such as the right to abortion, as well as the plight of Catholics who divorce and remarry without getting an annulment.
The estimated 250 bishops who gathered for the three-week Synod of Bishops voted behind closed doors on the propositions for the pope to consider in a future document. The synod, which began Oct. 2, formally ends Sunday with a Mass celebrated by Benedict.
Cardinal George Pell of Australia said at a press conference after the vote that the recommendations were a "massive restatement" of the church's celibacy rule for priests and other church traditions.