By Rita Ciolli
Newsday
November 22, 2002

The first synod in the history of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre won't take place until 2007, but in an effort to quell calls from the laity for an increased role in church affairs, initial planning sessions in parishes will begin next year.

As priests report a decline in the collection basket and local membership in Voice of the Faithful tops 900, with new parish groups organizing weekly, the diocese is seeking a way to respond to the anger and concern in the pews about sex abuse by clergy and spending priorities of the diocese.

Late last month, the diocese's auxiliary bishops sent word to pastors about how to accommodate Catholics who want to discuss their concerns. While reminding priests that Voice of the Faithful gatherings are not allowed on parish property, the bishop cleared the way for parish meetings "about the same concerns" the lay group may have. Such a meeting last Saturday at St. Thomas More in Hauppauge attracted about 100 parishioners. The pastors also were told the synod timetable had been moved up and would start next year. Murphy announced the synod at his installation in September 2001.

"It's great. They should move up the process to hear from the faithful," said Daniel Bartley, co-director of Long Island's Voice of the Faithful. "That is part of what we are all about, part of what we are trying to accomplish."

When calling for a synod, which is governed by canon law, a bishop is asking all the priests, brothers, nuns and lay people for assistance in determining the future direction of the diocese.

Topics usually include religious education, vocations, liturgy, evangelization, social issues and involvement of the laity. Policies contrary to church teaching or law cannot be discussed. The participants are carefully screened and the sessions are closed to the public. The recommendations of the synod are purely advisory and the bishop makes the final decision on what changes are to be made.

According to the diocese, 2003 will be the "grass-roots stage," when the bishop and a steering committee "will hear from the voices" in the parishes.

However, in a departure from usual synod procedures, particular issues that "need immediate attention" would be forwarded to the bishop and the steering committee "to be addressed in a timely fashion," Joanne Novarro, a diocesan spokeswoman, wrote in an e-mail to Newsday on Wednesday. She declined to say what topics might be fast-tracked.

Novarro said the time of the synod had not been moved up and "that it was always planned as an evolving process to take place over a span of time."

However, a four-year synod process is almost twice as long as synods now under way in Phoenix and Philadelphia. In Phoenix, where the synod will conclude next year, there was talk of postponing it when the priest sex abuse scandal broke earlier this year. Bishop Thomas O'Brien and leaders of the diocese feared continuing the synod would falsely raise the expectations of the laity about what the synod could address.

"It's hard for regular lay Catholics to understand that when you invite them to plan the future of the church, you can't talk about making women priests or accepting married priests," said Kim Perks, spokeswoman for the diocese. "We don't want to turn people off, because what we are doing can have a major effect down the road."

In Philadelphia, where the formal synod sessions were held this fall, clergy sex abuse was added as one of the 10 topics discussed about the role of priests, according to Catherine Rossi, spokeswoman for the archdiocese. The synod sessions were not open to the public and Rossi said she couldn't be specific about its recommendations. "It was a full two-year period, it was very intense and there was a lot of business to accomplish in a relatively short period of time," said Rossi.

According to the diocese, Murphy will inaugurate the synod in 2004 on Jan. 21, the feast of St. Agnes, the patron of the diocese. In 2005 and 2006, there will be "listening sessions" at various sites. In 2006, there will be a Eucharistic Congress, described as a gathering to strengthen Catholics' "understanding and appreciation of the Eucharist" through prayer, study and spiritual formation. The formal synod session will be held on a weekend during Lent 2007 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the diocese.

GRAPHIC: Newsday File Photo/Alejandra Villa - Bishop William Murphy is accelerating some portions of the 2007 synod.