A SYNOD of European bishops to prepare for the millennium Holy Year will be held in September of next year, according to informed sources within the Vatican, writes Bruce Johnston.
Although the Vatican has yet to make an announcement, the date is understood to have been fixed during a meeting of the pre-synodal council which is organising the event. Last year a Synod for the Americas was held in the same context, in the run-up to the millennium.
The main problem facing the pre-synodal council is that of which criteria should be applied when choosing delegates, especially in the interests of proportional unity between the differentsized Bishops' Conferences. The council's next meeting will be the last.