Ordinary Council meets ahead of Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops

(Vatican Radio) The Ordinary Council of the Synod of Bishops met for the sixth time on May 13-14 to analyze the first draft of the Instrumentum laboris (working document) for the III Extraordinary General Assembly, set for October 2014. On Tuesday, May 13, Pope Francis himself presided over the meeting of the Council.
In welcoming the Holy Father, the Secretary General, Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri (pictured), expressed gratitude for the Pope Francis’ Letter of April 1, 2014, in which he named the Council’s Under-Secretary, Fabio Fabene, a bishop. The move, Cardinal Baldisseri said, was made with the intention of reinforcing even further the affective and effective collegiality that is a constitutive part of the Synod of Bishops.
The draft of the Instrumentum laboris was examined and the suggestions which came out of the discussions were inserted into the document.
The new synodal methodology that will be followed during the proceedings of the Extraordinary General Meeting was also presented during the meeting.