The Rules for Rome

The Roman Catholic diocese of Rome had its first synod in almost 500 years last week, and Pope John XXIII explained the occasion as "a meeting of a bishop with his priests to study the problems of the spiritual life of the faithful, to give or restore vigor to ecclesiastical laws so as to eliminate abuses, to promote Christian life, foster divine worship and religious practices."

According to the code of canon law which became effective in 1918, all dioceses are required to hold a synod every ten years, but few of them do--Rome least of all, because Popes are usually too busy with other matters and because it is generally assumed that the Holy City has least need of spiritual jacking up. In calling the fourth synod in Rome's history,* Pope John obviously disagreed with that assumption.

New Constitutions. A synod is not like a council--its articles are not even discussed, much less debated. The 770 articles presented to 1,200-odd clergymen in six days of sessions were the result of 165 committee meetings. Working under the Pope's close supervision during the past year, the committee examined thousands of suggestions from parish priests, high church officials and leading laymen. The articles themselves will not be published for weeks, but enough is known about them to form a broad picture of Rome's new diocesan constitutions, which Roman Catholic bishops everywhere are urged to follow in their own dioceses--with a big reservation--"as far as local conditions permit."

None of the articles are as sweeping as those of the 1461 synod, which was directed at the tightening up of the laxities of Renaissance Rome, and established the Easter duties of confession and Communion, set up temporal penalties for blasphemy, forbade gambling, fortunetelling, sorcery, secret marriage, marriage with blood relatives, marriage in Lent and Advent, ordered parents to keep infants under one year in cribs and ordered priests to eschew fancy hairdos. For the most part the new constitutions restate and re-emphasize existing provisions of canon law, apply old disciplines to new situations. Items:

P: Priests in Rome, including temporary residents and tourists, must wear cassocks and round-brimmed hats, a provision that until now has not affected priests in Rome from many countries, including the U.S. and Mexico. They are forbidden to smoke in public or attend movies, sports events, or any public spectacles except those specifically approved by the church.

P: Priests and nuns may not buy or use cars without special permission--and even then may not travel in an automobile with only one member of the opposite sex, even members of the immediate family. Nuns at the wheel must adapt their habits to allow sufficient vision and freedom of movement for traffic safety. Nuns on begging missions must never go about singly, and neither nuns nor friars must beg in streets, public squares, bars, offices, hotels, private houses or sports arenas.

P: Priests and nuns must write only for Catholic journals, and when speaking or writing publicly must avoid all reference to individuals.

P: Women must guard against the temptation of "false emancipation" to "evade the obligations of their nature," i.e., marrying and having children.

P: The church must maintain its right and duty to advise laymen on how to vote in elections, and those who profess or defend Communistic, materialistic or anti-Christian principles may not be married in a religious ceremony (which means not being married at all in the eyes of the church) or serve as godparents in baptisms and confirmations. Laymen may not attend non-Catholic church services or argue religion in public with non-Catholics.

Glorious Celibacy. In one of his four major Latin addresses to the synod, Pope John offered some fatherly advice to the priests of Rome. "We are grieved," he said, "that some people should talk excessively about the possibility, or even the convenience, of the Catholic Church's giving up what has been for centuries, and still remains, one of the noblest and purest glories of her priesthood"--i.e., celibacy. He urged priests to pay close attention to head, heart and tongue: to study all their lives, to fill their hearts with love, and to know when to speak and when to keep silent, "a sign of wisdom and sacerdotal perfection."

* The others were held in 1384, 1392 and 1461.

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