FOUR KEY TOPICS FOR CARDINALS' CLOSED-DOOR SESSION

Vatican, Mar. 23 (CWNews.com) - At a special March 23 meeting of the College of Cardinals, Pope Benedict XVI asked for the prelates' thoughts on four key questions facing the Church: a bid to heal the breach with Catholic traditionalists, relations between Christianity and Islam, the status of retired bishops, and the preparation and use of liturgical texts.

The Pope had summoned all of the world's cardinals to "a day of prayer and reflection" on the eve of the March 24 consistory at which he will elevate 15 new members to the College of Cardinals. (Those 15 prelates were invited to participate in today's discussions.) Although the discussions took place behind closed doors in the Synod Hall, the Vatican press office summarized the main themes of conversation in a press statement released later in the day.

The morning session began with a period of prayer, followed by introductory remarks by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican Secretary of State. That portion of the meeting was broadcast by closed-circuit cameras, which were then shut down before Pope Benedict spoke. In his remarks, Cardinal Sodano observed that the cardinals serve as a consultative body for the Pope, and said that the prelates now stood ready to hear the Pontiff "inform us of the themes upon which you wish to hear our opinion and to take counsel."

Pope Benedict-- who had wanted a private session, to allow greater opportunity for the cardinals to speak their minds freely-- then introduced the four topics for discussion. The Pope then sat quietly, taking notes, while 20 different cardinals spoke at the morning session.

Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, spoke on the question of retired bishops. The question for discussion was how the Church can best profit from the experience of bishops who have passed the mandatory retirement age, but remain healthy enough to continue pastoral work. There was some discussion of raising the retirement age from 75 to 80, to match the age at which cardinals are no longer eligible to participate in a papal conclave.

The discussion of Vatican outreach to traditionalist Catholics was introduced by Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, the prefect of the Congregation for Clergy. Cardinal Castrillon has been the main Vatican representative in talks with the Society for St. Pius X, and has reportedly advanced a proposal for regularizing the status of that Lefebvrist group, perhaps by establishing a new apostolic administration for traditionalists and allowing broader use of the Latin Mass. That proposal was, according to informed sources, the main topic of conversation during a February meeting of the Roman Curia.

The Vatican summary of the morning's proceedings did not offer any further details about the session, except to say that Cardinal Sodano and Cardinal Francis Arinze, the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, closed out the morning's discussions. Presumably Cardinal Sodano spoke mainly on relations with Islam, and Cardinal Arinze on liturgical texts. The Vatican press office did not identify the other prelates who spoke, or the content of their remarks.

The meeting of the cardinals was facilitated by simultaneous-translation services, so that prelates could hear the talks in Italian, French, Spanish, or English. (Latin, the offical language of the Church, was not used.) At the beginning of the morning session, Archbishop Francisco Monterisi, the secretary of the College of Cardinals, gave the participants a briefing on the use of the translation services.

The cardinals' meeting adjourned at midday, to be continued in the evening from 5 to 7.

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