VATICAN CITY (CNS): In the largest meeting of its kind ever held at the Vatican, more than 150 cardinals gathered to identify pastoral challenges and possible solutions at the start of the third millennium.
Pope John Paul II opened the May 21-24 consistory with a prayer and a request for the cardinals’ input, saying he wanted a free and fraternal exchange of opinions.
The meeting’s first day provided short speeches on a wide range of topics: The role of the Pope, the call to personal holiness, pastoral problems of the family, opportunities offered by modern media, and the need for justice and charity in globalisation.
It was the sixth time a pope has convened the cardinals for such a meeting, and the first time since 1994.
All 183 cardinals were invited, but not all could make it – 155 attended the first session. The consistory was held behind closed doors, but without the extreme secrecy of a conclave.
Fifteen cardinals spoke for six to nine minutes each in the opening session.
