By way of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, general secretary of the Synod of Bishops, has asked every bishop of the United States to submit a report responding to the Lineamenta and its questions for the purpose of contributing to the “Working Document” of the Ordinary Synod, to be held October 4 to 25.
Bishops are specifically encouraged to gather the thoughts and responses of a wide range of people in their dioceses in drafting their own reports.
To that end, we’d first like to make people in the diocese aware of the Lineamenta and the bishop’s invitation for them to read, reflect upon, pray about, and respond to the document in writing.
The bishop is asking that all written responses arrive at the Office of the Bishop, Bishop O’Connor Catholic Pastoral Center, 702 S. High Point Rd., Madison, WI 53719, by Monday, March 9.
These will be incorporated into the bishop’s report to the USCCB, which is due March 20. (NB: All written reports will be treated confidentially, but no anonymous reports will be accepted.)
In addition, the bishop will be gathering input directly from a range of diocesan groups and bodies, as well as individual members of the clergy and faithful.
The Lineamenta can be found linked on the diocesan homepage at www.madisondiocese.org or www.vatican.va/rom an_curia/synod/documents/rc_synod_doc_20141209_lineamenta-xiv-assembly_en.html