Religion: The Bishops and Birth Control

No change, but they take a new look at divorce

The Synod of Bishops, created by Pope Paul VI in 1965, is potentially an important vehicle for sharing Vatican power with bishops whose people live under vastly different conditions all over the globe. Though the synod is only an advisory body and the Pope sets the agenda, bishops have an opportunity to come to the Vatican every few years to present their ideas on church problems. The synod of 1969, a year after Paul's hotly disputed reaffirmation of the ban on artificial birth control,...

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