Synod called for in October 2008

From Catholic World News:

Pope Benedict XVI has called a meeting of the Synod of Bishops for October 2008, to discuss the theme: "The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church."

The 12th ordinary assembly of the worldwide Synod will be held October 5-26, 2008. This will be the second meeting of the Synod during this pontificate; Pope Benedict presided at the October 2006 meeting of the Synod, dedicated to the discussion of the Eucharist. (That Synod had originally been called by Pope John Paul II; Pope Benedict confirmed the plans shotly after his election.) The Pontiff's apostolic exhortation on the Eucharist, summarizing and concluding the work of the 2006 Synod, is expected soon.

Meeting early in June, the council for the Synod of Bishops finished a final draft document on the Eucharist, which was submitted to the Pope as the basis for his apostolic exhortation. At the same time the council proposed three possible themes for the next full meeting of the Synod. The Pope chose the theme on the Word of God.

At their next meeting, the members of the Synod council will begin preparations for the October 2008 meeting. The first major task is to compose the lineamenta: the preliminary document sketching the main lines of discussion for the meeting. The lineamenta is then circulated among the world's bishops for comments and suggestions, and the Synod council then prepares the instrumentum laboris that is the working document for the Synod discussions.