The Synod of Bishops' first week of discussion focused on how to make the Eucharist available to all Catholics and how to improve the way it is celebrated and understood.

In individual speeches and free-discussion periods Oct. 3-8, the bishops addressed a multitude of topics ranging from falling Mass attendance to the degree of Christ's real presence in the Eucharist.

Pope Benedict XVI presided over most sessions of the synod but only once joined the debate. About 240 bishops were present; for almost half of them, it was their first synod.

Among those missing were four bishops from mainland China, who were invited by the pope but were not allowed by the Chinese government to travel to Rome. Four empty seats in the synod hall marked their absence.

Priest shortage an issue

From the outset of the synod debate, it was clear that a primary concern was the shortage of priests that makes it impossible for Catholics in many areas to attend Mass regularly and receive Communion.

One Honduran bishop told the synod that his diocese had 16,000 Catholics for every priest, a situation that required the faithful to walk hours to attend Mass. The faithful "deserve the Eucharist but cannot receive it," he said.

Several bishops called for better global distribution of priests. Others cautiously suggested a new look at the church's rules on priestly celibacy and wondered whether married men might be ordained, at least in areas where priests are lacking.

The calls to re-examine priestly celibacy came primarily from developing countries, where church communities often go weeks or months without seeing a priest. Coadjutor Bishop Arnold Orowae of Wabag, Papua New Guinea, asked the synod how Catholics in remote villages could make the Eucharist the "source and summit" of their lives if they don't have access to Mass.

But other bishops, including some from Eastern Catholic churches where a married clergy is allowed, warned that it can be difficult for a priest to balance his pastoral workload with family demands.

An emerging and complex topic at the synod was how the Eucharist is viewed and experienced --- as a gift or a right, for example. Italian Cardinal Angelo Scola, the synod's recording secretary, found himself challenged by several bishops after he said the faithful have no real "right to the Eucharist."

A similar question was whether the Eucharist should be understood more as a sacrifice or as a communal meal. Traditional Catholic theology highlights both aspects, although some people felt the Second Vatican Council tipped the balance toward the shared banquet. Several bishops said the aspect of sacrifice needs more emphasis today.

Debate on this point prompted the pope to take the microphone during a free-discussion period. The Vatican did not publish his remarks, citing a need for confidentiality inside the synod hall.

The revival of eucharistic adoration also elicited differing perspectives. Italian Cardinal Camillo Ruini said the rediscovery of eucharistic adoration has helped young Catholics establish a visible relationship with the divine.

But others cautioned that adoration could become too individual a practice. Father Mark R. Francis, superior general of the Viatorians, criticized the synod's working document for appearing to give the same importance to eucharistic adoration and the celebration of the liturgy --- in opposition to the teachings of the Council of Trent and the Second Vatican Council.

Father Francis and others said a key for improving devotion to the Eucharist is to improve the way it is celebrated, with improved preaching and better executed liturgies.

Improving liturgies

The question of how to improve liturgies drew numerous comments. One bishop wanted an end to general Communion distribution at huge Masses. A few wanted a re-evaluation of Communion in the hand, saying it was seen by some as disrespectful. An Indian bishop suggested PowerPoint presentations during homilies.

South Korean Bishop Peter Kang U-il told the synod bluntly that many young people simply find Mass too tedious and boring. To increase liturgical participation, he said, pastors need to increase the sense of unity in parish life.

Mass attendance was a cause for concern. Archbishop Agostino Vallini, head of the Vatican's top court, said low statistics on Mass participation were "hardly comforting." He said the causes were competition between the old and modern religious beliefs, growing secularization and pervasive relativism.

Throughout most of Europe, fewer than 20 percent of Catholics go to Mass regularly. But the problems of Mass attendance and church membership extend to other continents, too. Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes told the synod that in Brazil --- the most populous Catholic country in the world --- the number of Catholics was declining by about 1 percent each year, with many lost to Protestant sects.

"We have to wonder: How long will Brazil be a Catholic country?" he said.

Cardinal Hummes, noting Protestant missionary activity, said the Catholic Church should underline the importance of missionary action nourished by the Eucharist. Several bishops agreed, with one recommending specific new Mass prayers with a missionary theme.

Other synod participants said the Eucharist must be understood as a spiritual catalyst in the contemporary world, with a deep connection to issues of social justice and stewardship of creation, for example. As Peruvian Archbishop Pedro Barreto Jimeno said, if the Eucharist is the summit toward which all creation tends, then environmental issues like climate change demand an "ecological conversion."

Two other issues were taking shape at the synod:

---Politics and Communion. U.S. Archbishop William J. Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, asked the synod to discuss how bishops deal with Catholic politicians who want to receive Communion, but do not vote in full accordance with Catholic teaching.

One response came from Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, who said the question of Communion and politics needs to be clarified and cannot be settled circumstantially.

"Politicians and legislators must understand that by promoting or defending unjust legal proposals they have a serious responsibility, and they must remedy the evil committed and spread in order to approach Communion with the Lord who is the way, the truth and the life," he said.

----Ecumenism and shared Communion. Swiss Bishop Amedee Grab, president of the European bishops' council, pointed to important signs of convergence among Christians on the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist and said local church communities should take advantage of the current possibilities for eucharistic sharing.

Cardinal Georges M. Cottier, the papal theologian, defended the current rules against shared Communion. He the church forbids it in most cases because intercommunion is not a "starting point" in ecumenical relations.

Cardinal Walter Kasper, the Vatican's top ecumenical official, said it was true that the demands of unity in faith usually forbid shared Communion with non-Catholics. But he said that in addressing this issue, the Second Vatican Council stated a second principle that is frequently overlooked: that the importance of "sharing in the means of grace" sometimes counsels in favor of eucharistic sharing.

---CNS