OCEANIA/AUSTRALIA - Australian Biblist on the eve of the Synod of Bishops in the Vatican: “We will reflect on the true essence of the Eucharist. The Church is not just a body of believers, but rather, a Eucharistic people."

Sydney (Fides Service) - Australian biblical scholar Salesian Fr Frank Moloney, from Melbourne who will attend the Synod of Bishops focussed on The Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church, 2-23 October in the Vatican, has said he hoped the meeting will reflect on "what the Eucharist is" and its central place in the life of every Christian. Fr Moloney, an internationally recognised scripture expert who holds a position at the Catholic University of America in Washington, said he was somewhat disappointed in the Instrumentum Laboris, document, which the Vatican released last July in preparation for the Synod and that he would like to see less about "liturgical abuses” and more on the general sense of "what the Eucharist is." As to his major concerns and desires for the Synod, the biblical scholar said that "I would like to see a greater sense of sensitivity, not just among the celebrants and ministers, but of the church as a whole" as to the meaning of the Eucharist. “The Church," he said, "is not just a body of believers brought together, but rather, a Eucharistic people.”.
Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney will also be present at the Synod.
(PA) (Agenzia Fides 29/9/2005 lines 19 words 213)