Pope tightens reins on bishops' conferences.(apostolic letter from Pope tries to curtail power of bishops' conferences)(Brief Article)

By way of a new apostolic letter, Pope John Paul II is attempting to exert greater control over national bishops' conferences. Some church observers say the letter has the potential to create ecclesiastical gridlock in Rome. The papal declaration requires action on major statements of faith and practice from the world's 108 national bodies of bishops to be either unanimous--a near impossibility in the U.S., with some 300 voting bishops--or submitted to Rome for approval.

Bishop Anthony M. Pilla of Cleveland, president of the Washington-based National Conference of…