At the synod with Dutch bishops in Rome, John Paul had spoken often and, it was obvious, decisively, to persuade the Dutch bishops to enforce Vatican policy in their rebellious land.

Bishops back Vatican line

For each of the 15 days of deliberations, a white-robed Pope John Paul II sat Sphinxlike, jotting down notes but never saying a word. Or so went the official version of the extraordinary synod of Dutch bishops at the Vatican, an account intended to play…