Appointment of Catholic bishops
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The appointment of bishops in the
History
Early Church
It is unclear when the notion of a
Examples of episcopal election in the early church include such notable figures as
The bishops of the most important
Era of ecumenical councils
By the time of the
Let the ancient customs in Egypt, Libya and Pentapolis prevail, that the Bishop of Alexandria have jurisdiction in all these, since the like is customary for the Bishop of Rome also. Likewise in Antioch and the other provinces, let the Churches retain their privileges. And this is to be universally understood, that if any one be made bishop without the consent of the Metropolitan, the great Synod has declared that such a man ought not to be a bishop. If, however, two or three bishops shall from natural love of contradiction, oppose the common suffrage of the rest, it being reasonable and in accordance with the ecclesiastical law, then let the choice of the majority prevail.[3]
Era of Charlemagne
As part of the flourishing of culture and renewal under his reign, the Emperor
Medieval Church
Later, state authorities demanded their consent for the election of bishops. In
Centralization of papal power
Papal primacy, supremacy and infallibility |
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In the early 19th century, state involvement in episcopal appointment was still so normal that, in spite of the opposition of the Church in Ireland to the proposed royal veto of the appointment of bishops, the Holy See was prepared to grant it to the British king. As late as the 20th century, Franz Joseph I of Austria-Hungary attempted to exercise the power of jus exclusivae to veto the election of Mariano Rampolla as pope during the 1903 papal conclave. The attempted veto was rejected by the conclave, but over the course of several ballots, Rampolla, who had been the leading candidate, lost support until the conclave elected Cardinal Giuseppe Sarto, who then became Pope Pius X. In his Constitution "Commissum Nobis" (1904), Pius X declared that the Apostolic See had never approved the civil veto, though previous legislation had not succeeded in preventing it, and he forbade any attempt to exercise it.[4]
It was in 1871 that a radical shift in law and practice began to take place. In that year the
Thus the 1917 Code of Canon Law was able to finally affirm that, in the Latin Church, the decision rests with the pope. In the course of the 20th century, remaining privileges enjoyed by secular authorities gradually diminished, especially since the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), which declared that the right of nominating and appointing bishops belongs per se exclusively to the competent ecclesiastical authority and requested the civil authorities who still had rights and privileges in this field to renounce them voluntarily.[8]
Pastoral bishops in the Latin Church
Canon 401 §1 of the
If the resignation is accepted with immediate effect, the episcopal see becomes vacant on publication of the pope's decision. Vacancy of a see may also occur because of a bishop's transfer to another see or position, or because of his death. In the case of a nunc pro tunc acceptance, the see does not become vacant immediately, but the process that leads to the appointment of a successor begins without delay.
One important element in selecting a bishop is the list of priests, of both the
When it comes to a concrete appointment for a particular see, the papal representative (apostolic nuncio or delegate) asks either the outgoing bishop, or in case of a
Canon law insists on enabling those consulted to provide information and express their views confidentially, requiring that they be consulted "individually and in secret".
The nuncio then decides on a short list, or terna, of three candidates for further investigation and seeks precise information on each of them. Since if it were widely known that a priest who was not the one who was finally chosen for the post had been under consideration, people might think he had been excluded because of some fault found in him, the nuncio will ask those consulted about individual candidates to observe the strictest confidentiality on the fact of the consultation. He will then send to the Holy See a list of the (usually) three candidates that seem to be the most appropriate for consideration, together with all the information that has been gathered on them and accompanying the information with the conclusions that he himself draws from the evidence.[14]
The qualities that a candidate must have are listed in canon 378 §1. As well as being at least 35 years old and a priest for at least 5 years, he should be "outstanding in strong faith, good morals, piety, zeal for souls, wisdom, prudence and human virtues", and should possess the other qualities needed for fulfilling the office in question; and he should be well versed in sacred Scripture, theology and canon law and, preferably, hold a doctorate in one of these fields.
The congregation of the Roman Curia responsible for the appointment (one of the four indicated above) studies the documentation provided by the nuncio, taking into consideration his opinion, but not necessarily accepting it. It might even reject all the candidates he has proposed and ask him to prepare another list, or it might ask him to provide more information on one or more of the individuals who have already been presented. When the congregation decides on which person should be appointed, the list, and the related conclusions are presented to the pope, asking him to make the appointment.[15] If he agrees, the papal act is communicated to the nuncio for him to obtain the consent of the individual to his appointment and to choose a date for its publication. The newly appointed bishop is obliged to get episcopal consecration within three months of the arrival of the papal bull of his appointment, which is usually prepared at least a month after the publication. If the consecration takes place within the diocese, he takes charge immediately. If it occurs elsewhere, a separate act is required, after the consecration, for taking possession of his new post.[16] Bringing the process to a conclusion requires much time, usually taking at least nine months, and it may on occasion take up to two years.
The procedure described above is the normal one for the appointment of a diocesan bishop. In the case of an auxiliary bishop, the diocesan bishop chooses the three priests to be presented for the appointment, but the nuncio still has the duty of gathering information and opinions on the candidates, and the congregation can either select one of them or ask for a different list of candidates to be presented.[17]
In some countries, the diocesan chapter or some other body decides on the three names to send, through the nuncio, to the Holy See. With the names, the nuncio sends the information he has gathered on the candidates. If none of the three candidates is acceptable to the Holy See, the chapter is asked for another list. However, the Holy See can reject the list in its entirety and appoint someone not proposed by the chapter.[18] In other cases the cathedral chapter chooses the bishop from among a list of three presented to them by the Holy See.[19]
The chapter participates in the election of bishops of 13 of the 27 German dioceses (
For the personal ordinariates established under the apostolic constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus,[21] out of respect for the synodal tradition of Anglicanism, the ordinary will be appointed by the Roman pontiff from a terna of names presented by the governing council (CN Art. 4 § 1)[22]
In the past, privileges regarding the appointment of bishops were granted to kings and other civil authorities. In accordance with the decision of the Second Vatican Council,[23] the 1983 Code of Canon Law lays down that "for the future, no rights or privileges of election, appointment, presentation or designation of Bishops are conceded to civil authorities."[24] In about a dozen countries, the civil government still has the right of consultation or even of presentation.[25]
Eastern Catholic Churches
There are 23 Eastern Catholic Churches totalling about 20 million people that are in communion with the Holy See but their liturgy and other practices are different. A patriarchal Eastern Catholic church itself elects its bishops who are to serve within its own territory, but other bishops are appointed by the pope.[26] Before the election of a bishop, the patriarchal synod considers the names proposed by its members and draws up a list of those it considers to be valid candidates for episcopacy; this is communicated to the pope and any name for which he refuses his assent is removed from the list.[27] When the synod then comes to elect a bishop, no further procedure is required if the person chosen is on the list; but if he is not on the list, the assent of the pope is needed before asking the newly elected to accept his election.[28] The same arrangement holds for a Church headed by a major archbishop.[29] In the official bulletins and news media of the Holy See, these appointments are published as decisions of the Eastern Church in question, not of the pope. The procedure for appointing bishops of other Eastern Churches and those bishops of patriarchal and major archiepiscopal Churches who are to serve outside the territory of the Church in question is similar to that for Latin bishops, and the appointments are published as acts of the pope.
See also
- Hierarchy of the Catholic Church
- Lists of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops
References
- ^ Patout Burns, J. (2002). Cyprian the Bishop. Psychology Press. p. 91.
- ^ Jurgens, W. A. (editor) (1970). The Faith of the Early Fathers. Liturgical Press. p. 232.
- ^ Canon 6 of the First Council of Nicaea
- ^ Sägmüller, J.B. (1909). Right of Exclusion. In the Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
- ^ Chadwick, Owen (2003). A History of the Popes, 1830-1914. Oxford University Press. p. 239.
- ^ Norwich, John Julius (2011). The Popes: A History. Random House. p. 401.
- ^ Norwich, John Julius (2012). Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy Archived 29 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Penguin Random House. Chapter 25.
- ^ Second Vatican Council, Decree Christus Dominus, 20
- ^ Canon 401 §2
- ^ Canon 377 §2
- ^ Canon 377 §3
- ^ Circular Letter No. 1550/72 of 25 March 1972 from the Council of the Public Affairs of the Church (AAS 64, 1972, pp. 386 ff.)
- ^ Canon 377 §3, towards end
- ^ Canon 377 §3, final words; cf. canon 364, 4°
- ^ "Cardinal Wuerl appointed to Congregation for Bishops; Ouellet confirmed as prefect". Catholic World Rport. 16 December 2013. Archived from the original on 2 June 2017.
- ^ Canon 379
- ^ Canon 377 §4
- ^ "More Trouble in Holland". Time. (18 January 1971). Archived from the original 13 July 2007.
- ISBN 978-0-521-48453-4), p. 225
- ISBN 978-3-8258-1665-0), p. 49
- ^ Anglicanorum Coetibus
- ^ Complementary Norms
- ^ Christus Dominus, 20
- ^ Canon 377 §5
- ^ Herghelegiu 2008, p. 50
- ^ Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, canon 181
- ^ Canon 182
- ^ Canons 184–185
- ^ Canon 152