Pastor's Note

Continuing our exploration of Canon Law, we take note of those who assist the Pope on a daily basis. “The Supreme Pontiff usually conducts the affairs of the Universal Church through the Roman Curia which performs its function in his name and by his authority for the good and the service of the churches. The Roman Curia consists of the Secretariat of State or the Papal Secretariat, the Council for Public Affairs of the Church, congregations, tribunals, and other institutes; the constitution and competence of all these are defined in special law.”(c.360)
ome examples of these departments of governance are the following: Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith monitors the work of theologians. When call for, it issues a doctrinal notification which warns of the errors perceived by the Magisterium in the thought of an individual. Additionally of late, this body has taken responsibility to judge those accused of acts against minors. More positively, they assist in the proclamation of the truths of the Church. Frequently the staff works with the Holy Father in aiding the contemporary needs of the People of God and in producing and encouraging response in the form of apostolic letters, declarations, or encyclicals. The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments issues, in the name of the Pope, instructions as to the manner the Church liturgy is to be celebrated. It approves the texts to be used in the Mass and Sacraments. No priest has the “right to add, delete, or alter the manner in which he conveys God’s grace through those signs instituted by Christ.” The Pontifical Council for the Laity concerns itself with the mission of and ministry to the Christian faithful who must enter daily the economic, social, and political spheres of life. Just recently, Pope Benedict XVI initiated the Pontifical Council for the new Evangelization to explore and encourage a renewal of the efforts to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Also serving the cause of the Papacy is the presence in nations throughout the world of loss. Serving with the guidance of the Secretary of State, presently Cardinal Tarcisio Bertini, the church officials interface both with civil authortities and /or leaders of the particular cities in the countries to which they are assigned. The duties they have are exemplified in our nation by Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the apostolic nuncio. He represents us to the U.S. State Department as he shares with the government our concerns for the protection of human dignity, the preservation of peace, and use of the world resources. (Also serving in our country is the Permanent Observer to the United Nations in New York.) Additionally, the nuncio attends meetings of the Conference of Bishops. At those times, he brings to that body the Pope’s concerns and he also relays to the Vatican the issues of importance to the nation’s episcopate. It is his office which serves individual bishops in dealing with the problems which might arise in leading their faith community. In recognizing that shepherds be identified for the stability of particular churches, (this is the canonical term for dioceses), the nuncio is the clearinghouse for the reception and investigation of names presented for episcopal nomination by the Pope.

We have spoken of bishops many times in our presentation. Let us now discuss their office specifically. As a successor of the Apostles, the bishop is a priest called by the Church’s Apostolic See to lead the faith community in various ways. For our purposes we will concentrate on diocesan bishops. They are of two types: ordinary and auxiliary or assistant. The Ordinary is the head of the (arch) diocese. In our case he is Archbishop Timothy Michael Dolan. He has “entrusted to him…all ordinary, proper and immediate power which is required for the exercise of his pastoral function except for cases when the law or a decree of the Supreme Pontiff reserves to the supreme authority or to another ecclesiastical authority.” (c.381) The law insists that the bishop takes canonical possession. Such an effort takes place as he presents the Pope’s letter of appointment to the Board of Consultors and the Chancellor notarizes it. In his exercise of governance “a diocesan bishop is to attend to presbyters and listen to them as assistants and counselors.” (c.384) This is formalized in the law which calls for ‘a presbyteral council to be established …which assists the bishop in the governance of the diocese according to the norm of law to promote as much as possible the pastoral good of the portion of the people of God entrusted to him.” (c.495) The presbyteral council does not possess deliberative powers which resides only in the Ordinary. It cannot meet without the Bishop. It ceases when a vacancy takes place in the leadership of the diocese. The bishop, upon taking possession of the diocese, has one year to reconstitute the consultative body. One issue in which the Council must be heard is the erection or suppression of a parish. Again though, they must be presented with the question; their advice need not be followed.

From those priests who serve on the presbyteral council the diocesan bishop appoints a college of consultors. These men serve for a definitive term of five years. The college numbers between six and twelve. When the see might become vacant, they continue in place, acting as a governing force and elect one of their number as a diocesan administrator. (This final act might be superceded by the Holy See which appoints an apostolic administrator.) The universal law does not specify the normal functioning of the college. Our present Ordinary meets quarterly with it to discuss various diocesan concerns in addition to listening to them on required issues of temporality disposal and use.

Recently, the Archbishop has constituted a diocesan pastoral council. As called for in the canons “ it consists of members of the Christian faithful who are in full communion with the Catholic Church- clerics, members of institutes of consecrated life and especially laity- who are designated in a manner determined by the diocesan bishop.” (c.512) Its members will be consulted on issues of pastoral development and spiritual growth in the Archdiocese. As in the case of the Holy Father, the bishop of a particular church is assisted by the curia, offices which today are more and more occupied by members of the lay faithful.                

Next week we will continue our study with a focus on parish life. Have a blessed week.

Vivat Jesus

Fr Brian