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Pope Francis said, “Bishops are the pastors of the People of God. Follow them with trust and courage.”
He is risen! Alleluia! Alleluia! Thank you for joining me for All Things Catholic. I’m your host, Deacon Rudy Villarreal, and together we are going to explore what it means to be Catholic. If you have a question that you’d like me to address, please use the comment form on the website, or by email to rudy@deaconrudysnotes.org. I have some good news! I have been accepted to the Doctor of Ministry in Preaching program at Aquinas Institute in St. Louis! Praise God! As I prepare to begin my studies, All Things Catholic will move to the first Wednesday of the month and will be supplemented with occasional bonus episodes. Of course, I will still post the weekend edition every Sunday since it closely correlates with my doctoral studies.
On today’s episode, we’re going to talk a little bit about bishops. The bishops have taken a bit of beating in recent years, especially in the light of the clergy sex abuse scandal. Who are they and what do they do?
While the role of bishops is not restricted to the Catholic faith, the Catholic bishop has often been the focus of novelists and included in many stories, like Bishop Myriel in Les Misérables who gives Jean Valjean a new start, or the sinister Cardinal Richelieu of The Three Musketeers who desires power for himself, or the calculating Cardinal Wolsey of the Tudors, or scheming Bishop Aringarosa of The Da Vinci Code. But who are the bishops really? Who are these guardians of our ancient tradition? That’s our focus today.
The role of the bishop is rooted in the early life of the church. We briefly touched on the topic of “apostolic succession” in the All Things Catholic episode 1, “On What Authority.” As a quick refresher, Peter announced that the “office” left empty by Judas needed to be filled, (Acts 1:20-21). Acts also clearly describes the authority of the disciples at Jerusalem as the great evangelical task in human history begins. Paul, who is an apostle by the hand of Jesus, submits to the will of the disciples at Jerusalem. Acts also describes the role of the Council of Jerusalem in resolving the circumcision controversy (Acts 15). Later Paul directs Titus to appoint “elders” in every town (Titus 1:5). Clearly there is a hierarchy at work in Scripture. <1>
Now I know some of you will say that my description of authority is partially true. It is true that Scripture describes some level of authority, but the fact is the duties which today are assigned to bishops, priests and deacons are not distinct in Scripture – and you would be correct. Some of these roles and even the language used to describe these “offices” seems at time interchangeable to some extent.
But for a variety of factors, the distinct roles of bishops, priests and deacons is much more clear end of the 90s and well into the third century. We find proofs for this development in the writings of Clement of Rome, who died in 100 A.D. (1 Clem 42; 44:1), in the Didache which was a collection of teachings – perhaps the first catechism. It’s full title is The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles. We find additional writings in the works of Ignatius of Antioch and in the Apostolic Tradition written by Hippolytus of Rome, who died around 236 A.D.
The point is that the idea of hierarchy – of leadership roles in the church – is absolutely biblical and the specific title of bishop clearly emerges from the early church.
Now, Vatican II gives us two key documents that help define the role of the bishop in the modern world. Those documents include the Lumen Gentium or the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, and Christus Dominus or the Decree on the Pastoral Office of the Bishops in the Church.
Now, there’s lots of technical information out there, like the qualifications for a bishop, how bishops are selected, etc. But here are the basics. The Pope, who himself is a bishop, appoints the bishops of the world. There are archbishops, bishops, coadjutor bishops, and auxiliary bishops. The Church has organized the world into geographic areas called provinces. The province is lead by an archbishop. The province is further subdivided into geographic units called dioceses. The diocese is lead by a bishop. While the archbishop leads the province, he does not have authority over the bishops except in questions of faith and morals. The bishops are under the direct authority of the Pope. For this podcast, I’ll use the generic term “diocese” to refer to both archdioceses and dioceses, and I’ll use the generic term “bishop” to refer to all types of bishops.
Some bishops are stretched pretty thin either because of the large numbers of Catholics in their dioceses or a large geographic area of their diocese. In these situations, the bishops might ask the Pope to send appoint auxiliary bishops to assist them. The Pope does not always fulfill these requests. The Pope might also appoint coadjutor bishops. Sometimes, but not always, the Pope will send a coadjutor bishop to a diocese, usually when there is a forecasted or planned transition like a retirement. The coadjutor serves along side the bishop to begin the process of transition.
As we discussed earlier, the bishop is a living successor to apostles. A bishop is responsible for all of the souls in his diocese – not just the Catholic ones and not just the Christian ones! And the bishop has the fulness of ordination. What does that mean? That means that the bishop is the only person in the diocese who can exercise all seven sacraments. For example, only a bishop may ordain priests and deacons.
Now, can a bishop do everything by himself? No, of course not. The Apostles couldn’t do it by themselves. That’s why in Acts chapter 6 they appointed the first seven deacons. And the bishops today can’t do everything by themselves, that’s why they ordain priests and deacons. Now this is important if not obvious. There can be no priests or deacons without bishops. The bishop, who has the fulness of ordination, shares some of sacred duties when he ordains priests and the bishop shares some of his sacred duties when he ordains deacons. There are no lone rangers in ministry. So, whenever you encounter a priest or a deacon while they exercise their ministry, you encounter the power of Christ flowing through Peter and the Apostles, and down through our bishops today through the priest or the deacon.
The Second Vatican council describes the three primary roles of bishops as sanctifiers, teachers and governors. As sanctifiers, the bishop is responsible for the sacraments, and we just described how the bishop ordains men to the priesthood and diaconate to assure public access to the sacraments. As teacher, the bishop is responsible to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with the people and to teach the beliefs of the Catholic Church. As governor, the bishops is responsible for administering the diocese, which includes managing finances and personnel, and overseeing the myriad of Catholic organizations and initiatives at work in the diocese. <2>
The bishops wear many hats. But the key and most important role of the bishop is what Pope Francis described as a pastor. Our pastors should lead is in the worship of God. A pastor is like a firmly rooted rock protecting the People of God against the raging waters of modernity and relativism. A pastor looks out for lost sheep and should lead our evangelization effort for the conversion of souls. Our pastors should lead us in service to the poor. <3>
I hope this primer in the role of the bishop has been helpful. Now, go make disciples! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit! +Amen!
You’re listening to All Things Catholic. If you have a question you’d like me to discuss, please use the comment form on the website, or send me an email to rudy@deaconrudysnotes.org.
This episode was produced by deacon rudy’s notes. Our theme music was composed by Silent Partner. You can find all sorts of helpful information on the website at www.deaconrudysnotes.org. I’m your host, Deacon Rudy Villarreal. Join us again next time and don’t forget to check out the weekend edition where we break open the Word. He is RISEN! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Notes:
<1> See Deacon Rudy Villarreal, “On What Authority,” https://www.deaconrudysnotes.org/atc-1-on-what-authority/
<2> Fichter, Stephen J., et al, Catholic Bishops in the United States: Church Leadership in the Third Millennium, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019.
<3> See Bishop Robert Barron on the Three Essential Elements of the Church, https://youtu.be/O9m-pNsFPV0.
References:
1. Fichter, Stephen J., et al. Catholic Bishops in the United States: Church Leadership in the Third Millennium. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019.
2. The Bible: A Study Bible freshly translated by Nicholas King. Buxhall, Suffolk UK: Kevin Mayhew, 2013.
3. Vatican Council II. Christus Dominus. Vatican.va. 28 October 1965. Accessed 8 May 2020. http://w2.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decree_19651028_christus-dominus_en.html.
4. Vatican Council II. Lumen Gentium. Vatican.va. 21 November 1964. Accessed 8 May 2020. https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html.
Catechism References: Easily search the Catechism at http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc.htm
1. Peter and his successors, 85