Authority of Bishop over Religious Orders

[savedbychrist]

Religious orders should cooperate with the bishop of the diocese where they work in, but what authority does the bishop have over them? What diocesan-wide rules would apply to religious orders?

 

[Vico]

Religious orders should cooperate with the bishop of the diocese where they work in, but what authority does the bishop have over them? What diocesan-wide rules would apply to religious orders?

CIC (Latin Canon Law)

Can. 370 A territorial prelature or territorial abbacy is a certain portion of the people of God which is defined territorially and whose care, due to special circumstances, is entrusted to some prelate or abbot who governs it as its proper pastor just like a diocesan bishop.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I think there is often some debate over this question. Anybody know how the case came out about the Jesuit school that continued to employ an openly gay teacher after the Bishop said Catholic schools in his diocese couldn’t do that? Their position seemed to be that the Bishop doesn’t have authority over the Jesuits.

 

[mrsdizzyd]

The bishop ordered that they no longer be designated a Catholic institution. The Vatican suspended the bishop’s decision. No final decision has been made.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Thanks for the update. I take it the Jesuit school will continue to march along with hiring who it pleases in that case.

 

[mrsdizzyd]

I’m going to retract part of what I said. The Vatican suspended the bishops decision but has not made a final decision. For now the school can continue to call itself Catholic.

 

[Servant31]

I thought there were some orders which answered to the Vatican and not to the bishops?

 

[commenter]

I’m going to retract part of what I said. The Vatican suspended the bishops decision but has not made a final decision. For now the school can continue to call itself Catholic.

The archdiocesan website does not list that school as a Catholic school, so presumably not promoted as such. The archdiocese has no control over what schools do if they have no connection to them. A Lutheran school can call itself Catholic if they want.

I’m not sure if this case sheds much light on relationship between bishops and Religious orders. The teacher who was controversially retained was a layman, as are the majority of board members and almost all the staff. Calling it a “Jesuit” institution in 2020 is really a stretch. It’s more a lay institution with a little Jesuit involvement.

In general the religious order has great autonomy with internal ministry and administration. Bishops have full responsibility over public ministry. So a bishop would be very involved in what happens at a Franciscan parish, rarely involved in what happens in a Religious order house of formation.

Religious order high schools are a grey area. The lay employees are still his flock, along with students.

 

[nunsuch]

Begin with determining if the community is of pontifical or diocesan status. Obviously, a bishopp has far more jurisdiction over diocesan congregations. I don’'t know how deeply you want to get into the weeds about this, but there are a number of dissertations in canon law that cover such issues. I’ve read a lot of them, but you may not need that kind of granular detail.

 

[Sursumcorda1]

Read this Q/A Notre Dame, Obama, and the Bishop's Authority - Canon Law Made EasyCanon Law Made Easy from the Canon Law Made Easy website which answers your question. Basically it says that religious orders need permission from the bishop to “set up shop” in the diocese and also permission from the bishop to start new endeavours like a charity or school. However, once the religious order gets permission, the bishop generally doesn’t interfere with the superior’s management. In our diocese, we had a church run by a religious order for years, but the new bishop gave them 60 days to vacate the church since the group had some kind of hostility to the bishop.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

I’ve seen religious orders which do not have Papal Approval, both approved by a Bishop, then ordered to disband from the next Bishop.

My understanding is that religious orders which have Papal Approval are under the Provincial of the Order in Rome, who reports directly to the Pope. They can not be ordered to disband by the diocesan Bishop without permission from Rome.

 

[savedbychrist]

However, once the religious order gets permission, the bishop generally doesn’t interfere with the superior’s management.

What about parishes runned by religious orders? Does the Bishop has authority to intervene with their operation? (provided that they have done nothing against the catechism, Catholic morals and the Canon Law)

For example, when the Diocese has mandated that all public Mass would be suspended due to a special reason (say terrorist attack or epidemic outbreak), are those parishes bound by this diocesan policy, or are they free from that?

 

[nunsuch]

.Actually, this would not apply to most women’s congregations, which are not part of Orders and which men’s congregations have no jurisdiction over whatsoever. That is why they require either diocesan or pontifical approbation. I’ve actually written extensively on this, but in a historical context, so the current Code of Canon Law would not apply. But the general principle is the same.

Historically, one reason that women’s congregations sought pontifical approbation was precisely to limit the arbitrary jurisdiction of bishops over their existence and internal policies. That was quite common, and generally very disruptive.

 

[commenter]

Religious orders should cooperate with the bishop of the diocese where they work in, but what authority does the bishop have over them? What diocesan-wide rules would apply to religious orders?

The parish is ultimately under the bishop. The rectory is under the provincial superior. My Diocese mandates diocesan clergy take annual retreats, and periodic conferences with the bishop. Those mandates don’t extend to the order clergy, including pastors.

But all parishes pay the diocesan assessment, Laity in parishes with Order men are affected by the same rules as diocesan priest staffed parishes.

In reality, a bishop would be less likely to intervene based on a minor complaint about an Order staffed parish. But if it’s a serious matter, such as liturgical abuses, he would.

You can be sure any issue involving accusation of sex abuse y an Order priest will be monitored very, very closely by the diocese. Thus was not the case decades ago.

A Franciscan priest who was credibly accused at a high school in my diocese was suddenly transferred to another diocese. 22 years later they announced he was going to be a pastor in that other diocese. The parents of the victim raised Hell, and it came out that nobody in that other diocese had been informed of his background. and I assume he has no public ministry anywhere now.

 

[twf]

I would think in short the Bishop would have no to very limited authority over a religious priest as an individual. His spiritual life, his daily routine, etc would all fall under the authority of his religious superior.
When it comes to the parish and the spiritual lives of the faithful, the bishop is responsible. So he would have authority over matters touching parish administration, public liturgies, etc.

 

[OurLadyofSorrows]

Religious orders should cooperate with the bishop of the diocese where they work in, but what authority does the bishop have over them? What diocesan-wide rules would apply to religious orders?

It really depends on the Order or Society, some are answerable to the Diocese Bishop, some only to Rome.
Nunsuch has answered this well.

 

[InThePew]

I would think in short the Bishop would have no to very limited authority over a religious priest as an individual. His spiritual life, his daily routine, etc would all fall under the authority of his religious superior.

It would but all priests need faculties from the local bishop in order to function publily as a priest. A bishop can remove faculties from a religious priest (for a serious reason) or refuse to grant them in the first place just as he can with any other priest. So, when it comes to matters of public ministry, a religious order priest is answerable to his local superior but still under the governance of the bishop as a priest in his diocese.

 

[runningdude]

Can. 370 is a rare situation. In such a situation, there is no diocesan bishop, and the local superior of the religious order is given care of the lay faithful in region. It is not really was asked in the question, where a religious order has a presence in a diocese.

 

[runningdude]

What about parishes runned by religious orders? Does the Bishop has authority to intervene with their operation? (provided that they have done nothing against the catechism, Catholic morals and the Canon Law)

A parish is a territory within a diocese. The bishop will appoint a pastor to serve the sacramental and spiritual needs of the lay faithful within the parish. If a religious order is willing, a bishop may appoint a member of a religious order as pastor. The parish remains, however, part of the diocese, and subject to the authority of the bishop.

However, if a religious order has a house (friary, monastery) where members of the order lived that is not attached to a diocesan parish, the chapel of the monastery would not necessarily be subject to the bishop, even if the public were allowed to attend masses celebrated by the order.

 

[Vico]

Can. 370 is a rare situation. In such a situation, there is no diocesan bishop, and the local superior of the religious order is given care of the lay faithful in region. It is not really was asked in the question, where a religious order has a presence in a diocese.

Yes rare, there are less than 100 territorial prelatures and territorial abbeys combined. So the original post said “work in” so would you say that the members always work outside of any diocese?