Clarification of the Hierarchy of the US Church

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consumedconvert

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I wasn’t sure where to post this thread, but I guess here will do.

What exactly is the functional difference between a Cardinal, Archbishop, and Bishop?

What about countries with a Primate? What role does he play?

I’m a little confused. I was under the impression that a Cardinal or Archbishop had no oversight responsibility over Bishops. Is this true?

For instance, I’m in the Diocese of Peoria (under Bishop Daniel Jenky–God bless him!) Am I also a member of the Archdiocese of Chicago, under Cardinal George? Am I directly or indirectly responsible to Cardinal George as a Catholic, or ONLY Bishop Jenky?

ANd furthermore, if I lived in Ireland, would I be under the direct authority of my Bishop AND the Primate?

Help!
 
BTW, could you clarify this hierarchal structure?

Is it:
Code: 
                  Pope
Bishop Cardinal Archbishop
Pastors Pastors Pastors
Faithful Faithful Faithful

Or:

Pope
Cardinal/Archbishop
Pastors
(Deacons)
Faithful

?🤷
 
consumedconvert said:
I
I’m a little confused. I was under the impression that a Cardinal or Archbishop had no oversight responsibility over Bishops. Is this true?
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The Archbishop is a bishop with jurisdiction over a Province ( a logic grouping of diocese. The Archbishop has no real imput into the day to day running of a suffragan diocese, but certain liturgical practices are set for the Province, and the Archbishop acts as Chairman when the bishops meet to discuss.

Also the Archbishop has significant (name removed by moderator)ut into bishops assigned to his diocese, as well as what priests are elevated to Episcopal status.
ANd furthermore, if I lived in Ireland, would I be under the direct authority of my Bishop AND the Primate?
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Help!
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Technically, every country has a Primate, it is the bishop of the oldest see. In the US, that would be Archbishop O’Brien of Baltimore.

The Primate will act as chairman in the case of a National Synod (like the Council of Baltimore that produced the Baltimore Catechism)
 
Brendan said:
Technically, every country has a Primate, it is the bishop of the oldest see. In the US, that would be Archbishop O’Brien of Baltimore.

The Primate will act as chairman in the case of a National Synod (like the Council of Baltimore that produced the Baltimore Catechism)
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As long as we’re being technical, I’m going to challenge your assertion that every country has a primate. As our trusty Catholic Encyclopedia tells us: "Primates exist only in the West, and correspond not to the patriarchs but to the exarchs of the East. There is no uniformity in the institution, it has no place in common law; primatial rights are privileges. " If there is no uniformity and no common law basis, we really are only left with the fact that there are as many primates as the pope says there are (it’s granted as a privilege), so if he never created one for the US, we don’t have one.
 
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