Croziers - not fit for purpose?

[Anesti33]

What I am saying is that one of the reasons we recognize a bishop as a bishop is that he carries a crozier. It is the invariant insignia of his office. If every bishop carried a different trinket chosen by local whim, all symbolism of the insignia would be lost. A symbol is not merely for people “in the know” but for everyone who might observe to know.

 

[InThePew]

To describe it as a “trinket chosen by local whim” is disrespectful to a culture where the symbol chosen is highly significant. If nothing else, the word “crozier” doesn’t actually appear in the Ceremonial of Bishops, instead it uses the term “pastoral staff” which is broader. It’s important to remember that the Church is local as well as universal and it is the local Church who need to recognise and understand the role of their leader. When it comes to others, if nothing else the pointy hat is probably a give away!

 

[otjm]

There are a number of ways we can recognize a bishop; his mitre is another, as well as his pectoral cross.

The crosier is not a “trinket”. And as to people in the Cook Islands having a symbol other than the crosier, I suspect they will have absolutely no problem recognizing he is a bishop; I suspect they already know he has adopted the paddle as a sign of his office.

It is not like a whole lot of Catholics are going to visit the Cook Islands. And for any Cook islander who is Catholic and has not seen the bishop before, I seriously doubt they will have any problem at all.

If Rome has an issue with it, I am sure Rome can deal with the matter; but considering that the Catholic Church acknowledges other cultures and considers that there may be cultural expressions different than what Europe and North America, I suspect the Church will not have a problem with it.

While I have seen the crosier multiple times over the decades, I would have no problem recognizing a bishop in a Mass or other liturgical celebration if he had another symbol; I might find it interesting or different, but it certainly would not confuse me.

Nor do I suspect anyone there is confused; someone visiting the island might be surprised to see his symbol, but if they have seen a bishop before I seriously doubt they would be confused as to his office; perhaps confused as to his symbol, but not the office.