How are bishops picked

[Montie_Claunch]

Curious. How are they picked? Is it by a group of local bishops or preists or what? Thank you and God Bless.

 

[cameron_lansing]

Montie Claunch:

Curious. How are they picked? Is it by a group of local bishops or preists or what? Thank you and God Bless.

Canon 377 discusses this: “§1. The Supreme Pontiff freely appoints bishops or confirms those who have been legitimately elected. §2. At least every three years the bishops of an ecclesiastical province or, if circumstances suggest it, the bishops of a conference of bishops are to compose in common counsel and in secret a list of presbyters, including members of institutes of consecrated life, who are suitable for the episcopacy and send it to the Apostolic See; each bishop retains the right to make known to the Apostolic See on his own the names of presbyters who he thinks worthy and suitable for the episcopal office. §3. Unless other provisions have legitimately been made, whenever a diocesan bishop or a coadjutor bishop is to be named, in regard to the ternus, as it is called, to be proposed to the Apostolic See it is the responsibility of the pontifical legate to seek out individually the suggestions of the metropolitan and the suffragans of the province to which the diocese to be provided for belongs or with which it is joined and of the president of the conference of bishops and to communicate them to the Apostolic See together with his own preference; moreover, the pontifical legate is to hear some members of the college of consultors and of the cathedral chapter, and if he judges it expedient, he shall also obtain, individually and in secret, the opinion of other members of the secular and religious clergy as well as of the laity who are outstanding for their wisdom. §4. Unless other provisions have been legitimately made, a diocesan bishop who judges that an auxiliary bishop ought to be given to his diocese is to propose to the Apostolic See a list of at least three presbyters who are suitable for this office. §5. No rights and privileges of election, nomination, presentation, or designation of bishops are hereafter granted to civil authorities.”

There is an article on the internet that addresses this. georgetown.edu/centers/woodstock/reese/america/cs-apt.htm

 

[Joe_Kelley]

Well, I have seen it claimed that it can’t be by throwing darts at the wall or pulling names out of a hat - either would give better bishops.

 

[decn2b]

DCN please summarize the above lengthy cut and paste. What I get is the bishops from the surrounding area of the diocese give the pope a “heads up” as to who would be a good bishop. With that in mind is there any way my dicocese will be saved from anther lame duck bishop. It is absolutely horrible here in the davenport (ia) diocese. Every Sunday night a group of young families (my household included) prays the rosary as a group. I ALWAYS mention the the soon to be replacement for our Bishop Franklin. Who by my opinion has let the Liberal Laity take over the diocese. The dicosesan newspaper is a perfect example of how bad things are here. McBrien and Rohlheiser are considered dieties in Davenport.

 

[Andreas_Hofer]

A summary is that there’s a nomination process and the pope is looking at the short list provided by the churches of the general area that needs a bishop. Whatever mechanism has been set up to nominate the men must be used every few years, but individual bishops can still nominate independently. Also, I’m not sure if the pope is bound to use one of the nominated names (the pontifical legate is also free to make suggestions), even though the nominees need to be submitted.

In practice, the pope is basically going to pick somone off the list of nominees, so bad bishops have an amazing ability to beget more bad bishops unless there’s a healthy skepticism of the nominations coming out of particular ecclesiastical provinces. A smart pontifical legate willing to get his hands dirty and find trustworthy sources who can vouch for the orthodoxy and competency of candidates is probably a key to making the system work.

 

[cameron_lansing]

decn2b:

DCN please summarize the above lengthy cut and paste.

I was only intending to let people have the relevant canon handy so they could appreciate the scope of what is involved, and then to direct them to a useful article. I apologize to you, Decn2b, if this method was laborious, confusing or offensive to you or others.

Ideally, there is broad and systematic consultation within the diocese and the province, mediated with the apostolic nuncio, that ends up in the Congregation for Bishops. It then proposes a “turnus” or list of 3 to the Holy Father. (Its competence over this is given in article 77 of Pastor Bonus, and I promise not to cut and paste that.)

Keep in mind though that any prospective bishop has been informally scrutinized for years. Some priests are “marked” for scrutiny typically with the time when they are sent to Rome (the paradigm) for studies, where they establish networks and contacts. Their subsequent priestly ministries and how they perform important and difficult tasks in the diocese are also scrutinized. People remember and people talk even among the higher ecclesiastical circles. Often these priests have served as a bishop’s secretary themselves.

Some archdioceses have histories of being a feeder for auxiliary bishops who then become diocesan bishops. Detroit, Chicago, New York, and I think Boston, have provided quite a fair number. From Detroit alone in recent years, Bishops Neinstad, Vigneron, Blair, Hurley, Brunett, and Britt. I could only conclude that the voices of the Detroit cardinals are well respected, and their informal recommendations have had influence in the Congregation.

I was asked to complete a questionnaire from the nuncio some years ago. The questions are probing and comprehensive.

My understanding is that if a priest turns down the episcopacy, he will not be asked a second time.

There is a summary upon the topic of auxiliary bishops at americancatholic.org/Messenger/Jun1996/Wiseman.asp .

 

[Catholic2003]

Look at our Pope’s short biography, it looks as though he went directly from priest to archbishop. Is that correct? If so, how common is this?

 

[decn2b]

Appreciative of your reply.

I just hope the pope can help us who are at the end of our rope.

sounds like a rap but it is true… We need orthodoxy here.