Region’s bishops called to greater collaboration
By Catholic News Service
CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy — In the wake of the sex abuse scandal, U.S. bishops should be open to a more collaborative style of governance that shares responsibility with lay Catholics, Pope John Paul II said.
A consultative approach should not
be seen as an abandonment of episcopal
authority or a concession to democracy,
but as a necessary way of strengthening a
bishop’s effectiveness, the pope said.
He made the remarks Sept. 11 in a talk to more than 30 bishops from New Jersey and Pennsylvania, including Bishop Paul G. Bootkoski. The bishops were on their “ad limina” visits to the Vatican, which heads of dioceses are required to make every five years.
The pope’s theme was episcopal governance, and he said he wanted to explore it in the context of the sex abuse crisis. He said many of the bishops had spoken to him of a “crisis of confidence” in Church leadership provoked by the abuse scandals and about the general call for accountability in the Church’s governance on every level.
The pope said the bishops should be willing to critique certain styles of governance that, in the name of efficient administration,“can run the risk of distancing the pastor from the members of his flock.”
He recalled that the 2001 Synod of Bishops had acknowledged the need for each bishop to “develop a pastoral style which is ever more open to collaboration with all.” Although bishops remain responsible for making authoritative decisions, this presupposes participation in decision- making by “every category of the faithful,” he said.
The commitment to creating better structures of participation, consultation and shared responsibility “should not be misunderstood as a concession to a secular‘democratic’ model of governance,” but as a necessary way of exercising and strengthening a bishop’s authority, he said.
Ultimately, he said, episcopal authority rests on a bishop’s role as a witness, a teacher and a model of holiness, as well as a prudent administrator of the Church’s goods.
“Bishops need to be esteemed as successors of the apostles not only in authority and sacred power, but above all by their apostolic life and witness,” he said.
The pope said bishops should also remember that the apostolic authority they exercise is a form of service, inspired by and modeled on the service of Christ, who washed the feet of his disciples.
Repeating the encouragement he has offered other groups of U.S. bishops throughout the year, the pope said he was convinced the bishops could help lead the Church in the United States through a period of renewal after the sex abuse crisis.
Throughout history, good governance by bishops has helped the Church“preserve her integrity, independence and fidelity to the Gospel in the face of threats from within and without,” the pope said.
“I am convinced that today, as at every critical moment in her history, the Church will find the resources for an authentic self-renewal in the wisdom, vision and zeal of bishops outstanding for their holiness,” he said.
But the challenges posed by the sex abuse scandal go beyond the country’s bishops, he said.
“The painful period of self-examination provoked by the events of the past two years will bear spiritual fruit only if it leads the whole Catholic community in America to a deeper understanding of the Church’s authentic nature and mission and a more intense commitment to making the Church in your country reflect, in every aspect of her life, the light of Christ’s grace and truth,” he said.
The bishops spent the week meeting with various Vatican departments. In their encounter with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, most of the discussion focused on procedures for dealing with priests accused of abuse, Bishop Donald W. Wuerl of Pittsburgh told Catholic News Service.
Bishop Edward P. Cullen of Allentown,
Pa., said the Vatican’s doctrinal officials
had done an excellent job clarifying
the procedural issues. He also said the
bishops received strong encouragement
about their efforts to address the needs
of
sex abuse victims.
Coming Up:
Bishop Paul G. Bootkoski’s report
on his “ad limina” visit to Italy,
and an overview of the diocese’s quinquennial
document, prepared for the five year
visit with the Holy Father and
Vatican officials.
*The attached/referenced article was originally published in The Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Metuchen, and is protected under U.S. and international copyright law