By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM
Part 50
Now that we have considered the authority of the Pope, his infallibility, its extension and limits, as well as replied to the most common objections, let us now consider the authority of the bishops.
This is important to understand because the Catholic Church is not a dictatorship. Popes do not rule as they see fit, as in a Louis XIV absolute monarch style, according to their personal whims and preferences. They received a mission to work together with the bishops, their fellow-members of the Apostolic College. The Pope continues the mission of St. Peter, and the bishops continue the mission of the other apostles.
But even here the bishops are not “successors of the apostles” singly, one by one in their own dioceses, independently doing their jobs as each one of them sees fit: No, they are the successors of the apostles collectively, and in union with the Pope.
Do bishops receive their authority from the Pope, then? You may ask this, and the answer is a simple no. They receive their authority from the same source that gave it to the Pope: Our Lord Jesus Christ. But the Pope is their Supreme Pastor. They retain their authority as long as they are faithful to the Pope. The Sacrament of Holy Orders gives them their authority, but they are nominated by the Pope.
When does a bishop become the teacher and ruler of the people in a given diocese? He does so when he takes possession of the diocese that was assigned to him.
Since the bishops received their authority from the same source that gave it to the Pope, namely, our Lord Jesus Christ, are the bishops equally infallible? No, they are not. As individuals they are not infallible. They can be infallible in a council gathered together with the Pope, as happened in the First Vatican Council under Pope Blessed Pius IX.
The local bishop is the one who has authority to teach Catholic doctrine to the people and to decide if a given question belongs to faith or morals. Beyond that, he has no authority. Also, in matters of politics, sports, cooking, science, and so on, his opinion is as good as yours or mine. But — and this “but” is of the utmost importance — if the issue being discussed in politics, sports, cooking, or science does involve a matter of faith and/or morals, the bishop has the authority to intervene and teach, always within his diocese.
Just by the way, here is a concept we must understand: jurisdiction. It is the authority of the bishop to teach and govern the people in a diocese. A bishop’s jurisdiction extends only to his own subjects and his diocese; but the jurisdiction of the Pope extends to the universal Church. A diocesan bishop cannot interfere in the affairs of another diocese; only the Pope can do that.
To deny him this right and say that every layman has the authority to decide would be the same as becoming Protestant — the religion that gives episcopal authority to every person in the congregation.
But in the Church founded by Jesus Christ the people listen to and obey their pastor, the bishop. Should it happen that the bishop refuses to do his teaching job and prefers to do just the administrative jobs in the diocese, he is in fact betraying his mission, and could and should be approached privately by the faithful to change his ways and teach — that’s what Jesus called them to do: teach!
It was the final, climactic commandment He gave the apostles at the end of His earthly life, as it is recorded in St. Matthew’s Gospel: “Go and preach to all nations, teaching them to observe everything whatsoever I have commanded you. Those who believe and are baptized, and those who do not believe, will be condemned.”
The natural consequence is that if the bishop refuses to teach or does a poor job in teaching when he easily could do better, he becomes an aid to the condemnation of the people. Yes, it is a heavy mission to be a bishop!
Here, my friends, it is necessary to emphasize a most important point: The bishop’s mission is to teach the people. In the unhappy days in which we live, there are a great many bishops who do not teach. In my travels through several countries, I have heard people’s mild complaints that there is no real teaching coming from the pulpits, either in the cathedral or in the local parish.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church says (n. 894): “The bishops, as vicars and legates of Christ, govern the particular churches assigned to them by their counsels, exhortations, and example” (Lumen Gentium, n. 27, Luke 22:26-27).
The Code of Canon Law says (canon 375:1): “By divine institution, bishops…are constituted pastors in the Church, to be teachers of doctrine, the priests of sacred worship and the ministers of governance.”
Canon 386:1 says: “The diocesan bishop is bound to teach and illustrate to the faithful the truths of faith which are to be believed and applied to behavior. He is himself to preach frequently. He is also to ensure that…the whole of Christian teaching is transmitted to all.”
In Veritatis Splendor, Pope John Paul II taught that: “As bishops, we have the grave obligation to be personally vigilant that the ‘sound doctrine’ (Tim. 1:10) of faith and morals is taught in our dioceses.”
The bishop belongs to the Teaching Church, Ecclesia docens. We, the laity, are the Ecclesia discens, the learning church. A bishop must teach. He has no option.
Jesus made it quite clear when He said to His followers that they were the Salt of the Earth. Salt prevents food from corruption. And bishops are, immensely more than the laity, the Salt of the Earth. But, Jesus went on: “But if the salt lose its savor, wherewith shall it be salted?”
That is, if the bishop’s salt is no longer good for salting, if his preaching is absent or no longer good for teaching the truth, for preventing corruption among the people, what is it good for? Jesus replied: It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men (Matt. 5:13).
Thus, when the bishop is manifestly wrong, causing damage to the salvation of the people — and we have seen sad examples of this in the last few decades — what then? The one who answers this question is the greatest theologian of all times, St. Thomas Aquinas:
“Where there is an imminent danger to the faith, prelates [bishops] must be rebuked even publicly by subjects. Hence, even Paul, who was subject to Peter, rebuked him in public, on account of the imminent danger of scandal concerning the faith….It is better for a prelate to be deposed or a deacon cut off from the Church, than the Church be scandalized” (Summa Theologiae, q. 33, art. 4.)
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(Raymond de Souza is an EWTN program host; regional coordinator for Portuguese-speaking countries for Human Life International [HLI]; president of the Sacred Heart Institute, and a member of the Sovereign, Military, and Hospitaller Order of the Knights of Malta. His website is: www.RaymonddeSouza.com.)
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