Small Step for Bishops

In Roman Catholic teaching, the bishops of the church are the successors of the Apostles. Only the Pope, in modern times, has had the authority to appoint new bishops, though usually he has chosen them from nominations made by local bishops, by his own representative to the country in question, or in a few exceptional cases by a cathedral chapter or a government. In the wake of Vatican Council II, liberals hoped that bishops might once more be elected, as they were in ancient Christianity, by the "people of God" they would be serving --lay as well as clerical. This week, after four years of Vatican studies, surveys and consultations, a new set of rules for naming Latin Rite bishops goes into effect. They by no means bring sweeping democratic reform.

The new rules give bishops the option, though not the obligation, of consulting with individual lower clergy and laity within their regions on the type of candidate needed. (Collective consultations with groups like priests' councils, though, are ruled out, to avoid any semblance of an electoral process.) The rules also increase the number of bishops involved in each nominating process. National episcopal conferences may henceforth approve, disapprove or add to lists of local nominations that previously went straight to papal representatives and on to Rome. In addition, any bishop anywhere may forward his own nomination directly to the Pope. The Pope reserves the option of choosing names not on the lists.

To guide the nominations, a new profile of a model bishop puts greater stress on theology (an area in which many U.S. bishops are weak) and emphasizes "social sense, spirit of dialogue and cooperation, and openness to the signs of the times."

Despite the urging of reformers, the new norms preserve the intermediary role of the papal representative in each country, who investigates nominees and can also make nominations of his own. The once formidable power of that representative, however, is somewhat diluted. He must now consult with churchmen of the country, and may confer with laymen as well. Throughout all of the procedures, the rules re-emphasize the requirement of "papal secrecy," which forbids the revelation of nominees' names to anyone not involved in the process. The secrecy, says the Vatican, "is demanded by the very nature of the matter and by the respect due to the persons being considered."

While some Catholic progressives greeted the new rules as a step in the right direction, however small, outspoken Theologian Hans Kung (Infallible?, Why Priests?) of Germany's Tubingen University was less sanguine. Kueng called the regulations "poorly applied cosmetics . . . eyewash for the growing choir of criticism from both clergy and laity." A case in point for Kueng's skepticism is one of the Pope's recent episcopal choices, Bishop Johannes Gijsen of the Dutch diocese of Roermond, who was selected over the nominees of the diocesan chapter. Three days after the Vatican announced the new rules, Gijsen made clear how he felt about all the options. On personnel decisions in his diocese, said the new bishop, he will consult nobody but himself.

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