Moving bishops around and bringing in someone from another diocese: yea or nay?

[hedgehog]

First millennial Catholics would have been taken aback by the papal appointment of bishops, but they would have been utterly shocked to learn that someone who was already the bishop of one diocese would accept election to another.

Such a practice would have been recognized as in direct violation of the teaching of the First Council of Nicaea in 325 (a council that defined the divinity of Jesus Christ and gave us the Nicene Creed). Nicaea's teaching was reaffirmed by the Council of Chalcedon in 451 (a council that defined the relationship between the divinity and humanity of Christ).

Canon 15 of Nicaea read as follows: "On account of the great disturbance and the factions which are caused, it is decreed that the custom, if it is found to exist in some parts contrary to the canon, shall be totally suppressed, so that neither bishops nor presbyters nor deacons shall transfer from city to city.

"If after this decision of this holy and great synod anyone shall attempt such a thing, or shall lend himself to such a proceeding, the arrangement shall be totally annulled, and he shall be restored to the church of which he was ordained bishop or presbyter or deacon."

http://ncronline.org/blogs/essays-theology/transfer-bishops


Unless a diocese is in absolute need of reform, why not appoint a local priest as bishop. I'm rather uncomfortable with a corporate model of Church that moves bishops from small dioceses up to the big leagues or that uses small dioceses as rewards for the Cardinal's staff. For example, I think the time Syracuse had a local man as bishop was 1987.

[47of74]

1. I too wish we could have a promote from within policy

I too wish we could have a promote from within policy where local priests or those who spent a good part of their careers in a particular diocese were promoted up to Bishop rather than the current system. In the Dubuque Archdiocese that was the case with both Bishop Smyth and Archbishop Rohlman - and Rohlman was brought in to solve a financial crisis in the Archdiocese.

[hedgehog]

2. All too often we see the hierarchy seemingly more concerned

with money than with spreading the Good News. Thus we have the scandal of the bishops and "important" pastors hobnobbing with the wealthy to obtain large donations. We had a priest who addressed us us to explain the finances of the parish. He was so busy spreading the Good News that after three months, donations went up about 20 %.


The worst part of all this? Again, taken as a whole, the hierarchy takes advice from the wrong people and loses the Church's money time after time to elegant scam artists!