- Feb 5, 2002
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American Catholics may have found surprising, or to some Catholics unsettling, two recent papal actions affecting bishops in this country.
Bishop Richard F. Stika, of Knoxville, Tennessee, nine years shy of retirement, resigned. News reports in both the secular and Catholic media state that an investigation by the Vatican into Bishop Joseph Strickland’s administration of the Diocese of Tyler, Texas, has been completed.
Each case has its details, but, basically, since the apostles, bishops have led communities of believers in given territories, called dioceses. The bishop of Rome is responsible, before God, for the functioning of all bishops, wherever they are, since he, as Catholics always have held, is the successor of St. Peter, appointed by Jesus to head the Church. Papal oversight is immediate and unqualified.
Peter’s successor also sets the direction for the Church, to respond to prevailing circumstances.
When a priest is appointed to be a bishop, he vows loyalty and obedience to the pope, not just by accepting rules for fasting on Good Friday or when he agrees. It means genuine acknowledgement of the pope as leader of, and spokesman for, the Catholic Church.
Sadly, he was the one bishop in the entire country not to go along with the king, the only way to survive, granted, but many highly respected theologians at the time said Henry was right in his arguments and that the pope was wrong. Close advisers to the pope thought the pope was wrong.
St. John Fisher insisted that popes are Peter’s successors, with a special grace of office.
Continued below.
www.oursundayvisitor.com
Bishop Richard F. Stika, of Knoxville, Tennessee, nine years shy of retirement, resigned. News reports in both the secular and Catholic media state that an investigation by the Vatican into Bishop Joseph Strickland’s administration of the Diocese of Tyler, Texas, has been completed.
Each case has its details, but, basically, since the apostles, bishops have led communities of believers in given territories, called dioceses. The bishop of Rome is responsible, before God, for the functioning of all bishops, wherever they are, since he, as Catholics always have held, is the successor of St. Peter, appointed by Jesus to head the Church. Papal oversight is immediate and unqualified.
Obedience to the pope
Popes always have named bishops, discharged them, created, merged and dissolved dioceses, and set requirements for bishops. Acknowledging papal authority, bishops deliver to the pope, on a regular, scheduled basis, extensive reports of their management of their dioceses.Peter’s successor also sets the direction for the Church, to respond to prevailing circumstances.
When a priest is appointed to be a bishop, he vows loyalty and obedience to the pope, not just by accepting rules for fasting on Good Friday or when he agrees. It means genuine acknowledgement of the pope as leader of, and spokesman for, the Catholic Church.
A model to follow
The Church learned lessons from history. When King Henry VIII repudiated the authority of the pope, separating English Christianity from the universal Church, Bishop (now Saint) John Fisher maintained his loyalty to the papacy. He paid with his life.Sadly, he was the one bishop in the entire country not to go along with the king, the only way to survive, granted, but many highly respected theologians at the time said Henry was right in his arguments and that the pope was wrong. Close advisers to the pope thought the pope was wrong.
St. John Fisher insisted that popes are Peter’s successors, with a special grace of office.
Due process
Continued below.
Tyler and Knoxville: A tale of two visitations
Writing on the recent media reports on the Vatican's investigations of the governance of the dioceses of Knoxville, Tennessee, and Tyler, Texas, Monsignor Owen Campion says that while this news might be surprising to some Catholics — and unsettling to others — visitations by the Vatican are...
www.oursundayvisitor.com
