STRUCTURAL REFORM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Blueprint for research project by the Wijngaards Institute
by John Wijngaards and Luca Badini Confalonieri
15 August 2021

Jesus Christ, the founder of Christianity, did not impose a specific structure on the community of believers. The present structure of the Roman Catholic Church derives its origin both from organizational features of the Roman Empire and the top-down hierarchical European governments of the Middle Ages.
It urgently needs reform.
Through a democratic re-shaping, the exercise of authority in the Church at all levels should involve the laity, the ‘People of God’ directly.

This would bring it back to practices developed in the early Christian communities.

It would be in line with the prevailing democratic culture of our own day.

It would implement the vision of Vatican II which called for co-responsibility to be given to the laity.

The aim of this research project is to present a detailed and practical outline of how such a structural reform could be achieved.
The project will, in fact, help implement the structural changes asked for in our previous Academic Declaration on Authority in the Church – see www.churchauthority.org .

1. THE ORDAINED MINISTRIES

1.1 Principle. Every adult Catholic with the required charisms is eligible to be a candidate for any church ministry, including the ‘ordained’ ministries.
1.2 Practical procedure.
1.2.1 Women, like men, can offer themselves for acceptance in any church ministry.
1.2.2 After completing the required process of scrutiny and formation, women too should be admitted to any ministry, including the ordained ministries.

SOURCES
Main source. John Wijngaards, The Ordination of Women in the Catholic Church, Unmasking a Cuckoo’s Egg Tradition (Darton, Longman & Todd: London 2001); Women Deacons in the Early Church. Historical Texts and Contemporary Debates (Crossroad, New York 2006); What they don’t teach you in Catholic College. Women in the priesthood and the mind of Christ (Acadian House, Lafayette 2020).

Bibliography on the priestly ordination of women

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  Børresen, Kari Elisabeth. ‘The Ordination of Women: to Nurture Tradition by Continuing Inculturation’, Studia Theologica 46 (1992) pp. 3-13.
  Bouyer, Louis. Woman in the Church. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1979.
  Bowman, Ann, ‘Women in Ministry: An Exegetical Study in I Timothy 2:11-15’: Biblical Studies 149 (1992) 193-213.
  Brady, Veronica. ‘The God of Small Things. God, Women and the Question of Power’. Basic Newsletter 4 (2000) pp. 20-27.
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  Gardener, Anne Marie (ed.). Women and the Catholic Church, New York 1976.
  Gebara, Ivonne. Longing for Running Water, Ecofeminism and Liberation. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1999.
  Goddard, Lis et. al. AWESOME Voices: God working through ordained women today. Malton: Gilead Books, 2019.
  Gould, Graham. God’s Work of Art: Essays Celebrating the Tenth Anniversary of the Ordination of Women to the Priesthood in the Church. London: Watch 2004.
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  Green, Ali. A Theology of Women’s Priesthood. London: SPCK, 2009.
  Greenacre, Roger & Podmore, Colin. Part of the One Church?: The Ordination of Women and Anglican Identity. Canterbury Press, 2014.
  Greshake, Gisbert. ‘Response to the Declaration of the Congregation for Doctrine regarding the doctrine proposed in the apostolic letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis’, Pastoralblatt 48 (1996) 56-57.
  Grey, Mary. Redeeming the Dream. Feminism, Redemption and Christian Tradition. London: SPCK, 1989.
  Hamilton, Michael and Montgomery, Nancy (eds.). The Ordination of Women: Pro and Con. New York: Morehouse Barlow, 1975.
  Häring, Hermann. ‘The Authority of Women and the Future of the Church’, Concilium 38/3 (June 1999) pp. 117-125.
  Hannon, V. Emmanuel. The Question of Women in Priesthood, London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1967.
  Hauke, Manfred. Women in the Priesthood? A Systematic Analysis in the Light of the Order of Creation and Redemption. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1992.
  Heinzelmann, Gertrud (ed.). We Won’t Keep Silence Any Longer! Zürich: Interfeminas Verlag, 1964.
  Heyer, Robert (ed.). Women and Orders. New York: Paulist Press, 1974.
  Hopko, Thomas (ed.). Women and the Priesthood. Crestwood NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1983.
  Hugenberger, Gordon. ‘Women in Church Office: Hermeneutics or Exegesis? A Survey of Approaches to I Timothy 2 :8-15’, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 35 (1992) 341-360.
  Irvin, Dorothy. ‘The Ministry of Women in the Early Church: The Archeological Evidence’, Duke Divinity School Review 2 (1980) pp. 76-86.
  Jensen, Anne. ‘The Representation of Christ, Ecclesiastical Office, and Presiding at the Eucharist’. Freiburger Zeitschrift für Philosophie und Theologie 40 (1993) pp. 282-297.
  Jensen, Anne. God’s Self-Confident Daughters: Early Christianity and the Liberation of Women. Louisville: John Know Press, 1996.
  Johnson, Elizabeth. ‘Disputed questions: authority, priesthood, women.’, Commonweal, vol..123, January 26 1996, pp. 8-10.
  Johnson, Elizabeth. She Who Is: The Mystery of God in Feminist Theological Discourse. New York: Crossroad, 1992.
  Jones, Ian et al. Women and Ordination in the Christian Churches: International Perspectives. London: T & T Clark, 2008.
  Kilmartin, Edward. ‘Apostolic Office: Sacrament of Christ’. Theological Studies 36 (1975) pp. 243-264.
  Kirk, Geoffrey. Without Precedent: Scripture, Tradition, and the Ordination of Women. Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2016.
  Komonchak, Joseph. ‘Theological Questions on the Ordination of Women’. Report Women’s Ordination Conference, Detroit 1976, Appendix E.
  Knoll, Benjamin & Bolin, Cammie. She Preached the Word: Women’s Ordination in Modern America, Oxford: University Press 2018.
  Lakeland, Paul. Can Women be Priests? Dublin: Mercier Press, 1975.
  Legrand, Hervé. ‘Views on the Ordination of Women,’ Origins, Jan. 6 1977; reprinted in Briefing 7 (1977), no. 6, pp. 22-35.
  Legrand, Hervé. ‘The Non-ordination of Women: Tradition or Simply an Historical Fact?’ Worship 65 (1991) pp. 482-508.
  Macy, Gary. ‘The Ordination of Women in the Early Middle Ages’. Theological Studies 61 (2000) pp. 481-507.
  Manning, Joanna. Is the Pope Catholic? A Woman confronts her Church. Toronto: Malcolm Lester 1999.
  McAleese, Mary. ‘Coping with a Christ who does not want women priests almost as much as He wants Ulster to remain British’. In Women Sharing Fully, BASIC Seminar, Dublin 1995, pp. 11-21.
  McEwan, Dorothea. ‘The Ordination of Women – A Living Tradition’. In Pogranicza Wrazliwosci w Literaturze i Kulturze, Szczecin, Poland, 2-4 June 1997.
  Meyer, Edward. ‘Are there theological reasons why the church should not ordain women priests?’, Review for Religious 34 (1975/76), pp. 957-67.
  Micks, Marianne and Price, Charles (eds.). Towards a New Theology of Ordination: Essays on the Ordination of Women. Somerville: Greeno, Hadden & Company, 1976.
  Milhaven, Annie. ‘The Real Reasons Why the Catholic Church Does Not Ordain Women’. Conscience 18 (1997) no 3, pp. 12-14.
  Montefiori, Hugh (ed.). Yes to Women Priests. Southend-on-Sea: Mayhew McCrimmon, 1978.
  Moore, Peter (ed.). Man, Woman and Priesthood. London: SPCK, 1979.
  Morris, Joan. Against Nature and God. The History of Women with Clerical Ordination and the Jurisdiction of Bishops. London: Mowbrays, 1973.
  Nadell, Pamela. Women Who Would be Rabbis: A History of Women’s Ordination, 1889-1985. Boston:Beacon Press, 1999.
  National Assembly of Women Religious. Women in Ministry: A Sisters’ View. Chicago, 1972.
  Nientiedt, Klaus. ‘How Binding? “Ordinatio Sacerdotalis” unleashes debate on the Magisterium’. Herder Korrespondenz 9 (1996) pp. 461-466.
  O’Hara Graff, Ann. ‘Infallibility complex: Have we heard the final word on women’s ordination?’, U.S. Catholic, vol.61, April 1996, pp. 6-11.
  Otranto, Giorgio. ‘Notes on the Female Priesthood in Antiquity’. Journal of Feminist Studies 7 (1991) pp. 73 – 94.
  Poole, Myra & Bonner, Pippa. Awakening – Catholic Women’s Ordination From The Public Square. London: Fisher King, 2015.
  Raab, Kelley. When Women Become Priests, New York: Columbia University Press, 2000.
  Raming, Ida. The Exclusion of Women from the Priesthood: Divine Law or Sex Discrimination? Metuchen: Scarecrow Press, 1976.
  Raming, Ida. A History of Women and Ordination. Toronto: Scarecrow Press, 2004.
  Rhodes, Lynn. Co-Creating. A Feminist Vision of Ministry. Philadelphia: John Knox Press, 1987.
  Rosenblatt, Marie-Eloise (ed.). Where can we find her? Searching for women’s identity in the new church. Mahwah: Paulist Press, 1991.
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  Ruether, Rosemary. The Role of Women in Society and in the Church. Ottawa: Canadian Religious Conference, 1975.
  Ruether, Rosemary and McLaughlin, Eleanor. Women of Spirit: Female Leadership on the Jewish and Christian Traditions, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1978.
  Schüssler Fiorenza, Elisabeth. In Memory of Her: Feminist Theological Reconstruction of Christian Origins. New York: Herder Herder, 1983.
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  Storkey, Elaine. Women and the Church. What’s Right with Feminism. London: SPCK, 1985.
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  Stuhlmueller, Carroll (ed.). Women and Priesthood: Future Directions, Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1978.
  Sweeley, John. The Validity of Women’s Ordination to the Roman Catholic Priesthood: Catholicism for the Twenty-First Century. Ohio: St James Press, 2018.
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  Tavard, George. Woman in Christian Tradition. Notre Dame University Press, 1973.
  Thompsett, Frederica. Looking Forward, Looking Backward: Forty Years of Women’s Ordination. New York: Morehouse, 2014.
  Terwilliger, Robert and Holmes, Urban (eds.). To be a priest. Perspectives on Vocation and Ordination. New York: Seabury Press, 1975.
  Tetlow, Elisabeth. Women and Ministry in the New Testament. New York: Paulist Press, 1985.
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  Van der Meer, Haye. Women Priests in the Catholic Church? Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1973.
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  Wakeman, Hilary (ed.). Women Priests: The First Years. London: Darton. Longman & Todd, 1996.
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2. PASTORAL COUNCILS

2.1 Principle. The laity too should have decision-making authority in how parishes and dioceses are run.
2.2 Practical procedure for parish councils.
2.2.1 Every parish should have its parochial pastoral council.
2.2.2 The parish priest chairs the council. Assistant priests, deacons and parish administrators are ex officio members of the council.
2.2.3 Other members of the council are chosen from lay persons who either offer their services or who have been nominated by members of the parish.
2.2.4 The parish council will have subcommittees for (A) finance and administration, (B) apostolic activities such as youth groups, visiting the sick, etc. and (C) lay ministries such as eucharistic ministers, readers, mass servers, etc.
2.2.5 The parish pastoral council can take decisions on matters of finance, administration and apostolic activities. It has a consultative voice on questions of liturgy and sacraments.
2.2.6 The parish council elects a delegate to become part of the diocesan pastoral council.
2.3 Practical procedure for diocesan councils.
2.3.1 Every diocese should have its diocesan pastoral council.
2.3.2 The bishop chairs the council. Co-adjutor bishops, the vicar general and diocesan administrators are ex officio members of the council.
2.3.3 Other members of the council are chosen from lay persons who have been elected by their own parish pastoral council.
2.3.4 The diocesan council will have subcommittees for (A) finance and administration, (B) apostolic activities in the diocese such as youth groups, visiting the sick, etc. and (C) lay ministries such as eucharistic ministers, readers, mass servers, etc.
2.3.5 The diocesan pastoral council can take decisions on matters of finance, administration and apostolic activities. It has a consultative voice on all other questions.
2.3.6 The bishop is accountable for his administration to the members of the diocese. In line with this he will publish in the Catholic media an annual report detailing his actions and that of the diocesan pastoral council.

SOURCES

Main Source. John Wijngaards, Pastoral Councils in India, Catholic Bishops Conference, Delhi 1975; “Pastoral Teams. A Contribution to Renewal”, in Millhilliana 20 (1968) 51-54; “Sharing Responsibilities in the Pastoral Apostolate”, in Nene Velugu 5 (1969) 2-6.

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Miller, Robert J. “Inter-Parochial Pastoral Councils: An Emerging Model for Parish Consultative Bodies.” Paper sponsored by the Conference for Pastoral Planning and Council Development and by the National Federation of Priests’ Councils as part of the Emerging Models of Pastoral Leadership, a joint project funded by the Lilly Endowment. Archdiocese of Philadelphia: Office for Research and Planning, 2007.
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Milwaukee, Archdiocese of. Parish Committee Ministry. Milwaukee: Archdiocese of Milwaukee, 1991.
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Newsome, Robert R. The Ministering Parish: Methods and Procedures for Pastoral Organization. New York and Ramsey: Paulist Press, 1982.
Norwich, Diocese of. Guidelines for Parish Pastoral Councils. Approved by Most. Rev. Daniel A. Hart. Norwich: Diocese of Norwich, 03/22/01. Downloaded from http://www.norwichdiocese.org/Documents.htm and accessed April 27, 2007.
Ochoa, Xaverius, Editor. Leges Ecclesiae post Codicem iuris canonici editae. Collegit, digessit notisque ornavit Xaverius Ochoa (until 1985). Institutem Iuridicum Claretianum. 8 volumes. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana; and Rome: Commentarium Pro Religiosis, 1973-1998.
O’Connor, James I., Editor. The Canon Law Digest. Vol. VIII: Officially Published Documents Affecting the Code of Canon Law 1973-1977. Mundelein, IL: Chicago Province of the Society of Jesus, St. Mary of the Lake Seminary, 1978.
Olsen, Charles M. Transforming Church Boards into Communities of Spiritual Leaders. New York: The Alban Institute, 1995.
Paddock, Susan Star. Appreciative Inquiry in the Catholic Church. Plano, TX: Thin Book Publishing Co., 2003.
Pagé, Roch. The Diocesan Pastoral Council. Translated by Bernard A. Prince. Paramus, NJ: Newman Press, 1970. Translation of Roch Pagé, Le conseil diocésain de pastorale. Lieu du dialogue entre les laïcs, les religieux, les prêtres et L’évêque. Thèse présentée à la Faculté de Droit canonique de l’Université Saint-Paul en vue de l’obtention du doctorat en Droit canonique et du Ph.D. (Université d’Ottawa). Montréal: Fides, 1969.
Parise, Michael. “Forming Your Parish Pastoral Council.” The Priest 51:7 (July 1995): 43-47.
Paul VI, Pope. Ecclesiam Suam (August 6, 1964). Encyclical Letter on “The Paths of the Church.” With a Commentary by Gregory Baum, OSA. Glen Rock, NJ: Paulist Press, 1964.
Paul VI, Pope. “Ecclesiae Sanctae I.” Apostolic Letter, written Motu Proprio, on the Implementation of the Decrees Christus Dominus, Presbyterorum Ordinis and Perfectae Caritatis. August 6, 1966. Translated from the Latin text in Acta Apostolica Sedis 58 (1966): 757-787, by Austin P. Flannery. In Vatican Council II. The Documents of Vatican II. Austin P. Flannery, General Editor. Preface by John Cardinal Wright. New York: Pillar Books, 1975.
Pickett, William L. A Concise Guide to Pastoral Planning. Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press, 2007.
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Renken, John A. “Parishes without a Resident Pastor: Comments on Canon 517, §2.” In Pfnausch, Editor, Code, Community, Ministry, pp. 100-108.
Renken, John A. “Pastoral Councils: Pastoral Planning and Dialogue among the People of God.” The Jurist 53 (1993): 132-154.
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Richmond, Diocese of. Norms for Parish Finance Councils. Richmond, VA: Diocese of Richmond, 1991.
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Sofield, Loughlan. “A Spirituality for Councils,” in Fischer and Raley, editors, Four Ways, pp. 23-39.
Sofield, Loughlan; Rosine Hammett and Carroll Juliano. Building Community: Christian, Caring, Vital. Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria, 1998.
Sofield, Loughlan; and Brenda Hermann. Developing the Parish as a Community of Service. New York: Le Jacq Publishing, 1984. Copyright now owned by the Jesuit Educational Center for Human Development in Hartford, Connecticut.
Sudbrack, Josef. “Spirituality (Part I: Concept).” Pp. 1623-29 in Karl Rahner, editor, Sacramentum Mundi: A Concise Dictionary of Theology. Translations edited by John Cumming, Executive Editor. New York: The Seabury Press, 1975.
Sweetser, Thomas, and Carol Wisniewski Holden. Leadership in a Successful Parish. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1987.
Synod of Bishops (1971). “The Ministerial Priesthood” (De Sacerdotio ministeriali, November 30, 1971). Published in reference to canon 329 in James I. O’Connor, editor, The Canon Law Digest, vol. VII, pp. 342-366. Original text: Synodo Episcoporum, “De Sacerdotio Ministeriali.” Acta Apostolicae Sedis 63 (1971): 897-922.
Tighe, Marie Kevin. “Council Spirituality: Foundation for Mission.” In Deegan, Developing a Vibrant Parish Pastoral Council, pp. 88-99.
Turley, Kathleen. “The Parish Pastoral Council and Prayer.” In Deegan, Developing a Vibrant Parish Pastoral Council, pp. 100-106.
Vatican Council II. “Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People.” Apostolicam actuositatem, November 18, 1965. Translated by Father Finnian, OCSO. In Vatican Council II. The Documents of Vatican II. Austin P. Flannery, General Editor. Preface by John Cardinal Wright. New York: Pillar Books, 1975. Translation of “Decretum: De Apostolatu Laicorum.” In Vaticani II, Cura et Studio Archivi Concilii Oecumenici. Acta Synodalia Sacrosancti Concilii Oecumenici Vaticani. Volumen IV. Periodus Quarta. Pars VI: Congregationes Generalis CLVI – CLXIV. Session Publica VIII. Vatican City: Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, 1978. Pages 609-632.
Vatican Council II. “Decree on the Church’s Missionary Activity.” Ad Gentes Divinitus, December 7, 1965. Translated by Redmond Fitzmaurice. In Vatican Council II. The Documents of Vatican II. Austin P. Flannery, General Editor. Preface by John Cardinal Wright. New York: Pillar Books, 1975. Translation of “Decretum: De Activitate Missionali Ecclesiae.” In Vaticani II, Cura et Studio Archivi Concilii Oecumenici. Acta Synodalia Sacrosancti Concilii Oecumenici Vaticani. Volumen IV. Periodus Quarta. Pars VII: Congregationes Generalis CLXV – CLXVIII. Sessiones Publicae IX-X. Vatican City: Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, 1978. Pages 673-704.
Vatican Council II. “Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests.” Presbyterorum Ordinis, 7 Dec. 1965. Translated by Archbishop Joseph Cunnane, of Tuam, and revised by Michael Mooney and Enda Lyons of St. Jarlath’s College, Tuam, County Galway. In Vatican Council II. The Documents of Vatican II. Austin P. Flannery, General Editor. New York: Pillar Books, 1975. Translation of “Decretum: De Presbyterorum ministerio et vita.” In Vaticani II, Cura et Studio Archivi Concilii Oecumenici. Acta Synodalia Sacrosancti Concilii Oecumenici Vaticani. Volumen IV. Periodus Quarta. Pars VII: Congregationes Generalis CLXV – CLXVIII. Sessiones Publicae IX-X. Vatican City: Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, 1978. Pages 704-732.
Vatican Council II. “Decree on the Pastoral Office of Bishops in the Church.” Christus Dominus, October 28, 1965. Translation by Matthew Dillon, Edward O’Leary and Austin P. Flannery. In Vatican Council II. The Documents of Vatican II. Austin P. Flannery, General Editor. Preface by John Cardinal Wright. New York: Pillar Books, 1975. Translation of “Decretum: De Pastorali Episcoporum Munere in Ecclesia.” In Vaticani II, Cura et Studio Archivi Concilii Oecumenici. Acta Synodalia Sacrosancti Concilii Oecumenici Vaticani. Volumen IV. Periodus Quarta. Pars V: Congregationes Generalis CLI – CLV. Session Publica VII. Vatican City: Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, 1978. Pages 564-584.
Vatican Council II. “Dogmatic Constitution on the Church.” Lumen Gentium, Nov. 21, 1964. Translated by Father Colman O’Neill, O.P. In Vatican Council II. The Documents of Vatican II. Austin P. Flannery, General Editor. New York: Pillar Books, 1975. Translation of “Constitutio Dogmatica: De Ecclesia.” In Vaticani II, Cura et Studio Archivi Concilii Oecumenici. Acta Synodalia Sacrosancti Concilii Oecumenici Vaticani. Volumen III. Periodus Tertia. Pars VIII: Congregationes Generalis CXXIII – CXXVII. Session Publica V. Vatican City: Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, 1976. Pages 784-836.
Vaticani II. Cura et Studio Archivi Concilii Oecumenici Vaticani II. Acta Synodalia Sacrosancti Concilii Oecumenici Vaticani. 24 Volumes. Volumen I: Periodus prima, Pars I-IV; Volumen II: Periodus secunda, Pars I-VI; Volumen III: Periodus tertia, Pars I-VIII; Volumen IV: Periodus quarta, Pars I-VI. Vatican City: Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, 1970-1978.
Vaughn, David L. “Implementing Spirituality in Catholic Parish Councils.” Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for certification in the National Association of Church Business Administration at the University of St. Thomas. St. Paul, MN: University of St. Thomas, June, 1994. 79 pp.
Youngstown, Diocese of (2000). A Guide for Parish Pastoral Councils: A People of Mission and Vision. Copyright 2000. Accessed April 27, 2007.
Zech, Charles E. Best Practices in Parish Stewardship. Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor, Inc., 2010.
Zech, Charles E., “Developing Stewards in a Parish Setting,” Chapter 7 of Zech, editor, The Parish Management Handbook, pp. 154-172.
Zech, Charles E., editor. The Parish Management Handbook: A Practical Guide for Pastors, Administrators, and Other Parish Leaders. Mystic, CT: Twenty-Third Publications/Bayard, 2003.
Zech, Charles E., Mary L. Gautier, Robert J. Miller, and Mary E. Bendyna, RMS. Best Practices of Catholic Pastoral and Finance Councils. Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor, Inc., 2010.

3. THE ELECTION OF BISHOPS

3.1. Principle. In normal circumstances the priests and laity of a diocese should play a decisive role in the election of their own bishop.
3.2 Practical procedure – based on, and adapted from, suggestions by Antonio Rosmini (1797-1855), see source below.
3.2.1 STEP ONE. The diocesan pastoral council appoints a screening committee of 7 persons, both priests and lay.
3.2.2 STEP TWO. The address of the screening committee is published in all diocesan and parochial media and both priests and laity are invited to send in nominations for episcopal candidates by email or post within a two weeks’ time span. With the name of the person the reason for nominating him or her may also be indicated.
3.2.3 STEP THREE. Based on the nominations received, the screening committee draws up a list of the seven most prominent candidates.
3.2.4 STEP FOUR. The list of the seven most prominent candidates is published on all the diocesan and parochial media. Priests and laity are invited to send in objections they may have against any of the candidates – within a week’s time span.
3.2.5 STEP FIVE. Based on all the feedback the diocesan pastoral council draws up a final list of the terna, the top three candidates. They submit this list to the chairman of the national bishops’ conference.
3.2.6 STEP SIX. After further consultation with other bishops, if there be a need, the chairman of the national bishops’ conference sends the terna to the Vatican Congregation for Bishops in Rome, adding his own observations if this is required.
3.2.7 STEP SEVEN. The Vatican Congregation examines the terna and selects from it the person appointed to be the new bishop.

SOURCES

Main source: Luca Badini Confalonieri, “The Election of Bishops by Clergy and People: Antonio Rosmini’s Neglected Solution.” Theological Studies 73, no. 1 (2012): 82–114.

Bibliography

Pope Celestine I, c. 425 AD. “No bishop should be installed against the will of the people.”
Pope Leo I, Letter 10, no 6. C. 450 AD. “The consent of the clergy, the testimony of those held in honor. The approval of the orders and the laity should be obtained. He who is to govern all, should be chosen by all.”
Council of Toledo, 633 AD. “He whom the clergy and the people of his own city have not elected, and whom neither the authority of the metropolitan nor the consent of the provincial bishops has chosen – he shall not be a bishop.”
Pope Leo IX, Synod of Rheims. 1049 AD. “Bishops are to be elected by clergy and people.”
Historical studies
Benson, Robert Louis. Bishop-Elect: A Study in Medieval Ecclesiastical Office. Vol. 2117. Princeton University Press, 2015.
Clarkson, D., No evidence for diocesan churches, or, for any bishops without the choice or consent of the people, in the primitive times, EEBO Editions 2011.
Coleman, Stephen. “The Process of Appointment of Bishops in the Church of England: A Historical and Legal Critique.” Ecclesiastical Law Journal 19, no. 2 (2017): 212–223.
Confalonieri, L. Badini, Democracy in the Catholic Church,
Dundass, J., A view of the elections of bishops in the primitive church: wherein is shewed, what were the several shares of the bishops, inferior clergy and people in these elections, Gale ECHO 2010.
Dundass, J., A Supplement to the View of the Elections of Bishops in the Primitive Church: Wherein That Treatise Is Cleared From the Objections Made Against It, Forgotten Books 2018.
Dunn, G. D., ‘Agency and Power in Boniface I’s Dispute with the Illyrian Bishops’, Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association, 2015.
Dunn, G. E., ‘Boniface I and Roman Ecclesiastical Supervision of the Churches of Illyricum Orientale: The Evidence of Retro maioribus to Rufus of Thessaloniki’, Studia Ephemeridis Augustinianum 149 (Rome: Institutum Patristicum Augustinianum), 2017,
Eidenschink, J. A., The Election of Bishops in the Letters of Pope Gregory the Great, Catholic University of America Press 2013.
Ferguson, Everett. “Origen and the Election of Bishops.” Church History 43, no. 1 (1974): 26–33.
Harvey, K., Episcopal Appointments in England, c. 1214–1344: From Episcopal Election to Papal Provision, Routledge 2016.
Howard, Nathan Dale. Christianity, Patronage, and Accommodation: The Classicizing of the Episcopacy in Fourth-Century Cappadocia. University of Arkansas, 2005.
Kahlbau, Heath. Is Anything New under the Sun? A Comparative Evaluation of the Ante-Nicene Patristic Episcopacy and Common Polity Models within the Contemporary Multi-Site Church Movement. Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2014.
Leemans, J. and Van Nuffelen, P. (eds), Episcopal Elections in Late Antiquity, Arbeiten zur Kirchengeschichte Book 119, De Gruyter 2011.
Norton, Peter. Episcopal Elections 250-600: Hierarchy and Popular Will in Late Antiquity. Oxford University Press on Demand, 2007.
Paiva, José Pedro. “The Appointment of Bishops in Early-Modern Portugal (1495—1777).” The Catholic Historical Review, 2011, 461–483.
Rapp, Claudia. Holy Bishops in Late Antiquity: The Nature of Christian Leadership in an Age of Transition. Vol. 37. Univ of California Press, 2013.
Trisco, Robert. “The Debate on the Election of Bishops in the Council of Trent.” Jurist 34 (1974): 257.
Watt, J. A. The Church and the Two Nations in Medieval Ireland. Cambridge University Press, 2005.
Practice in modern times
Dr R. Auwerda, De kromstaf als wapen; Bisschopsbenoemingen in Nederland, 1988.
Corrigan, P., What the Catholic Church Most Needs in the United States: Or the Voice of the Priests in the Election of the Bishops, Forgotten Books 2019.
Bernard Hoose, Authority in the Roman Catholic Church, 2002, Ashgate Publishing limited, ISBN 0754605310
Dr L. Laeyendecker, Het laatste Monopolie van de R.K.Kerk, 1999, Narratio.ISBN 9052639086
Dr L. Laeyendecker, Om de beheersing van het Charisma, Heil en macht in de R.K. Kerk, , 1993. Verhandelingen der Koninklijke Nederladse Academie van Wetenschappen, Afd. Lettrekunde, Nieuwe reeks, deel 157
S. Mac Reamoinn, Authority in the Church, The Columbia Press, 1995, ISBN 18560715455
McDowell, Robert Brendan. The Church of Ireland 1869-1969. Routledge, 2017.

McMahon, Ch., ‘The Case for Electing Catholic Bishops’, Church Authority 11 October 2006; http://www.churchauthority.org/the-case-for-electing-catholic-bishops-c-mcmahon/
Metz, René. “Papal Legates and the Appointment of Bishops.” Jurist 52 (1992): 259.

Mills, F. E., Bishops by Ballot: An Eighteenth Century Ecclesiastical Revolution, Oxford University Press 1978.
O’Callighan, J., Electing Our Bishops: How the Catholic Church Should Choose Its Leaders Rowman and Littlefield 2007.
O’Callighan, ‘Why not Elect our Bishops?’, published by the American Catholic Council, http://www.churchauthority.org/why-not-elect-our-bishops/
Turner, J., An Essay on Ecclesiastical Authority: In Which the Pretence of an Independent Power In the Church, to a Divine Right In the Election of Bishops, Gale ECCO 2018.
…
Dr R. Auwerda, De kromstaf als wapen; Bisschopsbenoemingen in Nederland, 1988.
Dr L. Badini Confalonieri, Democracy in the Catholic Church,
Bernard Hoose, Authority in the Roman Catholic Church, 2002, Ashgate Publishing limited, ISBN 0754605310
Dr L. Laeyendecker,Het laatste Monopolie van de R.K.Kerk, 1999, Narratio.ISBN 9052639086
Dr L. Laeyendecker, Om de beheersing van het Charisma, Heil en macht in de R.K. Kerk, , 1993. Verhandelingen der Koninklijke Nederladse Academie van Wetenschappen, Afd. Lettrekunde, Nieuwe reeks, deel 157
S. Mac Reamoinn, Authority in the Church, The Columbia Press, 1995, ISBN 18560715455
Benson, Robert Louis. Bishop-Elect: A Study in Medieval Ecclesiastical Office. Vol. 2117. Princeton University Press, 2015.
Coleman, Stephen. “The Process of Appointment of Bishops in the Church of England: A Historical and Legal Critique.” Ecclesiastical Law Journal 19, no. 2 (2017): 212–223.
Confalonieri, Luca Badini. “The Election of Bishops by Clergy and People: Antonio Rosmini’s Neglected Solution.” Theological Studies 73, no. 1 (2012): 82–114.
Ferguson, Everett. “Origen and the Election of Bishops.” Church History 43, no. 1 (1974): 26–33.
Howard, Nathan Dale. Christianity, Patronage, and Accommodation: The Classicizing of the Episcopacy in Fourth-Century Cappadocia. University of Arkansas, 2005.
Kahlbau, Heath. Is Anything New under the Sun? A Comparative Evaluation of the Ante-Nicene Patristic Episcopacy and Common Polity Models within the Contemporary Multi-Site Church Movement. Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2014.
McDowell, Robert Brendan. The Church of Ireland 1869-1969. Routledge, 2017.
Metz, René. “Papal Legates and the Appointment of Bishops.” Jurist 52 (1992): 259.
Norton, Peter. Episcopal Elections 250-600: Hierarchy and Popular Will in Late Antiquity. Oxford University Press on Demand, 2007.
Paiva, José Pedro. “The Appointment of Bishops in Early-Modern Portugal (1495—1777).” The Catholic Historical Review, 2011, 461–483.
Rapp, Claudia. Holy Bishops in Late Antiquity: The Nature of Christian Leadership in an Age of Transition. Vol. 37. Univ of California Press, 2013.
Trisco, Robert. “The Debate on the Election of Bishops in the Council of Trent.” Jurist 34 (1974): 257.
Watt, J. A. The Church and the Two Nations in Medieval Ireland. Cambridge University Press, 2005.

4. FREEDOM OF SPEECH FOR THEOLOGIANS AND ACADEMIC EXPERTS

4.1 Principle. Catholic theologians and other academic experts should be free to express their honest opinions, even if they contradict the present position of the Church on matters of doctrine, morals and church practice.
4.2 Practical implications.
4.2.1 The official profession of faith demanded of functionaries and lecturers in Catholic institutions should not include a clause requiring submission to papal teaching.
4.2.2 Catholic experts who contradict the prevailing teaching of church authorities should not be labelled ‘heretics’ or ‘dissenters’. They should not be barred from teaching posts at Catholic institutions.
4.2.3 Catholic experts who, based on solid academic evidence, contradict the prevailing view of church authorities should rather been seen as exercising their function of ‘prophecy’.
4.2.4 If they obtain strong support from academic colleagues, they should be respected as possibly voicing the People of God’s ‘sense of faith’ which is the ultimate source of the Church’s infallibility.

SOURCES

Main source. Karl Rahner, ‘The Charismatic Element in the Church’, in The Dynamic Element in the Church (Quaestiones Disputatae), Herder & Herder, New York 1964, pp. 42-83; see also Meditations on Freedom and the Spirit, Burns & Oates, 1999.

Other Sources
“All the faithful, both clerical and lay, should be accorded a lawful freedom of inquiry, freedom of thought and freedom of expression.” Gaudium et Spes, no 62; Canon Law no 212 § 3.
Joseph Ratzinger before he became the oppressive head of the Congregation for the Faith and later Pope Benedict XVI:
“What the Church needs today, as always, are not adulators to extol the status quo, but people whose humility and obedience are no less than their passion for truth; people who brave every misunderstanding and attack as they bear witness; people who, in a word, love the Church more than ease and the unruffled course of their personal destiny.” Josef Ratzinger from “Free Expression and Obedience in the Church” during his work at Vatican II, 1963, later quoted at the beginning of Christianity and the Religions: From Confrontation to Dialogue by Jacques Dupuis, SJ (Orbis, New York 2000).
“Over the pope as the expression of the binding claim of ecclesiastical authority there still stands one’s own conscience, which must be obeyed before all else, if necessary even against the requirement of ecclesiastical authority. Conscience confronts [the individual] with a supreme and ultimate tribunal, and one which in the last resort is beyond the claim of external social groups, even of the official church.” (Pope Benedict XVI [then Archbishop Joseph Ratzinger], “Commentary on the Documents of Vatican II“, ed. Vorgrimler, 1968, on Gaudium et spes, part 1, chapter 1.)
“Criticism of papal declarations will be possible and necessary to the degree that they do not correspond with Scripture and the Creed, that is, with the belief of the Church. Where there is neither unanimity in the Church nor clear testimony of the sources, then no binding decision is possible; if one is formally made, then its preconditions are lacking, and therefore the question of its legitimacy must be raised.” Joseph Ratzinger, Das neue Volk Gottes. Entwuerfe zur Ekklesiologie, p. 144, Patmos 1969.
B. Marechaux, Les charismes du St. Esprit, Paris, 1921.
H. J. Brosch, Charismen und Ämter in der Urkirche, Bonn, 1951.
Otto Karrer, Um die Einheit der Christen, Frankfurt, 1953, pp. 50-90.

5. THE CENTRAL VATICAN ADMINISTRATION

5.1.1 Principle. The Vatican congregations in charge of the central administration of the Church should be guided by the advice by truly commissions of truly independent experts.

5.2.1 Practical procedure.

Each of the Vatican offices of administration should have an independent, international committee of experts. This applies especially to:

• The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
• The Congregation for Divine Worship
• The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
• The Congregation for Bishops
• The Congregation for the Clergy
• The Congregation for the Oriental Churches
• The Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life
• The Congregation for Catholic Education
• The Pontifical Academy for Life

5.2.2 The experts on each committee should be chosen on the basis of academic competence, not for allegiance to specific, established views.

5.2.3 For each committee the chairman of a relevant Catholic association of experts in each of the five major continents: Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America shall be invited to become a group of ‘electors’.
5.2.4 The electors, after consultation, shall nominate 8 to 10 experts from each major continent to serve on the committee in question.
5.2.5 After confirmation by the relevant Congregation, the members of each committee shall choose their own chairman and secretary.

5.2.6 After studying issues submitted by the Congregation, the committee shall publish its preliminary findings in an independent report. The report will be circulated among members of relevant international associations of experts to give them a chance to comment on it. Taking into account these comments, the committee will finalise its report and present it to the relevant Congregation. Th

SOURCES
Historical studies
· Bouix, Dominique (1859). Tractatus de curia romana: seu de cardinalibus, romanis congregationibus, legatis, nuntiis, vicariis et protonotariis apostolicis (in Latin). Paris: apud Jacobum Lecoffre et Socios.
· De Luca, Giovanni Battista (1683). Relatio Curiae Romanae (in Latin). Cologne: Arnoldus Metternich.
· Rusch, Borwin (1936). Die Behörden und Hofbeamten der päpstlichen Kurie des 13. Jahrhunderts (in German). Konigsberg: Ost-Europa-Verlag.
· Grimaldi, Félix (1890). Les congrégations romaines guide: historique et pratique (in French). Siena: Imprimerie San Bernardino.
· Martin, Michael (1913). The Roman Curia as it Now Exists: An Account of Its Departments: Sacred Congregations, Tribunals, Offices; Competence of Each; Mode of Procedure; how to Hold Communication With: the Latest Legislation. New York: Benziger. p. 427.
· Pratica della curia romana che comprende la giurisdizione de’ tribunali di Roma, e dello stato; e l’ordine giudiziario, che in essi si osserva. Con una raccolta di costituzioni, editti, riforme, regiudicate, decreti &c (in Italian). Roma: nella stamperia di Giovanni Zempel. 1781. p. 256.

Published on www.wijngaardsinstitute.com – 15 August 2021

Notes

For instance, Pope Gregory the Great (540-604 AD) who had been a prefect of state of Rome, purposely shaped Church administration according to political law and organization.

Vatican II, Lumen Gentium § 12. The Council emphatically rejected the suggestion that the magisterium was the ultimate source of infallibility; Vatican II, Acta Synodalia III/I, pp. 198-199. See also Richard Gaillardetz, Teaching with Authority: a Theology of the Magisterium of the Church, Liturgical Press 1997, p. 154.