Modern Apostles: The Role of Bishops

By Mary McCarthy
HERALD Staff Writer
(From the Issue of April 10, 2003)

When a bishop celebrates Mass in a parish church, there is an added essence of ceremony that makes it easy for even the youngest child with no education or knowledge of catechism to know and understand that someone of importance is offering the celebration of the Eucharist.

As the bishop processes to the altar, blessing the congregation as he walks, there are visible insignia that serve as symbols of his rank (Encyclopedia of Catholic Doctrine).

Bishops wear a pastoral ring to indicate their spiritual marriage to the Church. Many also wear a pectoral cross around their neck, a sign of their special relationship to Christ. While celebrating Mass, the two things that make the bishop more recognizably different from the priests are the crozier and miter.

The crozier is the staff carried by the bishop. It serves as a visual symbol of his role and authority as the "shepherd of the flock."

The miter is the shield-shaped headdress with two lappets, or strips of cloth, attached to the back.

But what is it that sets these men apart from priests?

The word "bishop" was derived from the Greek word episkopos, which means "overseer."

According to the Encyclopedia of Catholic Doctrine, the New Testament tells that just as Jesus named the Apostles as leaders, the Apostles established local leaders in the communities they founded.

The Second Vatican Council said: "This sacred synod … teaches and declares… that Jesus Christ, the eternal pastor, set up the holy Church by entrusting the apostles with their mission as He Himself had been sent by the Father (cf. Jn 20:21). He willed that their successors, the bishops namely, should be the shepherds in His Church until the end of the world" (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium).

How are these successors of Christ chosen?

According to the Code of Canon Law, in order to be a bishop a person must be: "outstanding in strong faith, good morals, piety, zeal for souls, wisdom, prudence and human virtues, and possess those other gifts which equip him to fulfill the office in question; held in good esteem; at least 35 years old; a priest ordained for at least five years; and hold a doctorate or at least a licentiate in sacred Scripture, theology or canon law, from an institute of higher studies approved by the Apostolic See, or at least be well versed in these disciplines" (Canon 378).

This lineage of the Apostles and the passing of blessings from the Holy Spirit are still celebrated in the ordination of bishops. At the pinnacle of the sacrament, all the ordained bishops present place their hands, one by one over the head of the bishop being ordained. Through this gesture, they are passing on the mission that has been inherited from God to Jesus, to the Apostles, and to the first appointed bishops. Then, all the bishops present pray together to the Holy Spirit, "Pour out upon this chosen one that power which is from you — the governing Spirit whom you gave to your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, the Spirit given by Him to the holy apostles, who founded the church in every place" (Encyclopedia of Catholic Doctrine).

Through these actions and this prayer, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (no. 1558) states that, "the grace of the Holy Spirit is given, and a sacred character is impressed" in such a way "that bishops, in an eminent and visible manner, take the place of Christ himself, teacher, shepherd, and priest, and act as his representative (in Eius persona agant) (Lumen Gentium, 21)."

Once a bishop is ordained, he is in charge of "preserving, explaining and spreading the word of God" (Encyclopedic of Catholic Doctrine cf. Vatican Council II, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Dei Verbum).

The Code of Canon Law states that the diocesan bishop is required to "teach and illustrate to the faithful the truths of faith which are to be believed and applied to behavior" (Canon 386).

A bishop is the only minister that can ordain men and a diocesan bishop is bound to have special concern for the priests in his diocese (Canon 384). He is to listen and counsel them, and defend them if necessary. It is also his duty to ensure that they preserve their obligations as priests.

While the bishop is concerned for the rights and actions of the priests in his diocese, he is seen as the "the steward of the grace of the supreme priesthood" (no. 893).

The Catechism notes that Jesus, the Good Shepherd, should be the form of a bishop. While knowing his own faults, a bishop should reach for compassion. "He should

not refuse to listen to his subjects whose welfare he promotes as of his very own children … The faithful … should be closely attached to the bishop as the Church is to Jesus Christ, and as Jesus Christ is to the Father" (no. 896).

The Catechism also illustrates that when the bishop presides at the Eucharist, his ministry is most evident "since it is in the Eucharist that the sacrament of the Church is made fully visible" (no. 1142). The act of the bishop celebrating the Eucharist with the Church has such a significance because it is "an expression of the Church gathered around the altar, with the one who represents Christ, the Good Shepherd and Head of his Church, presiding" (no. 1561).

After being installed in Arlington, Bishop Paul S. Loverde explained, in his own words, what he believed the role of a bishop was. In a HERALD interview (ACH 3/25/99), Bishop Loverde explained that his episcopal motto, "Encourage and Teach with Patience," reminds him that a bishop should not only "encourage God’s people in their faith, but also teach that faith with patience."

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