The diocese

In the 1983 Code of Canon Law,Footnote ¹ the following definition is given:Footnote ²

This definition is derived almost verbatim from one of the documents of the Second Vatican Council,Footnote ⁴ and establishes that as a general rule this ‘portion of the people of God’ is territorially divided,Footnote ⁵ confers primarily to a bishop the pastoral care of a community, and designates the presbyterate as sharers in the bishop’s work. Dioceses themselves are to be divided into distinct parts or parishes, and to foster pastoral care through common action, several neighbouring parishes can be joined into special groups (canon 374).

A diocese is only erected by the Supreme Pontiff (canon 373), although it is the Dicastery for Bishops which deals with all matters concerning the constitution, division, union, suppression, and any other changes to particular Churches and of their groupings. This is done in cooperation with Bishops and Episcopal Conferences, and having gathered other necessary information. A see may become vacant on the death, resignation,Footnote ⁶ transfer to another diocese, or deprivation.Footnote ⁷ In the case of such a vacancy, this Dicastery also deals with all matters concerning the appointment of a new diocesan bishop.Footnote ⁸ Its website tells us that it does so:

This process is not without some challenge on its transparency, as is discussed below.

The bishop

Of bishops in general, the Code of Canon Law states:

The Directory for the Pastoral Ministry of Bishops of 1974Footnote ¹¹ contributed to the current canonical thinking promulgated in the 1983 Code. This document was wide-ranging in its coverage on the identity and mission of the bishop, that he has power which is ordinary (related to his office as diocesan bishop), proper (exercised in his own name, not vicariously in the name of another), and immediate (directed toward all in the diocese without the mediation of another).Footnote ¹² However, the supreme authority of the Church can control and limit its exercise, whether by the law or by a decree of the Supreme Pontiff.Footnote ¹³ A practical means of accountability for bishops is the requirement that he make a report to the Supreme Pontiff on the state of his diocese every five years and to present himself in Rome.Footnote ¹⁴ He is also required to have oversight of parishes by visiting the diocese annually in whole or in part, so that he has visited entirely at least every five years personally or, if legitimately impeded through others (for example, an auxiliary bishop.Footnote ¹⁵

Consultation and listening

There are a number of channels in the Code for ‘consultation’ and ‘listening’. The bishop is exhorted to listen to presbyters as assistants and counsellors, and he is directed to consult his coadjutor and auxiliary bishops. One of the roles of the papal legate is to assist the bishop and providing counsel,Footnote ¹⁶ and there is also support provided by the various dicasteries of the Roman Curia. Although there is nothing explicit about consulting lay people generally, canon 212 states that they may make known their needs and desires, and also that they may manifest their opinion on matters relating to the good of the Church.

Additionally, there are formal structures, one being the Conference of Bishops, where diocesan bishops have a deliberative vote.Footnote ¹⁷ Diocesan synods, convoked alone by the bishop, consist of selected priests and lay people as participants, where the bishop is the only legislator, and the other participants have a consultative vote.Footnote ¹⁸ The Council of Priests, presided over by the bishop, consists of those elected by the presbyterate themselves, ex officio members, and some who are appointed by the bishop. The agenda is set by the bishops and the members. Here again, the participants have only a consultative vote, and the bishop only requires consent in cases expressly defined by law.Footnote ¹⁹ Drawn from this presbyteral council the bishop appoints some priests who constitute a College of Consultors for five years. This is presided over by the bishop, and there are various functions defined by law, particularly when a see is vacant.Footnote ²⁰ The bishop must also hear the College in placing acts of administration which are more important in the light of the economic condition of the diocese, and must receive their consent to place acts of extraordinary administration. The chapter of canons is a college of priests that performs more solemn liturgical functions in a cathedral, and it is for the members of the chapter to fulfil the functions that the law or the diocesan bishop entrusts to it. While the chapter can draw up its own statutes, it is for the bishop to approve, change, or abrogate these. Finally, the diocesan curia consists of institutions and people who assist the bishop in the governance of the whole diocese, and among these being vicars general and vicars episcopal, who must be priests. Their powers are outlined in canon 479.Footnote ²¹ Of note is the requirement in canon 480 that both are ‘never to act contrary to the intention and mind of the diocesan bishop’.

There are two distinct committees on which lay people can be represented, namely the diocesan pastoral council and the finance council. The first should consist of members of the Christian faithful – clerics, members of institutes of consecrated life, and ‘especially laity’.Footnote ²² They are to be chosen in such a way to be representative of the people in the diocese, and the council is convoked and presided over by the diocesan bishop, and possesses only a consultative vote. Nevertheless, the International Theological Commission notes the possible broadening of the activity of the council (citing Pope John Paul II’s exhortation in 1988),Footnote ²³ proposing it ‘as the most appropriate permanent structure for implementing synodality in the local Church’.Footnote ²⁴

The second committee is that described as the Finance Council (consilium a rebus oeconomicis). The diocesan bishop must establish this committee, composed of at least three members of the Christian faithful, who are skilled in financial affairs and civil law.Footnote ²⁵ Members of the finance council are to be named for a five-year term renewable for further terms. The finance council has a number of obligations and duties outlined in Book V of the Code (The Temporal Goods of the Church). In addition, the finance council is to prepare an annual budget of the income and expenditure foreseen for the coming year and to examine a report of receipts and expenses at the accounting year end.Footnote ²⁶ The diocesan bishop must consult the finance council in carrying out the more important acts of administration in the light of the economic situation of the diocese.Footnote ²⁷ Furthermore he needs the consent of the council in carrying out acts of extraordinary administration; the nation of such acts being defined by the national conference of bishops.Footnote ²⁸ The bishop must also name a finance officer, who must be skilled in financial matters and distinguished for honesty, and who is appointed for a five-year term renewable,Footnote ²⁹ and whose role is to administer the goods of the diocese under the authority of the bishop and in accordance with the budget determined by the finance council.

However, given the injunction in canon 1284, that administrators are to take care that the ownership of ecclesiastical goods is protected by civilly valid methods, all diocese of England and Wales are incorporated as charities. Each charity has a trustee board consisting of a mix of clergy and lay faithful, an example of which is given in the Appendix below. However, this board is not only consultative because all trustees are jointly (collectively) responsible for the charity. Trustees are required to be critical and objective, and challenge assumptions in making decisions:

This sets up a potential challenge for the bishop who has a majority of lay trustees on his board (see Appendix below). On the one hand, as a trustee (and chair of the board) he has to defer to the opinion of the majority. Canonically, on the other hand, the weight of the responsibility to govern the diocese falls on his shoulders. Such a potential conflict has the possibility of blurring the boundaries between ‘decision making’ and ‘decision taking’.Footnote ³¹

Challenges

In the light of the child sexual abuse crisis and subsequent challenges, the process for the appointment of bishops has come under some scrutiny. Recommendation 16.8 from the Australian Royal Commission requested that the Holy See establish a transparent process for the appointment of bishops which would include the direct participation of lay people. This was communicated to the Holy See by the Australian Bishops Conference.Footnote ³² It is not clear whether Pope Francis’s appointment of three women to the Dicastery of Bishops in 2022 gave more than a nod to this request.Footnote ³³ Certainly, it appears that there is more to do, as the report, The Cross of the Moment, also calls for a consideration of how to achieve greater transparency in the process, and more involvement by the baptised, in the appointment of bishops. It also suggests that this is a task that could involve the Bishops’ Conference engaging with the papal nuncio and the relevant dicastery in Rome.Footnote ³⁴

Secondly, there is a perception that there is a lack of accountability of bishops. Richard Scorer, an English lawyer who has represented many victims of sexual abuse, and in relation to the case of Bishop Byrne of Hexham and Newcastle, states that this case ‘raises a much wider issue for the Catholic Church which is the unlimited and unaccountable power of bishops’.Footnote ³⁵ This is also reflected in The Cross of the Moment, which looks at the abuse crisis, and quotes one bishop who said: ‘it cannot be that the bishop gets to decide, chapter and verse, on everything in the diocese … without any sense of being accountable to somebody else’.Footnote ³⁶

This same report also calls into question the issue of effective communication and transparency within Church structures. It claims that these are either absent and inadequate and, while there may be good reasons for particular decisions, they are not explained. The report continues:

Finally, it may be that what is required is a change of attitude – an active commitment to greater transparency – that moves from a lack of explanation and secrecy to a sharing of everything that is possible. This might entail publishing the agenda of the Bishops’ Conference meetings, and making space within dioceses where people can ask questions and get answers about diocesan decision making.Footnote ³⁸

Shared principles

Given the above, I suggest that there are a number of shared principles between both traditions. These are (i) that the diocese is (generally) considered the local church; (ii) that the diocese is under the care and jurisdiction of the bishop; and (iii) that lay people can cooperate in various ways in the power of governance, although with limitations and, as recent discussions suggest in the Catholic Church, there is some pressure for change in terms of participation, transparency, and accountability.