Warning About Reducing the Office to That of a Mere Moderator
VATICAN CITY, OCT. 2, 2001 (Zenit.org).- German Cardinal Joachim Meisner blamed the episcopal ministry's lack of credibility on the fact that the bishops have withdrawn from the world, often reducing their role to that of "moderator" among differing opinions.
That view, outlined in a speech Monday at the Synod of Bishops, received warm applause from the general assembly. Below is a summary of the archbishop of Cologne's address.
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The crisis of faith in the Church is an expression of a wider crisis in culture, and also the consequence of a sort of self-secularization which is the responsibility of members and bodies of the church, including for example those who exercise the Episcopal ministry. No few bishops in fact fail to realise the seriousness of the situation, others see the tendencies of separation in the faith as fruitful tensions which could in the future lead to a new synthesis and they see their ministry as that of a "moderator" among various opposing positions.
This understanding of the Episcopal ministry is so widespread that the Episcopate suffers from a loss of authority which comes from the outside and which - involuntarily - favours renunciation of authority from within. Consequently the pastoral ministry of the bishop is minimized, reduced to human concern for the faithful, polite understanding and recognition of charisma present among the lay faithful. This leads to a misunderstanding of the essence of the ministry which implies clear and unequivocal duties to govern, including the element of jurisdiction.
From this analysis stems the urgency for strong and authoritative witness from bishops. The bishop is not a pious private believer, he is a public witness. He must face the problems of the day from the church's point of view, not only to save himself but also to defend the faith, correct errors and deepen knowledge of the truth. He cannot ignore the effective situation of the faith in society, he must render witness to the faith taking into consideration also the risks and dangers.
The potesta of the bishop who must be a "witness to the faith", lies not only in preaching. He must make doctrinal judgements which come first of all from the potesta to govern and call for regulation, rectification and judgment concerning the doctrine of the faith. Potesta testandi reaches its fullness in potestas iudicandi. This means that bishops are called not only to witness to the faith, to nourish it and care for it, they must also judge it, discipline it and impose it in its correct form. This they must do not autonomously or independently but in unity with the universal jurisdiction of the Supreme Pontiff.
In this light, in the discussion on the faith, the bishop must be able to judge, in the ambit of his diocese and in keeping with the universal teaching of the faith, what is true and what is not. On the basis of this ability of judgement operated by the Spirit, the bishop may offer his Church a service of judicial enlightenment regarding the faith. Hence the statement: "Where there is the Bishop, there too is the Church".
[text distributed by Synod Secretariat]
Zenit - The World Seen From Rome
2. oktober 2001