MY CATHOLIC FAITH: WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT A BISHOP'S CONFERENCE IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH?

 



INTRODUCTION

The Church is called to live the life of Christ through the public ministries in which she provides evangelization and outreach, in the community we live, work and have leisure with. The Church also seeks to support and sustain members of the Christian Community in their faith, as well as introduce all to the person and message of Jesus Christ. This duty is expressed in different ways one of which is the presence of Episcopal Conferences in different territories, what then is an Episcopal Conference or Bishop's Conference?


WHAT IS A BISHOP'S CONFERENCE OR AN EPISCOPAL CONFERENCE?

An Episcopal Conference, sometimes called a Conference of Bishops, is an official assembly of the Bishops of the Catholic Church in a given territory who are empowered to make decisions regarding policy for the whole region, and who also  develop projects, initiatives, or apostolates together, if they judge that to be in interests of the Church in the given territory or region.


Conferences of Bishops are established by the Pope, and generally, but not always, follow the boundaries of a country. In some areas of the world, a Conference of Bishops might include Bishops of more than one country.



BRIEF ORIGIN OF EPISCOPAL CONFERENCES IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Episcopal Conference have long existed as informal entities. The first assembly of Bishops to meet regularly, with its own legal structure and Ecclesial leadership function, was the Swiss Bishops' Conference, which was founded in 1863. More than forty Episcopal Conference existed before the Second Vatican Council. Their status was confirmed by the Second Vatican Council and further defined by Pope Paul VI's 1966 Motu Proprio, Ecclesiae Sanctae.



WHAT ROLE DO EPISCOPAL CONFERENCES PLAY IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH?

The Code of Canon Law says that: “A Conference of Bishops, a permanent institution, is a group of Bishops of some nation or certain territory who jointly exercise certain Pastoral functions for the Christian faithful of their territory in order to promote the greater good which the Church offers to humanity, especially through forms and programs of the apostolate fittingly adapted to the circumstances of time and place, according to the norm of law.”


Episcopal Conferences have the mission to support the ministry of Bishops with an emphasis on evangelization, by which the Bishops exercise in a Communal and Collegial manner certain pastoral functions entrusted to them by the Lord Jesus of sanctifying, teaching, and governing (see Lumen gentium, no. 21). 



They act collaboratively and consistently on vital issues confronting the Church and society (see Christus Dominus, no. 38.1). They also foster communion with the Church in other nations, within the Universal Church, under the leadership of its Supreme Pastor, the Roman Pontiff.


They may also offer appropriate assistance to each Bishop in fulfilling his particular ministry in the Local Church (Cf. Apostolos suos, 1998.)


Episcopal conferences are generally defined by geographic borders, often national ones, with all the bishops in a given country belonging to the same conference, although they may also include neighboring countries. 


Certain authority and tasks are assigned to Episcopal Conferences, particularly with regard to setting the Liturgical norms for the Mass. Episcopal Conferences receive their authority under Universal Law or Particular mandates. 



More so, in certain circumstances, as defined by canon law, the decisions of an episcopal conference are subject to ratification from the Holy See. Individual bishops do not relinquish their immediate authority for the governance of their respective dioceses to the conference.


CONCLUSION

Christus Dominus, the Vatican II Decree on the Life and Ministry of Bishops, taught that: “Episcopal Conferences already established in many nations-have furnished outstanding proofs of a more fruitful Apostolate. Therefore, this sacred synod considers it to be supremely fitting that everywhere Bishops belonging to the same nation or region are, they form an association which would meet at fixed times. Thus, when the insights of prudence and experience have been shared and views exchanged, there will emerge a holy union of energies in the service of the common good of the Churches.”


THANK YOU FOR READING, MAY GOD BLESS US ALL AND STRENGTHEN OUR FAITH. AMEN.


© Duru NobleBruno Osinachi 2023.


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