The Local Church and Its Bishop: Receiving the Vision of Vatican II: Part One

1 The Jurist 66 (2006) 1–338. 321 The Jurist 68 (2008) 321–322 THE LOCAL CHURCH AND ITS BISHOP: RECEIVING THE VISION OF VATICAN II: PART ONE Editor’s Introduction From time to time The Jurist has focused its attention on various implications of the role of the bishop in the local church. Most recently we published numerous papers on the theological, canonical, historical, and ecumenical aspects of the topic presented at a December 2005 interdisciplinary symposium in Rome.1 The symposium, sponsored by the Ecumenical Institute San Bernardino in Venice and the Centro pro Unione in Rome, was entitled “The Relation between the Bishop and the Local Church: Old and New Questions in Ecumenical Perspective.” At the end of his introduction to that volume, the editor wrote: After reading the various presentations in this special issue of The Jurist, it is clear . . . that one cannot proceed ecumenically in discussions on collegiality and primacy, including the Roman primacy, without first understanding the relationship between the bishop and the local church, as well as, of course the whole Church. Hopefully the papers in this special issue will help to identify and initially address the key questions on episcopè in the local church at a theological, canonical, ecumenical, and pastoral level. Despite the breadth of academic expertise and pastoral experience represented in that volume of The Jurist, the various issues pertinent to the bishop-local church relationship were not exhaustively addressed. Since issues pertaining to the health of the local church are of continuing critical importance for all our readers, especially those in canonical ministry , it seemed appropriate to continue the academic-pastoral conversation on leadership in the local church begun in that earlier volume. To assist us in that regard we elicit the expertise of the members of the Peter and Paul Seminar, whose thoughtful reflections on various dimensions of 2 For detailed reflections of the members of the Peter and Paul Seminar on various aspects of collegiality, see The Jurist 64 (2004) 1–383. For various observations on other concerns such as the exercise of governance by lay persons, the selection of bishops, Roman primacy, episcopal conferences, eucharistic sharing in interchurch marriages, and the exercise of infallibility, see The Jurist 59 (1999) 329–468. collegiality and other relevant theological-canonical concerns have been shared with us in relatively recent volumes of The Jurist.2 The opening essay in this interdisciplinary volume of The Jurist is written by two members of the Peter and Paul Seminar: Gilles Routhier from the University of Laval in Québec City and Myriam Wijlens from the University of Erfurt in Germany. It offers a helpful overview of the thirteen Seminar articles on the theme of leadership in the local church in light of Vatican II. While there is understandably a significant emphasis on the central role of the bishop, there is also a notable stress on the integral and indispensable leadership role of the clergy, religious, and laity of the diocese. Approximately half of the Seminar essays will appear in this issue, and the rest will be published in the first issue of volume 69 of The Jurist for 2009. It is hoped that these essays will be duly challenging and personally enriching in a time of continuing academic reflection and pastoral initiatives on ecclesial life and ministry in our various local churches. 322 the jurist ...