The Teaching Ministry of the Diocesan Bishop and Its Collaborative Exercise

* Professor of Canon Law, Washington Theological Union. 1 Abbreviations used in this article: AA Apostolicam actuositatem, Second Vatican Council, Decree on the apostolate of the laity (November 18, 1965). AS Apostolorum successores, Congregation for Bishops, Directory for the Pastoral ministry of Bishops (February 22, 2004). Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2004. c, cc canon, canons of the Codex Iuris Canonici, John Paul II, Code of Canon Law (January 25, 1983), unless otherwise indicated. CCEO Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium, John Paul II, Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (October 18, 1990) CD Christus Dominus, Second Vatican Council, Decree on the pastoral office of bishops in the Church (Oct. 28, 1965) DH Dignitatis humanae, Second Vatican Council, Declaration on religious freedom (December 7, 1965) DV Dei verbum, SecondVatican Council, Dogmatic constitution on divine revelation (November 18, 1965) LG Lumen gentium, Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic constitution on the church (November 21, 1964) PG Pastores gregis, John Paul II, apostolic exhortation, Shepherds of the flock (October 16, 2003). Origins 33:22 (Nov. 6, 2003) 353–392. PO Presbyterorum ordinis, Second Vatican Council, Decree on the ministry and life of priests (December 7, 1965) TMDB National Conference of Catholic Bishops, “The Teaching Ministry of the Diocesan Bishop: A Pastoral Reflection,” (November 14, 1991). Origins 21:30 (January 2, 1992) 473–492. UR Unitatis redintegratio, Second Vatican Council, Decree on ecumenism (November 21, 1964) The source for the documents of the Second Vatican Council: Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils,Volume Two: Trent to Vatican II, ed. Norman P. Tanner . (Washington: Georgetown University Press, 1990). 382 The Jurist 68 (2008) 382–407 THE TEACHING MINISTRY OF THE DIOCESAN BISHOP AND ITS COLLABORATIVE EXERCISE James A. Coriden* Introduction This study focuses on the nature of the teaching office of the diocesan bishop, its ecclesial context and theological foundations, its scope and modes of exercise, and specifically on the collaborative exercise of the bishop’s teaching ministry. The study relies on the teachings of the Second Vatican Council and post-conciliar reflections, both theological and canonical, on the episcopal teaching office within the Roman Catholic Church.1 It does not attempt to treat all of the issues related to 2 Michael Buckley, S.J., one of the collaborators on the November 1991 NCCB statement on “The Teaching Mission of the Diocesan Bishop,” graciously made available to me some of the earlier drafts prepared for that reflection. I am most grateful to him for this assistance . Several ideas and even some expressions from those drafts appear herein. the teaching ministry of the diocesan bishop 383 teaching authority or the question of legitimate dissent from the teaching of bishops. The work proceeds in three steps: a) the teaching mission of the Church, b) the teaching function of the bishop, and c) the modes of exercise of the bishop’s teaching function. It concludes with some suggestions for modifying the existing canons of the 1983 Code of Canon Law in order to bring them into closer conformity with the theology of the teaching office. A. The Teaching Mission of the Church 1) The Teaching Missions of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit In Jesus of Nazareth God disclosed himself to humankind in a unique way. Jesus the Christ was the ultimate revelation of God and God’s love for us. In his life and works, in his death and resurrection, Jesus united himself with us, gave himself up for us, and made known to us the ways of God. Jesus the teacher taught us the truth about ourselves and about God.2 Jesus promised and then sent his Spirit from the Father to continue and complete his mission, to remain with us, to remind us of what Jesus told us, and to lead us to all truth (Jn 14 & 16). The Spirit dwells in the Church and in the hearts of the faithful as in a temple, unifies the Church’s communion and ministry, directs, instructs, and renews the Church by means of the Spirit’s gifts (LG 4). The Spirit gathered Christ’s disciples intoaChurch,andundertheSpirit’sguidancethatChurchkeepsfaithwith Jesustheteacher,andcarriesonhismissionofGod’sself-communication. These two teaching missions, of the Son and Holy Spirit, are intimately interrelated and mutually interdependent. Together they disclose the...