Vatican official backs Pope’s right to remove bishops
November 29, 2023
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CWN Editor's Note: The secretary of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts—the Vatican’s top body for canon law—told reporters in Rome that the Pope has the authority to remove diocesan bishops without a canonical trial.
Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta said that a bishop who is not guilty of any canonical crime may be removed after an “evaluation of communion” with other bishops and with the Holy See.
“There is no official mechanism for the firing of bishops, which can be evaluated by the college of bishops and by the Pope,” the bishop said.
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Posted by: feedback -
Nov. 29, 2023 6:54 PM ET USA
It's not about the pope's right to remove bishops. It's about the pope's right to cause scandal for the Church. The many bishops (in Germany, for example) who need to be removed are still in power, and Bishop Strickland, who should be commended, or promoted, is removed. That's a scandal.
