Pope urges U.S. bishops to have collaborative style of governance

Published: 2004-09-13

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (CNS) -- In the wake of the sex abuse scandal, U.S. bishops should be open to a more collaborative style of governance that shares responsibility with lay Catholics, Pope John Paul II said. A consultative approach should not be seen as an abandonment of episcopal authority or a concession to democracy, but as a necessary way of strengthening a bishop's effectiveness, the pope said. He made the remarks Sept. 11 in a talk to more than 30 bishops from New Jersey and Pennsylvania, who were on their "ad limina" visits to the Vatican, which heads of dioceses are required to make every five years. The pope's theme was episcopal governance, and he said he wanted to explore it in the context of the sex abuse crisis. He said many of the bishops had spoken to him of a "crisis of confidence" in church leadership provoked by the abuse scandals and about the general call for accountability in the church's governance on every level. The pope said the bishops should be willing to critique certain styles of governance that, in the name of efficient administration, "can run the risk of distancing the pastor from the members of his flock."

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