Bishops' conference tradition 'here to stay,' Archbishop Dolan says

Published: 2004-10-26

NEW YORK (CNS) -- Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of Milwaukee said in a New York address Oct. 25 that the American tradition of the bishops working together through a national organization is "here to stay." Even those bishops who are critical of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops "much prefer to be part of it and work through it to bring about the reforms they feel may be necessary," he said. "The prelates of this country feel they need the conciliar style, they enjoy it and they feel it can be transformed to serve their purposes," he added. Archbishop Dolan, who has a doctorate in church history from The Catholic University of America in Washington, spoke on "The Conciliar Tradition of the American Hierarchy," noting that "conciliarism" in this context did not refer to the medieval theories that councils were superior to popes but to a style of bishops working "collectively, collaboratively as a group." His address, the annual Erasmus Lecture, was sponsored by the Institute on Religion and Public Life, headed by Father Richard J. Neuhaus, and drew an audience of several hundred.

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