Who picked my bishop?

In most of the world a handful of other bishops picked your bishop. The current process begins with an ecclesiastical "province," which is made up of one archdiocese and one or more dioceses. Any bishop may submit to the archbishop of his province names of priests he considers good candidates. The archbishop then distributes the resumes of the candidates to the other bishops of the province prior to their regular meeting. The bishops then discuss the candidates and take a secret vote on which to recommend.

These are then passed to the country's Vatican diplomatic representative, the apostolic nuncio. If a diocesan bishop is sought, the nuncio himself narrows the pool and draws up an alphabetical list of three candidates, the terna. If an auxiliary bishop is sought, the diocesan bishop requesting an auxiliary prepares the terna. In either case the nuncio prepares a report on the candidates, gives his personal recommendation, and sends the terna on to the Vatican Congregation for Bishops.

In Rome a cardinal is assigned to summarize the documentation and report to the full congregation, which has 35 members from around the world, although only those who live near Rome usually make the bimonthly meeting. Those present meet, discuss the candidates, and vote. The members of the congregation may follow the recommendation of the nuncio, choose another candidate on the terna, or ask that another terna be prepared. At a private audience, the prefect of the congregation presents its recommendation to the pope, who informs the congregation of his decision.

The current practice is a relative newcomer among an ever-changing variety of forms. Until the fourth century, all the people of a local church were involved in the selection of their bishop. St. Cyprian (mid-200s) wrote that divine authority was the source of the practice of choosing bishops in this way. As Pope Leo I (440-61) declared: "He who has to preside over all must be elected by all."

By the sixth century, the pattern changed: Either the people and the local clergy selected the candidate with the bishops of the area confirming their choice, or the area bishops selected someone who would be acclaimed by the people.

From the sixth to 11th centuries, kings began appointing bishops, and by the 12th century lay participation had faded. Through the 16th to 19th centuries the role of the local clergy diminished as that of area bishops and the pope increased. But it was not until the 1917 Code of Canon Law that a general law of the church gave the pope the authority to freely and directly appoint bishops.

But even today there is diversity in practice: Some dioceses in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria elect their own bishops by various means, and the bishops of many Eastern Catholic churches are elected by church synods. This variety suggests room for further continued development, especially in light of our growing appreciation of the values of the integrity of the local church, a bishop's relationship to the people he shepherds, and participation by the baptized in the selection of leaders.

By DAVID LYSIK, who teaches in the religious studies department at DePaul University in Chicago.