Unresolved Tensions in Papal-Episcopal Relations: Essays Occasioned by the Deposition of Bishop Joseph Strickland (Os Justi Studies in Catholic Tradition)

By Phillip Campbell, Carlos Casanova, Peter Kwasniewski

With contributions by Phillip Campbell ? Carlos Casanova ? Carlos Esteban ? A Friar of the Order of Preachers ? Stefano Fontana ? Antonio Franc?s ? Peter A. Kwasniewski ? John R.T. Lamont ? Brian C. McCall ? Gerald Murray ? Jos? Antonio UretaThe forcible removal of Bishop Joseph E. Strickland from his episcopal see of Tyler, Texas on November 11, 2023 was greeted around the world with a firestorm of protest. "America's bishop" had first been asked to resign, and refused to do so; this refusal was countered with a summary deposition by Pope Francis, for unspecified reasons and accompanied by no canonical process.This irregular action-not the only one of its kind, moreover, in the past eleven years-inevitably raises questions about how a bishop may or should respond to such an egregious abuse of papal power. Some theologians maintain that a pope, though he calls certain men to undertake the episcopal burden, must respect the office of the successors of the apostles whom Christ the Lord constitutes true shepherds in the Church; he exercises a power of jurisdiction that is supreme but not originative or exclusive. Others claim that a pope has an all but unlimited authority to appoint, control, and dismiss bishops as he pleases: he holds the totality of jurisdictional power in himself, such that all episcopal authority derives immediately and personally from him. The Church has not taught either position definitively. Much depends on which one of these views is true, and which prevails in the long run.The autocratic governance of Pope Francis has spurred assessments of the nature and limits of a pope's authority over his brother bishops in the apostolic college and his solemn obligations to them as the servant of the servants of God. This volume gathers the best of such writing-offered as an historical record, a reflection on ecclesiological realities, and a source of future resolution.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1960711725
• ISBN13: 9781960711724
• Release Date: April 2024
• Publisher: Os Justi Press
• Length: 276 Pages
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.7" x 6.0"