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129-454: A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese . By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic , Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches is that he be ordained for a specific place. There are more bishops than there are functioning dioceses. Therefore,

258-703: A deacon , priest (i.e. presbyter ), and then bishop is understood to hold the fullness of the ministerial priesthood, given responsibility by Christ to govern, teach and sanctify the Body of Christ (the Church). Priests, deacons and lay ministers co-operate and assist their bishops in pastoral ministry. Some Pentecostal and other Protestant denominations have bishops who oversee congregations, though they do not necessarily claim apostolic succession. The English word bishop derives, via Latin episcopus , Old English biscop , and Middle English bisshop , from

387-524: A "good Catholic" while disagreeing with the church's position on abortion, approximately as many as members of other religious groups. On this long-standing phenomenon of a number of Catholics disagreeing with the Church's official position on abortion, Pope John Paul II commented: "It is sometimes claimed that dissent from the Magisterium is totally compatible with being a "good Catholic" and poses no obstacle to

516-486: A 2009 survey by Pew Research Center, 47% of American Catholics believe that abortion should be legal in "all or most cases", while 42% of American Catholics believe that abortion should be illegal in "all or most cases". When posed the binary question of whether abortion was acceptable or unacceptable, rather than a question of whether it should be allowed or not allowed in all or most cases, according to polls conducted in 2006-2008 by Gallup , 40% of American Catholics said it

645-490: A 2016 survey by Pew Research Center , 51% of U.S. Catholics say that "having an abortion is morally wrong". Surveys conducted by a number of polling organizations indicate that between 16% and 22% of American Catholic voters agree with Church policy that abortion should be illegal in all cases; the rest of the respondents held positions ranging from support for legal abortions in certain restricted circumstances to an unqualified acceptance of abortion in all cases. According to

774-460: A Catholic collection of canon law , in the Decretum Gratiani , stated that "he is not a murderer who brings about abortion before the soul is in the body". Even when Church law, in line with the theory of delayed ensoulment, assigned different penalties to earlier and later abortions, abortion at any stage was considered a grave evil by some commentators. Thus Thomas Aquinas , who accepted

903-446: A Marist College Institute for Public Opinion's survey released in 2008, 36% of practising Catholics, defined as those who attend church at least twice a month, consider themselves "pro-choice"; while 65% of non-practicing Catholics considers themselves "pro-choice", According to polls conducted in 2006-2008 by Gallup, 24% of practicing Catholics, defined in this poll as those who attend church "weekly or almost every week", believe abortion

1032-497: A bishop up until the dismissal of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey by Henry VIII . Similarly, the position of Kanclerz in the Polish kingdom was always held by a bishop until the 16th century . In modern times, the principality of Andorra is headed by Co-Princes of Andorra , one of whom is the Bishop of Urgell and the other, the sitting President of France , an arrangement that began with

1161-401: A completed abortion are subject to a latae sententiae excommunication . That means that the excommunication is not imposed by an authority or trial (as with a ferendae sententiae penalty); rather, being expressly established by canon law , it is incurred ipso facto when the delict is committed (a latae sententiae penalty). Canon law states that in certain circumstances "the accused

1290-793: A council or college of ordained presbyters ( πρεσβύτεροι , 'elders'). In Acts 11:30 and Acts 15:22, a collegiate system of government in Jerusalem is chaired by James the Just , according to tradition the first bishop of the city . In Acts 14:23, the Apostle Paul ordains presbyters in churches in Anatolia . The word presbyter was not yet distinguished from overseer ( ἐπίσκοπος , episkopos , later used exclusively to mean bishop ), as in Acts 20:17, Titus 1:5–7 and 1 Peter 5:1. The earliest writings of

1419-660: A diocesan bishop to a titular see has been used by the Holy See to strip of responsibilities a bishop whose behavior was disapproved. For instance, in 1995, Jacques Gaillot , known for his activism on Catholic-sensitive social and political topics (such as support for contraception and abortion ), was transferred from the see of Évreux in France to Partenia , a titular see in Algeria , instead of becoming Bishop Emeritus of Évreux. Titular bishops and titular metropolitans are often appointed in

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1548-518: A distinction between "formed" and "unformed" fetuses nor defining precisely in what stage of pregnancy human life began. Changing beliefs about the moment the embryo gains a human soul have led to changes in canon law in the classification of the sin of abortion. In particular, scholars such as John M. Riddle , Joan Cadden , and Cyril C. Means, Jr. have written that prior to the 19th century most Catholic authors did not regard abortion before "quickening" or "ensoulment" as sinful, and in fact "abortion"

1677-606: A distinction between "formed" and "unformed" fetuses, as was done in the Greek Septuagint version of Exodus 21:22–23 ; this position can be found in the writing of early Church Fathers such as Basil of Caesarea and early Church council canons ( Elvira , Ancyra ). In the 4th and 5th centuries, some writers such as Gregory of Nyssa and Maximus the Confessor held that human life already began at conception, others such as Lactantius – following Aristotle 's view – spoke rather of

1806-725: A document released by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Pro-Life Activities, the Catholic Church has condemned procured abortion as immoral since the 1st century. John R. Connery writes that Early Christian writings rejecting abortion are the Didache , the Epistle of Barnabas , the Apocalypse of Peter , and the works of early writers such as Tertullian , Athenagoras of Athens , Clement of Alexandria and Basil of Caesarea . The earliest Church legislation did not make

1935-484: A general trend in American society towards increased support for legal abortion. Recent polls also find that the gap between Catholic clergy and laity views further widen among Catholics of color with 73% supporting the right to have an abortion. According to a 1995 survey by Lake Research and Tarrance Group, 64% of U.S. Catholics say they disapprove of the statement that "abortion is morally wrong in every case". According to

2064-436: A human being did not come into existence as such immediately on conception, but only some weeks later. Abortion was viewed as a sin, but not as murder, until the embryo was animated by a human soul. In On Virginal Conception and Original Sin 7, Anselm of Canterbury (1033–1109) said that "no human intellect accepts the view that an infant has the rational soul from the moment of conception". A few decades after Anselm's death,

2193-399: A human being in actuality; clerics involved in abortions will have committed mortal sin but will not incur irregularity ". After 1591, Gregory's Sedes apostolica "remained in effect for almost three centuries, being revised only in 1869 by Pius IX". With his 1869 bull Apostolicae Sedis moderationi , Pope Pius IX rescinded Gregory XIV's not-yet-animated fetus exception with regard to

2322-404: A human person. The New Catholic Encyclopedia concludes: After a certain stage of intrauterine development it is perfectly evident that fetal life is fully human. Although some might speculate as to when that stage is reached, there is no way of arriving at this knowledge by any known criterion; and as long as it is probable that embryonic life is human from the first moment of its existence,

2451-411: A laity, and then selects three to be forwarded to the Holy See . In Europe, some cathedral chapters have duties to elect bishops. The Eastern Catholic churches generally elect their own bishops. Most Eastern Orthodox churches allow varying amounts of formalised laity or lower clergy influence on the choice of bishops. This also applies in those Eastern churches which are in union with the pope, though it

2580-449: A lifetime of about two-and-a-half years and was weak in influence. The succeeding pope countered it and returned to the traditional position that contraception was a sin and abortion a crime, but that abortion could not occur until after the fortieth day, when the fetus was ensouled". Sixtus's successor, Pope Gregory XIV , recognizing that the law was not producing the hoped-for effects, withdrew it in 1591 by publishing new regulations in

2709-653: A majority vote of the General Conference which meets every four years." In the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States, bishops are administrative superintendents of the church; they are elected by "delegate" votes for as many years deemed until the age of 74, then the bishop must retire. Among their duties, are responsibility for appointing clergy to serve local churches as pastor, for performing ordinations, and for safeguarding

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2838-404: A medicine that of itself is directed to killing a fetus. He also stated that it is lawful (at least according to general theological opinion) to give a mother in extreme illness a medicine whose direct result is to save her life, even when it indirectly results in expulsion of the fetus. While Liguori mentioned the distinction then made between animate and inanimate fetuses, he explained that there

2967-493: A non-diocesan appointment are no longer habitually transferred to a titular see. Instead, they take the title Bishop (or Archbishop ) Emeritus of the last see. Also, coadjutors are no longer named to titular sees, instead taking the title Coadjutor Bishop (or Coadjutor Archbishop ) of the see they will inherit. In other cases titular bishops still take a titular see. Beginning in 2019, titular sees are no longer being assigned to new Vicars Apostolic. When Francis Green

3096-532: A notable shift in Catholic public opinion, with support for abortion rights among Catholics increasing in recent years. According to 2024 Pew Research Center survey data on American's opinions on abortion , a majority of Catholics in the United States (59%) support legal abortion in all or most cases. The support for legal abortion among Catholics is up from 56% in 2020, showing a clear upward trend in Catholic support for legal abortion. This shift among Catholics mirrors

3225-432: A poll conducted by Zogby International, 29% of Catholic voters choose their candidate based solely on the candidate's position on abortion; most of these vote for anti-abortion candidates; 44% believe a "good Catholic" cannot vote for a politician who supports abortion rights, while 53% believe one can. According to 2011 report from Public Religion Research Institute , 68% of American Catholics believe that one can still be

3354-560: A priest appointed not to head a diocese as its diocesan bishop but to be an auxiliary bishop , a papal diplomat, or an official of the Roman Curia is appointed to a titular see . In the Catholic Church , a titular bishop is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese . Examples of bishops belonging to this category are coadjutor bishops , auxiliary bishops , bishops emeriti , vicars apostolic , nuncios , superiors of departments in

3483-454: A pronouncement. According to Mackler, Lehmkuhl had accepted as a defensible theory the licitness of removing even an animated fetus from the womb as not necessarily killing it, but had rejected direct attacks on the fetus such as craniotomy. Craniotomy was thus prohibited in 1884 and again in 1889. In 1895 the Holy See excluded the inducing of non-viable premature birth and in 1889 established

3612-428: A symbol of power. Bishops have also exercised political authority within their dioceses. Traditionally, bishops claim apostolic succession , a direct historical lineage dating back to the original Twelve Apostles or Saint Paul . The bishops are by doctrine understood as those who possess the full priesthood given by Jesus Christ , and therefore may ordain other clergy, including other bishops. A person ordained as

3741-639: A term of six years, which can be renewed, depending upon the local synod's "constitution" (which is mirrored on either the ELCA or ELCIC's national constitution). Since the implementation of concordats between the ELCA and the Episcopal Church of the United States and the ELCIC and the Anglican Church of Canada , all bishops, including the presiding bishop (ELCA) or the national bishop (ELCIC), have been consecrated using

3870-592: A vision for the denomination, though they have no legislative authority of their own. In all of these areas, bishops of the United Methodist Church function very much in the historic meaning of the term. According to the Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church , a bishop's responsibilities are: Leadership.—Spiritual and Temporal — Catholic Church and abortion Many, and in some Western countries most, Catholics hold views on abortion that differ from

3999-419: Is "defensibly Catholic". Although the church hierarchy campaigns against abortion and its legalization in all circumstances, including threats to a woman's life or health and pregnancy from rape , many Catholics disagree with this position, according to several surveys of Western Catholic views. A majority of U.S. Catholics hold views that differ from the official Church doctrine on abortion. This represents

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4128-576: Is allowed, since it is categorized as an indirect abortion . This view was also advocated by Pius XII in a 1953 address to the Italian Association of Urology. Using the Thomistic Principle of Totality (removal of a pathological part to preserve the life of the person) and the Doctrine of Double Effect, the only moral action in an ectopic pregnancy where a woman's life is directly threatened is

4257-488: Is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity , bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses . The role or office of the bishop is called episcopacy . Organizationally, several Christian denominations utilize ecclesiastical structures that call for the position of bishops, while other denominations have dispensed with this office, seeing it as

4386-509: Is at variance with Catholic understanding of Christian teaching, and have contributed to the reaffirmation of Catholic rejection of Anglican ordinations. The Eastern Orthodox Churches do not accept the validity of any ordinations performed by the Independent Catholic groups, as Eastern Orthodoxy considers to be spurious any consecration outside the church as a whole. Eastern Orthodoxy considers apostolic succession to exist only within

4515-431: Is certain to die without the procedure (examples cited include aggressive uterine cancer and ectopic pregnancy ). In these cases, the intended effect is to save the woman's life, not to terminate the pregnancy, and the death of the embryo or fetus is a side effect. The death of the fetus is an undesirable but unavoidable consequence. An ectopic pregnancy is one of a few cases where the foreseeable death of an embryo

4644-487: Is done immediately after baptism , and thus the priest is the one who confirms, using chrism blessed by a bishop. Bishops in all of these communions are ordained by other bishops through the laying on of hands. Ordination of a bishop, and thus continuation of apostolic succession, takes place through a ritual centred on the imposition of hands and prayer . Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, Old Catholic and some Lutheran bishops claim to be part of

4773-400: Is lawful to procure abortion before ensoulment of the fetus lest a girl, detected as pregnant, be killed or defamed". Although it is sometimes said that 18th-century Alphonsus Liguori argued that because of uncertainty about when the soul entered the fetus, abortion was acceptable in circumstances such as when the mother's life was in danger, he clearly stated that it is never right to take

4902-494: Is morally acceptable. It is said that "Latino Catholics" in the United States are more likely to oppose abortion than "White Catholics". Some reasons for dissenting from the church's position on the legality of abortion, other than finding abortion morally acceptable, include "I am personally opposed to abortion, but I think the Church is concentrating its energies too much on abortion rather than on social action" or "I do not wish to impose my views on others". According to

5031-416: Is necessary. The practice of only one bishop ordaining was normal in countries where the church was persecuted under Communist rule. The title of archbishop or metropolitan may be granted to a senior bishop, usually one who is in charge of a large ecclesiastical jurisdiction. He may, or may not, have provincial oversight of suffragan bishops and may possibly have auxiliary bishops assisting him. Apart from

5160-546: Is not bound by a latae sententiae penalty"; among the ten circumstances listed are commission of a delict by someone not yet sixteen years old, or by someone who without negligence does not know of the existence of the penalty, or by someone "who was coerced by grave fear, even if only relatively grave, or due to necessity or grave inconvenience". According to a 2004 memorandum by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger , Catholic politicians who consistently campaign and vote for permissive abortion laws should be informed by their priest of

5289-462: Is reported to have been the first to make an explicit statement that if the purpose was to save the mother's life abortion was actually permitted, provided that ensoulment had not been attained. This view met both support and rejection from other theologians. In the 16th century, while Thomas Sanchez accepted it, Antoninus de Corbuba made the distinction that from then on became generally accepted among Catholic theologians, namely that direct killing of

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5418-600: Is required that he give assent. The pope, in addition to being the Bishop of Rome and spiritual head of the Catholic Church, is also the Patriarch of the Latin Church. Each bishop within the Latin Church is answerable directly to the Pope and not any other bishop except to metropolitans in certain oversight instances. The pope previously used the title Patriarch of the West , but this title

5547-591: Is that of the "Spiritum primatus sacerdotii habere potestatem dimittere peccata" : the primate of sacrificial priesthood and the power to forgive sins. The efficient organization of the Roman Empire became the template for the organisation of the church in the 4th century , particularly after Constantine's Edict of Milan . As the church moved from the shadows of privacy into the public forum it acquired land for churches, burials and clergy . In 391, Theodosius I decreed that any land that had been confiscated from

5676-661: Is the ordinary minister of the sacrament of confirmation in the Latin Church, and in the Old Catholic communion only a bishop may administer this sacrament. In the Lutheran and Anglican churches, the bishop normatively administers the rite of confirmation, although in those denominations that do not have an episcopal polity, confirmation is administered by the priest. However, in the Byzantine and other Eastern rites, whether Eastern or Oriental Orthodox or Eastern Catholic , chrismation

5805-542: Is the ordination and appointment of clergy to serve local churches as pastor, presiding at sessions of the Annual, Jurisdictional, and General Conferences, providing pastoral ministry for the clergy under their charge, and safeguarding the doctrine and discipline of the church. Furthermore, individual bishops, or the Council of Bishops as a whole, often serve a prophetic role, making statements on important social issues and setting forth

5934-471: The 5th century , and Pope Gregory I in the 6th century . Both of these men were statesmen and public administrators in addition to their role as Christian pastors, teachers and leaders. In the Eastern churches , latifundia entailed to a bishop's see were much less common, the state power did not collapse the way it did in the West, and thus the tendency of bishops acquiring civil power was much weaker than in

6063-819: The Apostolic Fathers , the Didache and the First Epistle of Clement , for example, show the church used two terms for local church offices—presbyters (seen by many as an interchangeable term with episkopos or overseer) and deacon. In the First epistle to Timothy and Epistle to Titus in the New Testament a more clearly defined episcopate can be seen. Both letters state that Paul had left Timothy in Ephesus and Titus in Crete to oversee

6192-481: The Aristotelian theory that a human soul was infused only after 40 days for a male fetus, 90 days for a female, saw abortion of an unsouled fetus as always unethical, a serious crime, a grave sin , a misdeed and contrary to nature. He wrote: "This sin, although grave and to be reckoned among misdeeds and against nature [...] is something less than homicide [...] nor is such to be judged irregular unless one procures

6321-628: The Eastern Orthodox Church . In Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople , titular bishops and metropolitans are usually appointed with titles of former dioceses in the regions of Thrace, Asia Minor and Pontus (now Turkey ), that were often active until the Greek-Turkish population exchange of 1923. In Serbian Orthodox Church , titular bishops are usually appointed to serve as auxiliary bishops, assisting diocesan bishops in various fields of diocesan administration. Bishop A bishop

6450-452: The Far East —are much larger and more populous. As well as traditional diocesan bishops, many churches have a well-developed structure of church leadership that involves a number of layers of authority and responsibility. In Catholicism , Eastern Orthodoxy , Oriental Orthodoxy , High Church Lutheranism , and Anglicanism , only a bishop can ordain other bishops, priests, and deacons. In

6579-637: The Greek word ἐπίσκοπος , epískopos , meaning "overseer" or "supervisor". Greek was the language of the early Christian church, but the term epískopos did not originate in Christianity: it had been used in Greek for several centuries before the advent of Christianity. The English words priest and presbyter both derive, via Latin, from the Greek word πρεσβύτερος , presbýteros , meaning "elder" or "senior", and not originally referring to priesthood. In

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6708-776: The Independent Anglican churches , and certain other, smaller, denominations. The traditional role of a bishop is as pastor of a diocese (also called a bishopric, synod , eparchy or see), and so to serve as a "diocesan bishop", or "eparch" as it is called in many Eastern Christian churches. Dioceses vary considerably in size, geographically and population-wise. Some dioceses around the Mediterranean Sea which were Christianised early are rather compact, whereas dioceses in areas of rapid modern growth in Christian commitment—as in some parts of Sub-Saharan Africa , South America and

6837-666: The Paréage of Andorra (1278) , and was ratified in the 1993 constitution of Andorra. The office of the Papacy is inherently held by the sitting Roman Catholic Bishop of Rome. Though not originally intended to hold temporal authority, since the Middle Ages the power of the Papacy gradually expanded deep into the secular realm and for centuries the sitting Bishop of Rome was the most powerful governmental office in Central Italy. In modern times,

6966-641: The Prince-Bishopric of Montenegro from 1516 to 1852, assisted by a secular guvernadur . More recently, Archbishop Makarios III of Cyprus , served as President of the Cyprus from 1960 to 1977, an extremely turbulent time period on the island. In 2001, Peter Hollingworth , AC , OBE – then the Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane – was controversially appointed Governor-General of Australia . Although Hollingworth gave up his episcopal position to accept

7095-502: The Roman Curia , and cardinal bishops of suburbicarian dioceses (since they are not in charge of the suburbicarian dioceses). Most titular bishops hold the title to a titular see . Assigning titular sees serves two purposes. Since part of being a bishop means being the head of a Christian church , titular sees serve that purpose for bishops without a diocese. At the same time, the office of titular bishop memorializes ancient Churches, most of which were suppressed because they fell into

7224-399: The local church . Paul commands Titus to ordain presbyters/bishops and to exercise general oversight. Early sources are unclear but various groups of Christian communities may have had the bishop surrounded by a group or college functioning as leaders of the local churches. Eventually the head or "monarchic" bishop came to rule more clearly, and all local churches would eventually follow

7353-536: The ordained elders (presbyters) by vote of the delegates in regional (called jurisdictional) conferences, and are consecrated by the other bishops present at the conference through the laying on of hands. In the United Methodist Church bishops remain members of the "Order of Elders" while being consecrated to the " Office of the Episcopacy ". Within the United Methodist Church only bishops are empowered to consecrate bishops and ordain clergy. Among their most critical duties

7482-717: The "chief pastor" of the local synod, upholding the teachings of Martin Luther as well as the documentations of the Ninety-Five Theses and the Augsburg Confession . Unlike their counterparts in the United Methodist Church , ELCA and ELCIC synod bishops do not appoint pastors to local congregations (pastors, like their counterparts in the Episcopal Church, are called by local congregations). The presiding bishop of

7611-452: The 1st century the Church has affirmed that every procured abortion is a moral evil; the Catechism states that this position "has not changed and remains unchangeable". The Church teaches that the inalienable right to life of every innocent human being is a constitutive element of a civil society and its legislation. In other words, it is beholden upon society to legally protect the life of

7740-479: The Catholic Church, without making any such distinctions, assures the possibility of forgiveness for women who have had an abortion. Pope John Paul II wrote: I would now like to say a special word to women who have had an abortion. The Church is aware of the many factors which may have influenced your decision, and she does not doubt that in many cases it was a painful and even shattering decision. The wound in your heart may not yet have healed. Certainly what happened

7869-473: The Church on these treatments, in a 2012 survey of 1,800 Ob/Gyns who work in religious hospitals, only 2.9% of respondents reported feeling constrained in their treatment options by their employers, suggesting that in practice, physicians and healthcare institutions generally choose to treat ectopic pregnancies. The Church considers the destruction of any embryo to be equivalent to abortion, and thus opposes embryonic stem cell research . Catholics who procure

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7998-630: The Church's teaching and warned to refrain from receiving the Eucharist or risk being denied it until they end such activity. This position is based on Canon 915 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law and has also been supported, in a personal capacity, by Archbishop Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke , the former Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura . Pope Francis reaffirmed this position in March 2013, when he stated that "[people] cannot receive Holy Communion and at

8127-466: The ELCA and the national bishop of the ELCIC, the national bishops of their respective bodies, are elected for a single 6-year term and may be elected to an additional term. Although ELCA agreed with the Episcopal Church to limit ordination to the bishop "ordinarily", ELCA pastor- ordinators are given permission to perform the rites in "extraordinary" circumstance. In practice, "extraordinary" circumstance have included disagreeing with Episcopalian views of

8256-659: The East churches. Some provinces of the Anglican Communion have begun ordaining women as bishops in recent decades – for example, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Cuba. The first woman to be consecrated a bishop within Anglicanism was Barbara Harris , who was ordained in the United States in 1989. In 2006, Katharine Jefferts Schori, the Episcopal Bishop of Nevada , became

8385-526: The Eastern liturgical tradition, a priest can celebrate the Divine Liturgy only with the blessing of a bishop. In Byzantine usage, an antimension signed by the bishop is kept on the altar partly as a reminder of whose altar it is and under whose omophorion the priest at a local parish is serving. In Syriac Church usage, a consecrated wooden block called a thabilitho is kept for the same reasons. The bishop

8514-570: The English Reformation. Since in the primitive church the offices of presbyter and episkopos were not clearly distinguished, many Puritans held that this was the only form of government the church should have. The Anglican divine, Richard Hooker , objected to this claim in his famous work Of the Laws of Ecclesiastic Polity while, at the same time, defending Presbyterian ordination as valid (in particular Calvin's ordination of Beza ). This

8643-468: The Holy See, hoping to continue in some sacramental role. In those instances where the pope does grant reconciliation, those deemed to be clerics within the Independent Old Catholic movement are invariably admitted as laity and not priests or bishops. There is a mutual recognition of the validity of orders amongst Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Old Catholic, Oriental Orthodox and Assyrian Church of

8772-615: The Isle of Man . In the past, the Bishop of Durham had extensive vice-regal powers within his northern diocese, which was a county palatine , the County Palatine of Durham , (previously, Liberty of Durham ) of which he was ex officio the earl . In the 19th century, a gradual process of reform was enacted, with the majority of the bishop's historic powers vested in The Crown by 1858. Eastern Orthodox bishops, along with all other members of

8901-616: The Jubilee year – ending November 20, 2016) will be allowed in the Sacrament of Penance to refrain from enforcing the penalty of excommunication for abortion , which had been reserved to bishops and certain priests who were given such mandate by their bishop. This policy was made permanent by an apostolic letter titled Misericordia et misera (Mercy and Misery), which was issued on November 21, 2016. The Church teaches that "human life must be respected and protected absolutely from

9030-464: The Poor ) containing a long list of early-stage abortifacients, including rue , pennyroyal , and other mints. Similarly, the medicinal writings of Hildegard of Bingen included abortifacients such as tansy . Some theologians, such as John Chrysostom and Thomas Sanchez , believed that post-quickening abortion was less sinful than deliberate contraception, and Chrysostom believed that contraception

9159-413: The Pope is also the sovereign Prince of Vatican City , an internationally recognized micro-state located entirely within the city of Rome. In France , prior to the Revolution , representatives of the clergy — in practice, bishops and abbots of the largest monasteries — comprised the First Estate of the Estates-General . This role was abolished after separation of Church and State

9288-541: The Universal Church, and not through any authority held by individual bishops; thus, if a bishop ordains someone to serve outside the (Eastern Orthodox) Church, the ceremony is ineffectual, and no ordination has taken place regardless of the ritual used or the ordaining prelate's position within the Eastern Orthodox Churches. The position of the Catholic Church is slightly different. Whilst it does recognise

9417-518: The West. However, the role of Western bishops as civil authorities, often called prince bishops , continued throughout much of the Middle Ages . As well as being Archchancellors of the Holy Roman Empire after the 9th century, bishops generally served as chancellors to medieval monarchs, acting as head of the justiciary and chief chaplain . The Lord Chancellor of England was almost always

9546-496: The abortion of a fetus, "whether animated or unanimated, formed or unformed" should suffer the same punishments as "true murderers and assassins who have actually and really committed murder". As well as decreeing those punishments for subjects of the Papal States , whose civil ruler he was, Pope Sixtus also inflicted on perpetrators the spiritual punishment of automatic excommunication (section 7). According to Riddle, "The bull had

9675-529: The abortion of an "unformed" fetus since he thought that it could not be said with certainty whether the fetus had already received a soul. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops considers Augustine's reflections on abortion to be of little value in the present day because of the limitations of the science of embryology at that time. Later writers such as John Chrysostom and Caesarius of Arles , as well as later Church councils (e.g. Lerida and Braga II ), also condemned abortion as "gravely wrong", without making

9804-431: The abortion of an already formed fetus". Most early penitentials imposed equal penances for abortion whether early-term or late-term, but others distinguished between the two. Later penitentials normally distinguished, imposing heavier penances for late-term abortions. By comparison, anal and oral sex were treated much more harshly, as was intentional homicide. Although the Decretum Gratiani , which remained

9933-449: The apostolic constitution Sedes Apostolica (published on 31 May 1591), limiting the punishments to abortion of a "formed" fetus: "When abortion was neither 'an issue of homicide or of an animate fetus,' Gregory thought it 'more useful' to return to the less-harsh penalties [for early abortion] of the holy canons and profane laws : those who abort an inanimatus [soulless] will not be guilty of true homicide because they have not killed

10062-401: The apostolic succession in lines stemming from the original apostles. The New Westminster Dictionary of Church History states that "In Sweden the apostolic succession was preserved because the Catholic bishops were allowed to stay in office, but they had to approve changes in the ceremonies." While traditional teaching maintains that any bishop with apostolic succession can validly perform

10191-609: The appointment, it still attracted considerable opposition in a country which maintains a formal separation between Church and State . During the period of the English Civil War , the role of bishops as wielders of political power and as upholders of the established church became a matter of heated political controversy. Presbyterianism was the polity of most Reformed Christianity in Europe, and had been favored by many in England since

10320-436: The basis of Catholic canon law until replaced by the 1917 Code of Canon Law , distinguished between early-term and late-term abortions, that canonical distinction was abolished for a period of three years by the bull of Pope Sixtus V , Effraenatam , of 28 October 1588. This decreed various penalties against perpetrators of all forms of abortion without distinction. Calling abortion murder, it decreed that those who procured

10449-497: The bishop into compliance. Other contemporary Christian writers do not describe monarchial bishops, either continuing to equate them with the presbyters or speaking of episkopoi (bishops, plural) in a city. Clement of Alexandria (end of the 2nd century) writes about the ordination of a certain Zachæus as bishop by the imposition of Simon Peter Bar-Jonah's hands. The words bishop and ordination are used in their technical meaning by

10578-517: The bull Apostolicae curae in 1896, the Catholic Church has insisted that Anglican orders are invalid because of the Reformed changes in the Anglican ordination rites of the 16th century and divergence in understanding of the theology of priesthood, episcopacy and Eucharist. However, since the 1930s, Utrecht Old Catholic bishops (recognised by the Holy See as validly ordained) have sometimes taken part in

10707-470: The church by Roman authorities be returned. The most usual term for the geographic area of a bishop's authority and ministry, the diocese , began as part of the structure of the Roman Empire under Diocletian . As Roman authority began to fail in the western portion of the empire , the church took over much of the civil administration. This can be clearly seen in the ministry of two popes : Pope Leo I in

10836-601: The clergy, are canonically forbidden to hold political office. Occasional exceptions to this rule are tolerated when the alternative is political chaos. In the Ottoman Empire , the Patriarch of Constantinople , for example, had de facto administrative, cultural and legal jurisdiction, as well as spiritual authority, over all Eastern Orthodox Christians of the empire, as part of the Ottoman millet system. An Orthodox bishop headed

10965-602: The continuous sequence of ordained bishops since the days of the apostles referred to as apostolic succession. In Scandinavia and the Baltic region, Lutheran churches participating in the Porvoo Communion (those of Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, and Lithuania), as well as many non-Porvoo membership Lutheran churches (including those of Kenya, Latvia, and Russia), as well as the confessional Communion of Nordic Lutheran Dioceses , believe that they ordain their bishops in

11094-665: The core tenets of Christianity; this is the case even though the clergy of the Independent Catholic groups may use the proper ordination ritual. There are also other reasons why the Holy See does not recognise the validity of the orders of the Independent clergy: Whilst members of the Independent Catholic movement take seriously the issue of valid orders, it is highly significant that the relevant Vatican Congregations tend not to respond to petitions from Independent Catholic bishops and clergy who seek to be received into communion with

11223-444: The doctrine and discipline of the church. The General Conference, a meeting every four years, has an equal number of clergy and lay delegates. In each Annual Conference, CME bishops serve for four-year terms. CME Church bishops may be male or female. In the United Methodist Church (the largest branch of Methodism in the world) bishops serve as administrative and pastoral superintendents of the church. They are elected for life from among

11352-455: The early Christian era the two terms were not always clearly distinguished, but epískopos is used in the sense of the order or office of bishop, distinct from that of presbýteros , in the writings attributed to Ignatius of Antioch in the second century. The earliest organization of the Church in Jerusalem was, according to most scholars, similar to that of Jewish synagogues , but it had

11481-626: The episcopate, and as a result, ELCA pastors ordained by other pastors are not permitted to be deployed to Episcopal Churches (they can, however, serve in Presbyterian Church USA , United Methodist Church, Reformed Church in America , and Moravian Church congregations, as the ELCA is in full communion with these denominations). The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS),

11610-515: The example of the other churches and structure themselves after the model of the others with the one bishop in clearer charge, though the role of the body of presbyters remained important. Around the end of the 1st century , the church's organization became clearer in historical documents. In the works of the Apostolic Fathers, and Ignatius of Antioch in particular, the role of the episkopos, or bishop, became more important or, rather, already

11739-571: The fetus was unacceptable, but that treatment to cure the mother should be given even if it would indirectly result in the death of the fetus. When, in the 17th century, Francis Torreblanca approved abortions aimed merely at saving a woman's good name, the Holy Office (what is now called the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith ), at that time headed by Pope Innocent XI , condemned the proposition that "it

11868-635: The first woman to become the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church. In the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC), the largest Lutheran Church bodies in the United States and Canada, respectively, and roughly based on the Nordic Lutheran national churches (similar to that of the Church of England), bishops are elected by Synod Assemblies, consisting of both lay members and clergy, for

11997-469: The hands of non-Christian conquerors. For this reason the former terminology was not "titular bishop" but "bishop in infidel regions" ( in partibus infidelium ). In recent times the names of titular sees are drawn also in numerous cases from those of former dioceses which were absorbed into other dioceses or expanded and hence moved to larger towns and cities. Since 1970, there are two more exceptions. Diocesan bishops who resign their see or are transferred to

12126-528: The historic succession in line with bishops from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Sweden , with at least one Anglican bishop serving as co-consecrator. Since going into ecumenical communion with their respective Anglican body, bishops in the ELCA or the ELCIC not only approve the "rostering" of all ordained pastors, diaconal ministers, and associates in ministry, but they serve as the principal celebrant of all pastoral ordination and installation ceremonies, diaconal consecration ceremonies, as well as serving as

12255-486: The idea that the removal of the Fallopian tube or, in the case of methotrexate, the chemical destruction of the trophoblastic cells (those which go on to form the placenta), does not constitute a direct act upon the developing embryo. Individual hospitals and physicians, however, may choose to prohibit these procedures if they personally interpret these acts as a direct abortion. Despite the lack of an official pronouncement by

12384-481: The moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person – among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life". This follows from the fact that probabilism may not be used where human life may be at stake; the Catholic Catechism teaches that the embryo must be treated from conception "as" (Latin: tamquam , "as if")

12513-581: The mother's life. The origin of the report was an article in a German medical journal denounced as false in the American Ecclesiastical Review of the same year, which said that while Lehmkuhl had at an earlier stage of discussion admitted doubts and advanced tentative ideas, he had later adopted a view in full accord with the negative decision pronounced in 1884 and 1889 by the Sacred Penitentiary , which in 1869 had refrained from making

12642-603: The official position of the Catholic Church. Views range from anti-abortion positions that allow some exceptions to positions that accept the general legality and morality of abortion. There is a correlation between Mass attendance and agreement with the official teaching of the Church on the issue; that is, frequent Mass-goers are far more likely to be anti-abortion , while those who attend less often (or rarely or never) are more likely to be in favor of abortion rights under certain circumstances . According to Respect For Unborn Human Life: The Church's Constant Teaching ,

12771-545: The ordination conform to other canonical requirements (for example, is an adult male) and an eastern orthodox rite of episcopal ordination, expressing the proper functions and sacramental status of a bishop, is used; this has given rise to the phenomenon of episcopi vagantes (for example, clergy of the Independent Catholic groups which claim apostolic succession, though this claim is rejected by both Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy). With respect to Lutheranism, "the Catholic Church has never officially expressed its judgement on

12900-425: The ordination of Anglican bishops. According to the writer Timothy Dufort, by 1969, all Church of England bishops had acquired Old Catholic lines of apostolic succession recognised by the Holy See. This development has been used to argue that the strain of apostolic succession has been re-introduced into Anglicanism, at least within the Church of England. However, other issues, such as the Anglican ordination of women,

13029-409: The ordination of another bishop, some churches require two or three bishops participate, either to ensure sacramental validity or to conform with church law. Catholic doctrine holds that one bishop can validly ordain another (priest) as a bishop. Though a minimum of three bishops participating is desirable (there are usually several more) in order to demonstrate collegiality, canonically only one bishop

13158-453: The ordination, which is always done by other bishops, there are different methods as to the actual selection of a candidate for ordination as bishop. In the Catholic Church the Congregation for Bishops generally oversees the selection of new bishops with the approval of the pope. The papal nuncio usually solicits names from the bishops of a country, consults with priests and leading members of

13287-459: The principle that any direct killing of either fetus or mother is wrong; in 1902 it ruled out the direct removal of an ectopic embryo to save the mother's life, but did not forbid the removal of the infected fallopian tube, thus causing an indirect abortion.(see below). In 1930 Pope Pius XI ruled out what he called "the direct murder of the innocent" as a means of saving the mother. The Second Vatican Council declared: "Life must be protected with

13416-487: The purposeful termination (is immoral). Tadeusz Pacholczyk of the National Catholic Bioethics Center writes that the modern Magisterium has carefully avoided confusing "human being" with "human person", and avoids the conclusion that every embryonic human being is a person, which would raise the question of " ensoulment " and immortal destiny. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that since

13545-694: The reception of the sacraments. This is a grave error". In what the Los Angeles Times called a key admonition, he added: "It has never been easy to accept the Gospel teaching in its entirety, and it never will be". Many, however, suggest that this is the problem, that some of the strongest anti-abortion advocates seem unconcerned about critical social issues in the complete spectrum of the Church's moral teaching. US Cardinal Bernardin and Pope Francis have been prominent proponents of this "seamless garment" approach. The US Bishops have called on Catholics to weigh all

13674-551: The removal of the tube containing the human embryo ( salpingectomy ). The death of the human embryo is unintended although foreseen. The use of methotrexate and salpingostomy remains controversial in the Catholic medical community, and the Church has not taken an official stance on these interventions. The Catholic Health Association of the United States, which issues guidelines for Catholic hospitals and health systems there, allows both procedures to be used. The argument that these methods amount to an indirect abortion revolves around

13803-402: The same Clement of Alexandria. The bishops in the 2nd century are defined also as the only clergy to whom the ordination to priesthood ( presbyterate ) and diaconate is entrusted: "a priest (presbyter) lays on hands , but does not ordain ." ( cheirothetei ou cheirotonei ). At the beginning of the 3rd century, Hippolytus of Rome describes another feature of the ministry of a bishop, which

13932-435: The same time act with deeds or words against the commandments, particularly when abortion, euthanasia, and other grave crimes against life and family are encouraged. This responsibility weighs particularly over legislators, heads of governments, and health professionals". Apart from indicating in its canon law that automatic excommunication does not apply to women who abort because of grave fear or due to grave inconvenience,

14061-525: The second and third largest Lutheran bodies in the United States and the two largest Confessional Lutheran bodies in North America, do not follow an episcopal form of governance, settling instead on a form of quasi-congregationalism patterned off what they believe to be the practice of the early church. The second largest of the three predecessor bodies of the ELCA, the American Lutheran Church ,

14190-431: The sin again. "It only happened once" is a frequent (though not necessarily accurate) refrain when an unintended pregnancy occurs. Daily use of contraception, on the other hand, is impossible to rationalize to oneself in this manner, and so it is a sin that, to many Catholics, cannot be satisfactorily expunged. Following Aristotle's view, it was commonly held by some "leading Catholic thinkers" in early Church history that

14319-513: The soul that was "infused" in the body after forty days or more, and those such as Jerome and Augustine of Hippo left the mystery of the timing of the infusion to God. Augustine of Hippo "vigorously condemned the practice of induced abortion" as a crime, in any stage of pregnancy, although he accepted the distinction between "formed" and "unformed" fetuses mentioned in the Septuagint translation of Exodus 21:22–23 , and did not classify as murder

14448-438: The spiritual penalty of excommunication, declaring that those who procured an effective abortion incurred excommunication reserved to bishops or ordinaries . From then on this penalty was incurred automatically through abortion at any stage of pregnancy. The 1917 Code of Canon Law codified Pius IX's bull. In the Middle Ages, many Church commentators condemned all abortions, but the 14th-century Dominican John of Naples

14577-407: The suburbicarian sees near Rome. While they do not govern their see, they are obliged to give it their patronage. Angelo Sodano , as Cardinal Bishop of Albano , was titular bishop of the see, while Bishop Marcello Semeraro is its actual diocesan bishop. The Cardinal Dean is by tradition Cardinal Bishop of Ostia , in addition to the suburbicarian see he previously held. Occasionally, the transfer of

14706-497: The threats to life and human dignity before placing their vote: the tag "intrinsic evil" can lead to an over-simplification of issues. In his column in the Jesuit magazine America , Professor John F. Kavanaugh, S.J., observed: Most people open to the facts recognize that a human life has begun by the end of the first trimester of a pregnancy. It is at this point that some common ground may be reached to protect unborn human life. There

14835-435: The unborn. Catholic theologians trace Catholic thought on abortion to early Christian teachings such as the Didache , the Epistle of Barnabas and the Apocalypse of Peter . In contrast, Catholic philosophers Daniel Dombrowski and Robert Deltete analyzed Church theological history and the "development of science" in A Brief, Liberal, Catholic Defense of Abortion to argue that a position in favor of abortion rights

14964-399: The utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes". The principle of double effect is frequently cited in relation to abortion. A doctor who believes abortion is always morally wrong may nevertheless remove the uterus or fallopian tubes of a pregnant woman, knowing the procedure will cause the death of the embryo or fetus, in cases in which the woman

15093-485: The validity of orders as they have been handed down by episcopal succession in these two national Lutheran churches" (the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Sweden and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland ) though it does "question how the ecclesiastical break in the 16th century has affected the apostolicity of the churches of the Reformation and thus the apostolicity of their ministry". Since Pope Leo XIII issued

15222-554: The validity of the orders of certain groups which separated from communion with Holy See (for instance, the ordinations of the Old Catholics in communion with Utrecht, as well as the Polish National Catholic Church - which received its orders directly from Utrecht, and was until recently part of that communion), Catholicism does not recognise the orders of any group whose teaching is at variance with what they consider

15351-754: Was a congregationalist body, with national and synod presidents before they were re-titled as bishops (borrowing from the Lutheran churches in Germany ) in the 1980s. With regard to ecclesial discipline and oversight, national and synod presidents typically function similarly to bishops in episcopal bodies. In the African Methodist Episcopal Church , "Bishops are the Chief Officers of the Connectional Organization. They are elected for life by

15480-553: Was acceptable, approximately the same percentage as non-Catholics. According to the National Catholic Reporter , some 58% of American Catholic women feel that they do not have to follow the abortion teaching of their bishop . However, the results in the United States differ significantly when the polls distinguish between practicing and/or churchgoing Catholics and non-practicing Catholics. Those who attend church weekly are more likely to oppose abortion. According to

15609-535: Was and remains terribly wrong. But do not give in to discouragement and do not lose hope. Try rather to understand what happened and face it honestly. If you have not already done so, give yourselves over with humility and trust to repentance. The Father of mercies is ready to give you his forgiveness and his peace in the Sacrament of Reconciliation . On the occasion of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy in 2015, Pope Francis announced that all priests (during

15738-409: Was commonly understood to mean post-quickening termination of pregnancy. Historian John Noonan writes that some Catholic clerics saw nothing wrong with compiling lists of known abortifacient herbs and discovering new ones. In the 13th century, physician and cleric Peter of Spain , who according to some sources became Pope John XXI in 1276, wrote a book called Thesaurus Pauperum ( Treasure of

15867-517: Was dropped from use in 2006, a move which caused some concern within the Eastern Orthodox Communion as, to them, it implied wider papal jurisdiction. The Catholic Church does recognise as valid (though illicit) ordinations done by breakaway Catholic, Old Catholic or Oriental bishops, and groups descended from them; it also regards as both valid and licit those ordinations done by bishops of the Eastern churches, so long as those receiving

15996-758: Was implemented during the French Revolution. In the 21st century, the more senior bishops of the Church of England continue to sit in the House of Lords of the Parliament of the United Kingdom , as representatives of the established church , and are known as Lords Spiritual . The Bishop of Sodor and Man , whose diocese lies outside the United Kingdom , is an ex officio member of the Legislative Council of

16125-611: Was named Coadjutor Bishop of Tucson , Arizona, in 1960, his official title remained " Titular Bishop of Serra " until he succeeded Daniel James Gercke later that same year. However, when Gerald Kicanas became Coadjutor Bishop of Tucson in 2001, he ceased being Titular Bishop of Bela . He remained a titular bishop until he succeeded Manuel Moreno in 2003, but his official title changed from "Titular Bishop of Bela" to "Coadjutor Bishop of Tucson." Cardinal Bishops of suburbicarian dioceses are also titular bishops, but unlike others, they hold titles to existing dioceses, namely one or more of

16254-584: Was no agreement about when the soul is infused, with many holding that it happens at the moment of conception, and said that the Church kindly followed the 40-day opinion when applying the penalties of irregularity and excommunication only on those who knowingly procured abortion of an animate fetus. A letter published in The Medical Record in 1895 spoke disapprovingly of the Jesuit priest Augustine Lehmkuhl, who considered craniotomy lawful when used to save

16383-648: Was the official stance of the English Church until the Commonwealth, during which time, the views of Presbyterians and Independents ( Congregationalists ) were more freely expressed and practiced. Bishops form the leadership in the Catholic Church , the Eastern Orthodox Church , the Oriental Orthodox Churches , certain Lutheran churches, the Anglican Communion , the Independent Catholic churches ,

16512-404: Was very important and being clearly defined. While Ignatius of Antioch offers the earliest clear description of monarchial bishops (a single bishop over all house churches in a city) he is an advocate of monepiscopal structure rather than describing an accepted reality. To the bishops and house churches to which he writes, he offers strategies on how to pressure house churches who do not recognize

16641-444: Was worse than murder. As Koblitz writes, Catholic theologians have long wrestled with the question of whether one can truly be forgiven for a sin that one confesses while either still engaged in the sinful practice or else fully intending to resume the action as soon as absolution has been obtained. When a woman confesses to having had an abortion, she can make a sincere act of contrition if she believes that she will never commit

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