To say a bishop “smells like his
sheep” is considered high praise today and is one of the top
characteristics Pope Francis says he wants in bishops and candidates for
the position of guiding a diocese.
But like many of the other traits Pope Francis says he is
looking for, there is no fool-proof smell test and, in fact, a variety
of sheep with varied scents are present in most dioceses.
Pope Francis’ instruction – almost a plea – to the world’s
apostolic nuncios earlier this month to “cast the nets” wider when
identifying potential new pastors for a diocese and his continuing
discussion with his international Council of Cardinals about “the
spiritual and pastoral profile necessary for a bishop today” make it
clear that providing good shepherds for every diocese is a
responsibility the pope takes seriously.
While the Pope makes the final decision, the task of
identifying, scrutinising and proposing candidates to him is a burden
shared by regional groups of bishops, the leadership of bishops’
conferences, the nuncios and either the Congregation for Bishops, the
Congregation for Eastern Churches or the Congregation for the
Evangelisation of Peoples.
The bishops of an Eastern Catholic synod or a Latin-rite
province – usually an archdiocese and several surrounding dioceses –
regularly study the names and curriculum vitae of priests mentioned as
potential bishops and vote on whom to recommend. The information
collected and the vote are sent to the nuncio.
The nuncio conducts his own investigation, including by
sending a confidential questionnaire to 20-30 people who know the
potential candidate. Improving the questionnaire was a specific topic of
discussion at Pope Francis’ meeting in April with the Council of
Cardinals.
US Archbishop Thomas E. Gullickson, the Vatican nuncio to
Switzerland, said the basic text “has not changed much since the close
of the Second Vatican Council.” The questionnaire is modified slightly
by each congregation to fit the needs, for example, of a missionary
diocese or Eastern Church and by the nuncio to fit country’s specific
culture.
“Personally, I have been asking for a radical revision of
the form for over five years,” the archbishop said in an email response
to questions. “Some of the language of the council documents is no
longer understandable to people and the questionnaire is much too long. People panic when they see two full pages of questions to answer in
writing.”
The process
The nuncios – archbishops who are sent to represent the
Pope and the Holy See both diplomatically with a government and
pastorally with the local Church – solicit a report on the state of a
vacant or about-to-be vacant diocese, collect the completed
questionnaires, evaluate them and send their recommendations to the
Vatican.
Their missives take the form of a terna – a list of three
names, but with an indication of whom the nuncio thinks is best suited
for the ministry.
For Latin-rite dioceses, officials at the Congregation for
Bishops study the material and, usually twice a month, members of the
congregation discuss it and vote for a candidate. The prefect, currently
Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, presents the congregation’s
recommendations to the Pope, who approves them or asks for other
options.
“It is probably the most important work entrusted to a
nuncio,” Archbishop Gullickson said. “In countries with a large
episcopate, the job can be all-consuming; in a small country with less
than 10 bishops, not so much.”
A wide net
Pope Francis has asked nuncios to find ways to broaden the
search for candidates. Certain that God continues to provide for his
Church, the Pope told the nuncios not to “go fishing in an aquarium” or
seek candidates only on the “barnyard of ‘friends of friends’”.
For more than three years, Pope Francis has been saying he
wants bishops who: are close to and committed to their people; embrace
poverty and live simply; are men of prayer and of the church; are not
content to stay in the chancery, but go out in search of people in need;
and are not managers, but pastors.
But, in an early 2014 speech to members of the
Congregation for Bishops, the pope said no “list of human, intellectual,
cultural and even pastoral qualities” will provide an “algebraic sum”
adding up to the perfect bishop.
While nuncios will not have a precise list of
qualifications like a corporate “head hunter,” the Pope told them in
September, the right men are out there. “Go out and find them.”