The Bishop of Arundel and Brighton has called for a review of the
"unnecessary" centralisation of power that took place during Pope
Benedict XVI's papacy.Bishop Kieran Conry told The Times that over-centralisation had taken power from local bishops and led the Church away from the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.
He said that the new English Mass translation, introduced last year, had a negative impact on Catholics that might have been avoided if power was devolved to a local level.
He said: "There is a need for the Roman Curia, the central administration, to be reviewed. That was not one of Pope Benedict's strengths. It needs reviewing because it is not working very well. There seems to be a degree of centralisation that is not really necessary which might indicate that there is a degree of inefficiency."
The aim [of Vatican II] was that Rome should work more collaboratively with the local bishops. That has not really developed."