Christ Dominus

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Christus Dominus (CD) is, after its opening words , the decree of the Second Vatican Council "on the Pastoral Office of Bishops in the Church," the October 28, 1965 by Pope Paul VI. was promulgated . It calls on the bishops to promote the various forms of apostolate and, under their leadership, to coordinate the works of the apostolate with one another in order to express their intimate connection with the diocese (CD No. 17).

Contents overview

  • Preface
  • Chapter 1 : The Bishops and the Universal Church
    I. The role of the bishops in the universal Church and the Synod of Bishops
    II. The Bishops and the Apostolic See
  • Chapter 2 : The Bishops and the Particular Churches or Dioceses
    I. The diocesan bishops
    II. The delimitation of the dioceses
    III. The collaboration of the diocesan bishop in pastoral service
    1) The coadjutors and auxiliary bishops
    2) Diocesan curia and diocesan councils
    3) The diocesan clergy
    4) The religious
  • Chapter 3 : The cooperation of the bishops for the common good of several churches
    I. The synods , councils and especially the episcopal conferences
    II. The delimitation of the ecclesiastical provinces and the establishment of ecclesiastical regions
    III. Bishops who exercise a supra-diocesan office
  • General mission
  • Remarks

Basic information about the tasks of the bishops

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  • The decree states that the image of the bishop as shepherd is part of Christian tradition . His life and ministry are understood in terms of the one and only Shepherd, Jesus Christ .
  • He was commissioned through the sacrament of ordination to feed the Lord's flock and is a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
  • This also includes the image of the bishop as the father and with the rediscovery of the Church as the family of God, as it was also written down in the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium (LG No. 6 and 28). With this decree the image of the bishop as a father becomes particularly meaningful (cf. Lumen Gentium, nos. 6 and 28). The decree goes into detail about the hierarchical structure of the church and includes a special reference to the bishops.
  • The bishops are the successors of the apostles who, together with the successor of Peter, lead the house of the living God. In addition to his role in the universal Church, the diocesan bishop has a special responsibility with regard to the particular Church - his diocese. The Church becomes present through the ministry of the Bishop.
  • The bishop enjoys the fullness of the sacrament of ordination and at the same time he works closely with the priests and deacons , his co-workers (cf. CD No. 15). Together with his priests and deacons, the bishop fulfills the “ tria munera ” (three tasks: proclamation, sanctification, assembly) in his diocese.

A new order

The Fathers of the Council recognized that they had so far given the Pope and the bishops a great deal of help, and yet they wished in this decree that the administrative organs of the Roman Curia should be subjected to a new order. These should better correspond to the requirements of the time as well as the individual regions and rites (cf. DC No. 9). They confirmed this with the following words (see CD No. 9):

“To exercise the highest, full and immediate authority over the Church as a whole, the Pope uses the authorities of the Roman Curia. They consequently provide their office in his name and with his authority for the good of the churches and as a service that they render to consecrated shepherds. "

The auxiliary bishops

The Second Vatican Council writes about the relationship of an auxiliary bishop to his diocesan bishop (cf.CD No. 25):

“Since the coadjutors and auxiliary bishops are called to participate in the care of the diocesan bishop, they should perform their service in such a way that they act in full accordance with him in all matters. In addition, they should always show obedience and reverence to the diocesan bishop, who in turn should love the coadjutors and auxiliary bishops brotherly and treat them with respect. "

About the Episcopal Conferences

The establishment of national bishops' conferences was heatedly debated at the Second Vatican Council and finally prescribed by common law with this decree (cf. CD No. 36–38) and standardized in the Codex Iuris Canonici of 1983. As a result, in addition to the diocesan bishops who had previously only been authorized, the auxiliary bishops also became full members.

See also

  • “ Pastor Bonus ”: Apostolic Constitution on the Roman Curia of June 28, 1988

literature

  • LThK ², The Second Vatican Council II, Freiburg 1967, 127–247. Latin-German parallel text, introduced in detail and commented by Klaus Mörsdorf .

Web links