Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - The Bishop and “munus gubernandi” was the subject of a conference given by the Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, to 99 newly appointed Bishops in mission territories presently in Rome to take part in a Study Seminar organised by the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples.
“The source, the model and orientation of the whole activity of government in the Church is the Most Holy Trinity” said the Cardinal adding that “all power comes from the Trinity”. “The spiritual power - sacra potestas - conferred with episcopal ordination, comes from Christ who received it from the Father … Our first duty of government is therefore to refer to the source of our authority, Christ, Son of the living God, Son of the Eternal Father. Exercising our sacra potestas we should not forget that it is from Christ that we have received our authority and we must never forget that it is Christ who builds and sustains his Church … He builds his Church, we do not build our Church”.
The first duty of a bishop, said Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, is to “confirm faith in Jesus Christ. To govern the Church means first of all promote, teach and strengthen the faith of the Church. If faith in Jesus Christ is undermined or weakened then our governing becomes profane... because we have put ourselves in Christ’s place”.
The Austrian Cardinal urged the bishops present to give great attention to Christological teaching which is the foundation for government, and he recalled the importance of the principles expressed in the document “Dominus Jesus”. In fact if Christ is considered only one of many divine manifestations it cannot be true that he has all power on earth and in heaven, he becomes simply one of many prophetic figures. It is necessary therefore to understand the uniqueness of the power of Christ, who presents himself to us in the figure of the immolated and victorious lamb. “This power is unique, and it is the only hope in a world where hatred, violence and death reign supreme”.
But how does a bishop govern ? First of all by teaching, as the texts of Vatican II clearly state. To govern means to “guide”, the Cardinal said: “We guide our people giving them as much as possible of the only thing which can guide their life: the Word of God and the Church’s understanding of it! To govern therefore we must first of all be guided ourselves, and here we come to the serious problem of finding the necessary time for study and reflection, meditation and prayer. We govern also by celebrating the liturgy, and celebrating it in such a way that it guides and leads the People of God. The task of the Shepherd is to be the first minister of the Holy Sacraments. Guiding the People of God is inseparable from the Eucharist presided by the Bishop”.
Vatican II clarified definitively that the tria munera of Christ, Prophet, Priest and King, “form an inseparable unity”. “The Bishop, following the example of Christ, must lead the People of God through teaching and sanctification. This stupendous vision proposed to us by the Second Vatican Council, is profoundly biblical, Christ centred, since Christ is King and Shepherd through his teaching and the supreme gift of his life”. In this unity of the tria munera, the Archbishop of Vienna concluded, “we find guidance for the whole of our ministry”. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 15/9/2006; Righe 39 - Parole 566)
