Cardinals, Archbishops, and Bishops

On Friday night, while presiding at Stations of the Cross at the Co-Cathedral in Houston, Cardinal DiNardo suffered a mild stroke. He was promptly brought to the hospital, is resting comfortably, and is looking forward to getting back to work. I ask you to join the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston to pray for the recovery of Cardinal DiNardo.

While Cardinal DiNardo is likely to make full recovery, such a situation prompts questions about what would happen if he died; would he be replaced by another Cardinal or would it be an archbishop?

The ranking of Cardinal is appointed by the Pope, with the primary responsibility of electing the next Pope. According to the Code of Canon Law, there can only be 120 under the age of 80, who can vote. (This was set by St. Pope Paul VI in 1970). Therein, it’s important to point out that “Cardinal” is a an office in the Church, not a “rank” higher than bishop. The Sacrament of Holy Orders has three degrees: deacon, priest, and bishop. This means that Archbishops, Cardinals, and Popes are all bishops.

In Houston, Bishop George Scheltz is the auxiliary bishop. An auxiliary bishop is appointed to assist a diocesan bishop, meaning Bishop Scheltz is Cardinal DiNardo’s assistant. The role of auxiliary bishop is distinct from a coadjudtor bishop. “Unlike an auxiliary bishop, he has the right of succession, meaning that he automatically becomes the new bishop when the diocesan bishop retires or dies” (“How Bishops are Appointed,” USCCB). This means that Bishop Scheltz would not necessarily become the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston’s archbishop.

Whether it’s a diocese or archdiocese depends on the size of the metropolitan area. Whether one is a bishop or archbishop depends on where he is serving: bishops shepherd a diocese and archbishops shepherd an archdiocese. Since we’re an archdiocese, whoever would be our bishop would automatically become an archbishop.

One last note: unlike the government of a nation where immediate decision-making power is often expected, the same is not true for the Church. “It often takes six to eight months—and sometimes longer—from the time a diocese becomes vacant until a new bishop is appointed(“How Bishops are Appointed,” USCCB).

Do you have additional questions? Does this answer spark other questions? Let me know! Leave a comment and I’d be happy to answer!

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Read More Julie Dienno-Demarest Mar 18,2019

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Moral Teaching on Torture

The release of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s “Torture Report” brings a slew of articles on the use of torture and the deceit surrounding it. Although the report itself is 500 pages, there are plenty of sites that offer snippets of commentary alongside snapshots of the report itself.

It is difficult to read about the details. Even the vague descriptive terms make me squeamish. But I think that’s a good thing. It should be difficult to read. We shouldn’t be desensitized to the details of torture. A visceral reaction to articles about torture reflect our recognition of the evil in the act.

“Church teaching is clear. Torture is abhorrent and can neither be condoned nor tolerated.” (USCCB, Background on Torture)

Torture is morally wrong. It is discussed in the Catechism in conjunction with the 5th Commandment’s discussion of disrespect for human life and dignity.

Torture which uses physical or moral violence to extract confessions, punish the guilty, frighten opponents, or satisfy hatred is contrary to respect for the person and for human dignity (CCC, 2297).

Why does the Church teach that Torture wrong?

1. Torture debases the human dignity of both the victim and perpetrator. Not only does the act of torture violate the dignity of the prisoner, but in order to participate in such vile acts, the dignity of the torturer is also violated. All levels of authority figures who order and condone the practice of torture participate in violating the dignity of both the victim and the perpetrator. The practice of torture “estranges the torturer from God and compromises the
physical or mental integrity of the tortured” (USCCB, Background on Torture).

“An evil action cannot be justified by reference to a good intention” — St. Thomas Aquinas (CCC, 1759).

2. The end does not justify the means. People often speculate that torture is justifiable if it ultimately renders information that can save lives, thus asserting that it is a necessary evil.

Research has shown (and evidenced in the Senate report) that information gathered as a result of torture is not reliable.

But from a moral perspective, the focusing on the reliability of the information misses the point. Morally speaking, we must never do evil to achieve good, nor must we ever try to justify doing evil because good came out of it. We are not entitled to achieve our goals by any means necessary.

3. Do unto others is the Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12, Luke 6:31). Essentially this is the idea that we should not do to others what we do not want them doing to us. This is part of the reason why torture is illegal according to international law and the Geneva Conventions.

We cannot condone torturing another human being. As a matter of faith, we must reject this practice.

Prisoners by José licensed under CC BY 2.0

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Read More Julie Dienno-Demarest Dec 10,2014

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Creation and Evolution and Pope Francis

The Religion headlines of a variety of mainstream media news sources have noted that Pope Francis says evolution is real and God is no wizard. Social media was all atwitter with reaction, from shock and excitement…

…to sarcasm, because this is actually not new.

No Conflict

Sarcasm aside, the Catholic Church does (officially) teach that there is no conflict between faith and evolution / the Big Bang theory. Specifically, the Church teaches that Scripture is authoritative only in matters of faith, not science. To put this another way, the Church will speak to the Why of creation, but not the specific details as to the How. Catholic teaching asserts that God created all things from nothing, but does not say how. Explaining how everything came to be belongs to the realm of science.

Continuity

The Church has held this position that there is no conflict between faith and evolution / the Big Bang theory since Pope Pius XII in 1951.

Pope Francis made a statement at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences on October 28, 2014.
Pope Saint John Paul II made a similar statement to that same group in October 1996.
Pope Benedict XVI not only agreed with his predecessor and his successor there is no conflict, he specifically spoke against the idea of teaching “Intelligent Design” as a scientific theory.

It is important that popes reaffirm this teaching in continuity with one another because many people still do not know that this is what the Church teaches. So, of course Pope Francis made the statement! But no, Francis did not disagree with Benedict, nor is Francis’ statement in stark contrast to Benedict’s. There is continuity, as there should be.

Intelligent Design

In 2006-2007, during Pope Benedict’s papacy (2005-2013), there was a heated discussion about teaching Intelligent Design and/or Creationism alongside the theory of evolution and the Big Bang Theory. Concern arose because proponents wanted to teach Intelligent Design and/or Creationism as alternative scientific theories.

“Intelligent Design Theory” attempts to be a form of science, redefining science to accept miraculous explanations; Creationism specifically uses the bible as a source of scientific authority.

An article in the Vatican newspaper made it explicitly clear: “Intelligent design is not science and should not be taught as a scientific theory in schools alongside Darwinian evolution.” (Catholic News Service)

Good theology understands God’s role in creation, but that’s theology, not science. Believing in an “unmoved mover” or “superior cause” or “intelligent designer” is theology, not science. The Church grants science the rightful domain of explaining the origins of the universe, but acknowledges God’s guidance in some way (and does not define what that “way” is).

Recognizing that it speaks with authority in matters of faith, not science, the Church does not officially endorse any one specific theory. However, the Church does recognizes the overwhelming scientific evidence supporting the Big Bang Theory and evolution, and officially states that creation and evolution are not contradictory (the faithful do not need to choose one or the other).

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Read More Julie Dienno-Demarest Oct 30,2014

Category : Informational

Cardinals, Archbishops, and Bishops

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Moral Teaching on Torture

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Creation and Evolution and Pope Francis

No Conflict

Continuity

Intelligent Design

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