POPE FRANCIS LIMITS VOICE OF BISHOPS OVER EIGHTY
April 18, 2023
Pope sets Eastern Churches Bishops' age limit for voting at Synods
In an Apostolic Letter issued in the form of a 'Motu proprio', Pope Francis amends the Canon Law of the Oriental Churches by providing that the bishops emeritus who have reached the age of 80 will no longer be able to vote in the Episcopal Synods of which they are members, though the rule does not apply to those who are already in office.
By Vatican news staff writer
With a new Motu Proprio published on Monday, Pope Francis has modified the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches to exclude bishops who are members of their respective Synods of Bishops from voting decisions after they have reached the age of eighty.
The Pope's decision meets a longstanding request made by "some Patriarchs, Major Archbishops and Bishops", as reads the title of the Motu proprio "Iam pridem" ("For some time now", in Latin)
The Apostolic Letter, explains that the change was needed because of "the difficulties that have emerged in the Synods of Bishops of the Patriarchal Churches and Major Archiepiscopal Churches, due to the number of Bishops Emeritus who participate in
them with an active voice, especially in the election of the Bishops and of the Heads and Fathers of their respective sui iuris (autonomous, ed.) Churches".
These difficulties have prompted the heads of these Churches to ask for a new regulation which Pope Francis ordered in the Motu Proprio he signed on Sunday, April 16, which modifies Canons 66, § 1, 102, 149 and 183 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches.
The text specifies that the new legislation, which will come into force in a month's time, "will not apply" to the "Patriarchs, Major Archbishops, Eparchial Bishops and Exarchs" currently in office "despite them having reached the age of eighty".
(source: www.vaticannews.va)
Additional perspective....
Till now, the law of the Church provided that a bishop (as well as other clergy) would submit their resignation when they reach the age of seventy-five (75).[i] This usually does mean that the resignation would be accepted immediately or maybe delayed for a few months or even a year or two if there is a good reason. This does not mean, however, that the bishop, priest or monastic superior cannot continue to serve in some appropriate ministry or as an assistant or associate - even for many years.
With regard to the matter of bishops who are retired, they continue to serve the church in many pastoral or educational ministries. They also continue to collaborate closely with their fellow bishops within the Synod of Bishops. In fact, until now, bishops theoretically enjoyed almost full participation and influence for life within the work of the Church's hierarchical Synod.
Article 4 of Chapter 2 of the present Statutes of the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, provide that all bishops of the UCC - except those duly suspended or excommunicated - had vote in Synod matters.[ii] "Members of the Synod of Bishops are all and only ordained bishops of the UGCC, eparchial, titular or emeritus, no matter where they were appointed, with the exception of those mentioned in can. 953, § 1 CCEO [1], or those who are subject to canonical punishment in accordance with canon. 1433 and 1434 of the Civil Code [2] and have the right to vote. So, a retired bishop in, say, South Dakota (if there was one there), could have a vote as to who will be the next bishop in Odesa, Ukraine. Which might not be a problem, until it is.
So, the Motu Proprio "Iam Pridem (for some time now)", issued by Pope Francis, basically makes a few changes to some of the canons of the code of law for Eastern Catholic Churches (CCEO) promulgated by Pope St. John Paul in 1990. However, all the changes basically are necessitated to accommodate one paragraph added to Canon 102 of that code which reads, "§3. With the exception of patriarchs and eparchial bishops still in office, when they have reached eighty (80) years of age, bishops lose their deliberative vote in the synod of bishops, and also in the election of patriarchs, bishops and candidates (potential bishops, ed.) for the offices referred to in can. 149."
There are presently no bishops of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in office who are at the age of eighty. So, there are no bishops to enjoy that privilege of still having a deliberate vote even though they might be 80 or over. There are, however, a few bishops who are eighty or over. In fact, by the time that the Synod convenes again in September, there will four such bishops who will have reached or surpassed the age of eighty. Three of them are based in North America and one in Europe. Although they will no longer have that deliberative vote after May 16, 2023, they will hopefully continue to share the wisdom of their experience in an advisory capacity and to prayerfully support their brother-bishops who have succeeded them.
The Ukrainian Catholic Church is just one of some 20 other Eastern Catholic Churches - some of those Churches function with synodal or similar structures. It might be interesting to study how this new ruling will affect the work of their Synodal governance. It might also be interesting to know what might have been some of the "difficulties" in synodal deliberations that Pope Francis mentioned in his motu proprio that led him to make this ruling.[iii] Perhaps, we can ask our local bishop when we have a chance.
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