France: ” “the "college" of bishops¤” “” “

Six French bishops have been attending the 10th Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in Rome since 30 September: they are Cardinal emeritus Jean Honoré, Msgr. Maurice Gaidon, bishop of Cahors, Msgr. Claude Dagens, bishop of Angoulême, Msgr. Olivier de Berranger, bishop of Saint-Denis, Msgr. Georges Gilson, archbishop of Sens-Auxerre, and Msgr. Jean-Pierre Ricard, bishop of Montpellier. We interviewed Msgr. Claude Dagens , to review the work of the Assembly, which has now reached the stage of the drafting of the final proposals. The episcopal ministry is essentially personal, both in terms of the call received by the bishop and in terms of pastoral mandate. What role is played by episcopal collegiality? “In the Catholic Church the personal principle is fundamental. It is the dialogue between Jesus and each of his apostles. And this goes particularly for Peter, who enjoys a special privilege. If we have become apostles, it’s because, in one way or another, we have entered into a personal dialogue with the Lord Jesus who died and rose from the dead. At the heart of our ministry, just as it was for Paul, we are called to know him. But this relation of the Lord with his apostles is also a community one, in other words, collegial. Jesus called the Twelve after having prayed all night. He gave new names to some of them. And he formed them together into a living body. Today we describe it as ‘a college’, in which Peter and his successors, with the apostles and their successors, form a body together with the universal Church to become the Church that lives in Christ and proclaims him to the world. This is the twofold relation of the apostles with the world and with the Church. It is the apostolic body that we call college, according to the great tradition renewed by Vatican Council II in its affirmation of the collegiality of the episcopate”. Has this aspect emerged during the Synod? “I’ve listened to the testimonies, especially of the trials, struggles and sufferings of many bishops throughout the world. They are stories and experiences that have repercussions on each one of us. The testimony of these men who are bishops in other parts of the world reverberates inside us. Their experience of the cross is ours. It passes through our personal bodies and through the body of the Church: the episcopal collegiality expressed during the Synod permits this to be verified”. Sometimes the faithful suffer from the excessive workload that their bishops have to cope with. How can you protect yourself against the risk of too much time and effort being expended on administrative functions? “I admit that there may be negative consequences resulting from an excessive workload. A tendency to a pure and simple managerial role does exist. It’s clear that, if this is so, it is indefensible. This is not the logic of the Gospel. A bishop has, by vocation, to keep himself on the side of the heart of the Church. The irradiation of that heart passes through the bishop’s inherent limitations. And our greatest joy, our greatest freedom, is to understand that we are awaited, not as technocrats, but as witnesses of Christ”. Can you sum up what, in your view, is the bishop’s mission? “The bishop’s mission consists in building bridges, linking together the foundations of the Church, which always need to be consolidated, with the Church of the Spirit, the Church with a beating heart. A bishop’s heart is always perturbed by the fear lest the Church should split into two: a Church of the structure and a Church of the heart. On the one hand, the Church of faith, of prayer and of the sacraments and, on the other, the Church of social commitment, the fight for justice. It’s the same Church that lives by virtue of the Passion of Christ, through the gift of the Holy Spirit”. Maryvonne Gasse – Parigi¤