Originally published at National Catholic Register
Cardinal Prevost spoke about the pastoral duties of bishops, who are not ‘business administrators only dedicated to organizations and structural and ceremonial matters.’
Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, on Wednesday cited some of the “gifts” that candidates for bishops must have, a decision reserved to the Holy Father but whose selection process will increasingly involve the participation of the “people of God.”
At the beginning of his Oct. 23 address to journalists in Rome at the daily Synod on Synodality briefing, the cardinal said the question of the selection process for bishops in each episcopal conference and the way in which it is carried out has been one of the issues discussed during the synod.
“The question is: How can this process of searching for candidates be made more synodal and include the greatest participation not only of bishops but of priests, religious, and laypeople?” Cardinal Prevost said.
One of the most important functions of the apostolic nuncios is to participate in this selection process. The Vatican “ambassadors” play a crucial role in the selection of candidates.
This new approach oriented toward a “synodal” style requires, according to the cardinal, that the nuncio “know
