The diocese and the universal Church

There is always a temptation when speaking of a particular diocese, of the world-wide Catholic community, of Rome and of their relationship to each other, to speak only of the institutions. If the Church is reduced to that of empirically-discernible communities, it loses theological depth.

The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) teaches that the Church must first of all be seen in the light of Christ and as such can only be understood in relationship to the Blessed Trinity. Describing the many images which can be used to illumine aspects of the Church, the Council Fathers go on to answer the questions, “Where is this Church and where can we see her?” The answer is given in the light of the Sacraments.  It is an act of God, Father Son and Spirit, that both constitutes the Church and makes us members of it.

Through the sacraments of Baptism and of the Eucharist above all, the Church unites each member and builds up each member incorporating him or her into the one body of Christ. The Church, seen always in the light of Christ, can be compared to the mystery of the Incarnation in so far as she is ‘sacramental’, or a visible social structure that serves the proclamation of the Gospel and the sanctification of the world.

The Church, the existence of which is the will of Christ, is constituted and organised by Christ himself. As the pillar and mainstay of the truth, it is governed by the successor of St Peter (the Pope) and by the bishops who are in communion with him.

The Church is not the simple sum of, or a federation of, dioceses or local churches. Rather, when the Church puts down her roots in a particular time and place amongst a particular people, she gives a particular expression to the one vocation of the proclamation of the Gospel and sanctification of the World. Individual Bishops’ Conferences are not the Church, but (if they teach the truth) are one means by which the Gospel can be transmitted in a particular context.

Over each diocese, such as Salford, a Bishop, ordained as a successor of the Apostles, exercises the task of a shepherd, governing, teaching and sanctifying the priests and people entrusted to him. Since the Bishop’s ordination is an act of the Trinity, like all sacraments, coming from the Church and leading to the Church, it unites the Bishop in unity with all Bishops and in particular with the Pope, the first amongst the Bishops, who is the successor of St Peter.

The diocese of Salford, like all dioceses, is constituted after the model of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church; as the Holy Father is the visible source and foundation of unity for the one Church founded by Christ, so the Bishop is the visible source and foundation of unity of the local Church which is his diocese in so far as he remains united with the successor of Peter.

On this unity depends the proclamation of the Gospel and the sanctification of the world, whether in Salford, Sydney or Shillong.