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jsking1964
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| Joined: | Sat Dec 15th, 2007 |
| Location: | Texas USA |
| Posts: | 58 |
| First Name: | Benedict | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Basically I have been a Christian all my life, and ... |
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Posted: Sat Jan 19th, 2008 03:17 am |
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Hi all,
I began to wonder what is the deference between a diocese and an arch-diocese as well as a bishop and an arch-bishop
____________________
Your friend in Christ, +
JS Benedict
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemed. Mark 16:16
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David W. Emery
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Brownsville, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 2068 |
| First Name: | David | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Catholic |
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Posted: Sat Jan 19th, 2008 05:18 am |
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| There’s not much difference, Benedict, but I suppose we could say that there is enough difference to make a difference. The prefix “arch-” means “greater, more important.” And that is exactly what is implied in the Church’s designation. An archbishop is a bishop in charge of a large and important city. He should be a man capable of taking on that major responsibility. An archbishop is also usually the “metropolitan” of his area. This responsibility is to his brother bishops in the surrounding area (called “suffragans”), to provide guidance and standards for them to follow. Again, most of the cardinals of the Church (those with special duties assigned by the pope, often working in the Vatican) are archbishops.
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CajunRick
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana USA |
| Posts: | 5350 |
| First Name: | Rick (& Kermie) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Lifetime Catholic, Latin Rite |
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Posted: Sat Jan 19th, 2008 02:35 pm |
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To add slightly to David's reply, dioceses are grouped into what are called "provinces". In the United States, provinces are usually statewide, or regional. For example, the Province of Louisiana includes all the dioceses in the state. The Metropolitan of our province is the Archbishop of New Orleans.
Within a province, the dioceses work together on common projects. The Archdiocese of New Orleans operates a college seminary at the Abbey of St. Joseph in St. Benedict, LA (near Covington), and a major seminary at Notre Dame in New Orleans, where many of the priests of the province are trained. During Katrina, the dioceses in the northern part of the province housed the dioceses from the south during the evacuation and, in the case of New Orleans, for months afterward. The Archdiocese of New Orleans operates the Internet service for the state, including the content filtering that restricts access to improper content for school children. Participation is optional as each diocese is autonomous, so not all of the dioceses choose to participate. My diocese does, but since it is rural in nature, the service is not availble in all parishes or to all schools.
The province has issued pastorals on end of life decisions, environmental impacts, and other political issues unique to Louisiana, and have adopted common policies in areas such as marriage preparation. In addition, the bishops of Louisiana travel together to Rome every five years for their ad limina report to the Holy Father.
In an area where adjoining parishes may well be in different dioceses, it is important that there be continuity in major practices. It would not do, for example, for one diocese to offer the Sacrament of Matrimony to a 16 year old girl, while the neighboring parish requires that they be 18. Common policies are important, but they must also comply with the laws of a political jurisdiction. The bishops of Louisiana cannot comment effectively on the laws of Mississippi or Texas or Arkansas because they don't live under those jurisdictions.
The Archbishop also is the responsible official for the installation of a new bishop within his province, and takes the lead in the ordination of new bishops.
So while doctrinally there is no real distinction between a bishop and an archbishop, there are real functional differences between the designations in the structural operation of the Church.
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Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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