This deeply disturbed "papal blogger" has made a huge fuss today over a supposed language revolution in the Holy Father's relationship with the Catholic Eastern Churches, with major ecumenical consequences -- all because of the removal of one bishop from one position to another by the Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church , Lubomyr Cardinal Husar, and because the Holy See used the word "informato" (informed) and not "assenso" (consent) or some other.
Guess why: because the act merely requires that the Holy See be "informed", according to Canon 85 of the Code of Canons of the Oriental Churches :
Guess why: because the act merely requires that the Holy See be "informed", according to Canon 85 of the Code of Canons of the Oriental Churches :
2.With the consent of the synod of bishops of the patriarchal Church, the patriarch is competent: (1) to give to an eparchial bishop a coadjutor bishop or auxiliary bishop, observing cann. 181, 1 and 182-187 and 212; (2) for a grave reason, to transfer a metropolitan, eparchial bishop or titular bishop to another metropolitan, eparchial or titular see; if the bishop refuses, the synod of bishops of the Patriarchal Church is to resolve the matter or defer it to the Roman Pontiff. (...) 4. The patriarch is to notify [certiorem faciat] the Apostolic See of these decisions as soon as possible.
The consent of the pope is still needed when a priest is to be elevated to the episcopal position, because that is the LAW (and Patriarchal powers are, as a rule, recognized to Major Archbishops).
So, that's it: business as usual in Rome. It was not even the first time this has happened this year. In June, another removal of a bishop from one place to another by the Major Archbishop was "informed" to Rome (see here). And while the blogger mentions with horror that a Greek-Catholic Ukrainian bishop in the United States was directly appointed by Pope John Paul II, (surprise!) Pope Benedict has done the same a few times, including LAST WEEK, when he appointed one to the Ukrainian Eparchy in Brazil (see here).
The only major news was the de facto recognition of the transferral of the Major Archeparchy to Kiev (Kyiv).
