On December 30 of this past year, the Holy Father appointed His Excellency, Noël Simard, until then Auxiliary Bishop of Sault Ste. Marie as the new Bishop of Valleyfield, Quebec. While Bishop Simard now moves on to a new responsibility, there is a vacancy left in the postion he leaves.
Almost within the same breath as the announcement of the new Shepherd of Valleyfield was made, questions began to be asked about who would fill the void left in the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie. The decision about how to proceed is up to His Excellency, Jean-Louis Plouffe, the Bishop of Sault Ste. Marie.
Bishop Plouffe explained the next steps of his plan to a reporter who filed a story, now published as of yesterday in the Sudbury Star (and affiliated newspapers in the diocese). In short, it is up to the Bishop to decide whether he will ask the Holy Father to appoint another Auxiliary Bishop, or whether he will chose some other way of exercising the pastoral governance of the diocese entrusted to his care.
There are pros and cons to both sides. Bishops can ask for Auxiliaries to be appointed if they can demonstrate a need for assistance with the leadership of their diocese. In this diocese, there have traditionally been two Auxiliaries (one English-speaking and the other Francophone) assisting the Bishop with his duties. To this end, one might expect that the pattern would continue, but it appears that we're about to embark on a new path.
In the coming months, Bishop Plouffe will appoint some of his priests to act as Episcopal Vicars. In effect, this means that while they will continue to function as pastors of their respective parishes, some of our priests will be asked to assist the Bishop with some of the tasks associated with the governance of the diocese. In particular, responsibilities (of Episcopal Vicars) will include acting as liaisons with Catholic school boards, health institutions, hospitals and nursing and retirement homes, presiding over the sacrament of confirmation if Plouffe is unable to attend, occasionally act as the bishop's representative for certain functions and implement diocesan pastoral programs and practices.
One major difference though between a bishop and a priest who is acting as Episcopal Vicar is that an auxiliary bishop can, with the bishop's permission, ordain a priest or deacon. An episcopal vicar cannot. In addition,Plouffe will choose one of the episcopal vicars to be the diocese's vicar general, or second in charge if he becomes incapacitated. An auxiliary bishop automatically assumes that responsibility but in the case of priests, the Office must be explicitly assigned. Appointments to the Office of Episcopal Vicar, which will last for two year terms, are expected to be announced in the coming months.
Almost within the same breath as the announcement of the new Shepherd of Valleyfield was made, questions began to be asked about who would fill the void left in the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie. The decision about how to proceed is up to His Excellency, Jean-Louis Plouffe, the Bishop of Sault Ste. Marie.
Bishop Plouffe explained the next steps of his plan to a reporter who filed a story, now published as of yesterday in the Sudbury Star (and affiliated newspapers in the diocese). In short, it is up to the Bishop to decide whether he will ask the Holy Father to appoint another Auxiliary Bishop, or whether he will chose some other way of exercising the pastoral governance of the diocese entrusted to his care.
There are pros and cons to both sides. Bishops can ask for Auxiliaries to be appointed if they can demonstrate a need for assistance with the leadership of their diocese. In this diocese, there have traditionally been two Auxiliaries (one English-speaking and the other Francophone) assisting the Bishop with his duties. To this end, one might expect that the pattern would continue, but it appears that we're about to embark on a new path.
In the coming months, Bishop Plouffe will appoint some of his priests to act as Episcopal Vicars. In effect, this means that while they will continue to function as pastors of their respective parishes, some of our priests will be asked to assist the Bishop with some of the tasks associated with the governance of the diocese. In particular, responsibilities (of Episcopal Vicars) will include acting as liaisons with Catholic school boards, health institutions, hospitals and nursing and retirement homes, presiding over the sacrament of confirmation if Plouffe is unable to attend, occasionally act as the bishop's representative for certain functions and implement diocesan pastoral programs and practices.
One major difference though between a bishop and a priest who is acting as Episcopal Vicar is that an auxiliary bishop can, with the bishop's permission, ordain a priest or deacon. An episcopal vicar cannot. In addition,Plouffe will choose one of the episcopal vicars to be the diocese's vicar general, or second in charge if he becomes incapacitated. An auxiliary bishop automatically assumes that responsibility but in the case of priests, the Office must be explicitly assigned. Appointments to the Office of Episcopal Vicar, which will last for two year terms, are expected to be announced in the coming months.
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