Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 5.djvu/24

 DIOCESE

DIOCESE

this belonged to the provincial synod ; the Council of Carthage, in 407, demanded moreover the consent of the primate and of the bishop of the diocese to be di- vided (canons iv and v). The consent of the pope or the emperor was not called tor. In 446, however, Pope Leo I ruled that dioceses should not be established ex- cept in large towns and populous centres ( c. 4, Dist. Ix.xx). In the same period the Apostolic See was active in the creation of dioceses in the Burgundian kingdom and in Italy. In the latter country many of the sees had no other metropolitan than the pope, and were thus more closely related to him. Even clearer is his role in the formation of the diocesan system in the northern countries newly converted to Christian- ity. After the first successes of St. Augustine in Eng- land, Gregory the Great provided for the establish- ment of two metropolitan sees, each of which included two dioceses. In Ireland, the diocesan system was introduced by St. Patrick, though the diocesan terri- tory was usually coextensive with the tribal lands, and the system itself was soon peculiarly modified by the general extension of monastieism (see Ireland). In Scotland, howe\'er, the diocesan organization dates only from the twelfth century. To the Apostolic See also was due the establishment of dioceses in that part of Germany which had been evangelized by St. Boni- face. In the Frankish Empim the boundaries of the dioceses followed the earlier Gallo-Roman municipal system, though the Merovingian kings never hesitated to change them by royal authority and without pontif- ical intervention. In the creation of new dioceses no mention is made of papal authority. The Carlovin- gian kings and their successors, the Western emperors, notably the Ottos (936-1002), sought papal authority for the creation of new dioceses. Since the eleventh century it has been the rule that the establishment of new dioceses is peculiarly a right of the .\postolic See. St. Peter Daraian proclaimed (1059-60) this as a gen- eral principle (e. 1, Dist. xxii), and the same is af- firmed in the well-known "Dictatus" of Gregory VII (1073-1085). The papal decretals (see Decretals, P.apal) consider the creation of a new diocese as one of the causce majores, i. e. matters of special importance, reserved to the pope alone (c. 1, X, De translatione episcopi, I, 7; c. 1, X, De officio legati, I, 30) and of which he is the sole judge (c. 5, Extrav. communes, De priebendis et dignitatibus. III, 2). A word of men- tion is here tlue to the missionary or regionary bishops, episcopi genlium, episcopi {archiepiscopi) in gentibus, still found in the eleventh century. They had no fixed territory or diocese, but were sent into a country or district for the purpose of evangelizing it. Such were St. Boniface in Germany, St. Augustine in Eng- land, and St. Willibrord in the Netherlands. They were themselves the organizers of tlie diocese, after their apostolic labours had produced happy results. The bishops met with in some monasteries of Gaul in the earlier Middle Ages, probably in imitation of Irish conditions, had no administrative functions (see Bellesheim, Gesch. d. kath. Kirche in Irland, I, 226- 30, and Loning, below).

III. Creation and Modification of Dioceses. — We have noticed above that after the eleventh century the sovereign pontiff reserved to himself the creation of dioceses. In the actual discipline, as already stated, all that touches the diocese is a causa 7najor, i. e. one of those important matters in which the bish- op possesses no authority whatever and which the pope reser\'es exclusively to himself. Since the epis- copate is of Divine institution, the pope is obliged to establish dioceses in the Catholic Church, but he re- mains sole judge of the time and manner, and alone determines what flock shall be entrusted to each bishop. Generally spe.aking, the diocese is a terri- torial circumscription, but sometimes the bishop pos- sesses authority only over certain classes of persons re- siding in the territory; this is principally the case in

districts where both the Western and the Eastern Rite are followed. Whatever, therefore, pertains to the creation or suppression of dioceses, changes in their boundaries, and the like is within the pope's ex- clusive province. As a general rule, the preparatory work is done by the Congregation of the Consistorj', by Propaganda \vhen the question relates to terri- tories subject to this congregation, and by the Con- gregation of Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs when the establishment of a diocese is governed by con- cordats (q. v.), or when the civil power of the country has the right to intervene in their creation. We shall take up successively (1) the creation of new dioceses; (2) the various modifications to which they are sub- ject, included by canonists under the term Innovatio.

(1) Creation of Dioceses. — Strictly speaking, it is only in missionary countries that there can be question of the creation of a diocese, either because the country was never converted to Christianity or because its an- cient hierarchy was suppressed, owing to conquest by infidels or the progress of heresy. Regularly, before becoming a diocese, the territory is successively a mis- sion, a prefecture Apostolic, and finally a vicariate Apostolic. The C'ongregation of Propaganda makes a preliminary study of the question and passes judg- ment on the opportuneness of the creation of the dio- cese in question. It considers principally whether the number of Catholics, priests, and religious establish- ments, i. e. churches, chapels, schools, is sufficiently large to justify the establishment of the proposed dio- cese. These matters form the subject of a report to Propaganda, to which must be added the number of towns or settlements included in the territory. If there is a city suitable for the episcopal see, the fact is stated, also the financial resources at the disposal of the bishop for the works of religion. There is added, finall}', a sketch, if possible accompanied by a map, in- dicating the territory of the future diocese. As a gen- eral rule, a diocese should not include districts whose inhabitants speak different languages or are subject to distinct civil powers (see Instructions of Propa- ganda, 1798, in Collectanea S. C. de P. F., Rome, 1907, no. 645). Moreover, the general conditions for the creation of a diocese are the same as those required for dividing or "dismembering" a diocese. Of this we shall speak below.

(2) Modificaiion {Innovalio) of Dioceses. — Under this head come the division (dismcmhratio) of dioceses, their union, suppression, and changes of their respec- tive limits.

(a) Division or Dismemberment of a Diocese. — This is reserved to the Holy See. Since the pope is the supreme power in the Church, he is not bound to act in conformity with the canonical enactments which regulate the dismemberment of ecclesiastical bene- fices. The following rules, however, are those which he generally observes, though he is free to deviate from them. — First, to divide a diocese, a sufficient rea- son must exist (causa justa). The necessity, or at least the utility, of the division must be demon- strated. There is sufficient reason for the subdivi- sion of a diocese if it be too extensive, or the number of the faithful too great, or the means of communication too difficult, to permit the bishop to administer the diocese properly. The benefit w^hich would result to religion (incrementum cidtus divini) may also be brought forward as a reason for the change. In the main, these reasons are summed up in the one: the hope of forwarding the interests of Catholicism. Dis- sensions between inhabitants of the same diocese, or the fact that they belong to different nations, may also be considered a sufficient reason. Formerly, the mere fact that the endowment of a diocese was very large — a ease somewhat rare at the present day — formed a legitimate reason for its division.

The second condition is suitability of place (locus congruus). There should exist in the diocese to be ere-