Читать книгу Catholicism For Dummies - Rev. Kenneth Brighenti - Страница 109

The government of the Catholic Church, called the hierarchy, is more like a monarchy than a democracy. Catholicism is hierarchical in that one person, the pope, is supreme head over the universal Church. Yet bishops govern the local churches in a geographical district called a diocese, and pastors (or priests) represent the bishop in each local parish. Individual Catholics don’t vote for the next pope or for their bishop or pastor. The Catholic hierarchy operates like a military chain of command as opposed to an elected, representative government. So nope — no local primaries, no election campaigns, no debates, no political ads, and no popular vote.

Other religions and Christian churches allow for lay participation in positions of authority from a little to a lot, but Catholicism has been predominantly monarchical since the appointment of St. Peter. Laypersons are encouraged to participate in other ways. While they aren’t allowed to have jurisdictional power, laity serve as consulters and advisors to pastors and bishops. Parish councils and finance committees are composed of lay parishioners who advise the pastor before he makes important decisions. Laity also even serve in the Vatican to advise, counsel, and represent the Holy See to organizations like the United Nations.

You may have heard the saying “He who enters the conclave a pope leaves a cardinal.” This means that when a pope becomes sick or elderly or dies, rumors run rampant as to who will take the Chair of St. Peter. Often, the press names certain cardinals as the most likely candidates; they’re called papabile (meaning pope-able) in Italian. But the papabile are usually the ones that the other cardinals never elect. If a man enters the conclave — the private meeting of cardinals for the specific purpose of electing the pope — as a favorite (or worse, if he seems to want the job), chances are he will leave a cardinal because his fellow cardinals will choose someone more humble.