The Limits of Authority: When Popes, Bishops, and Priests Go Too Far | Fr. Pius Pietrzyk, OP

The Conor Gallagher Show

Canonist Fr. Pius Pietrzyk, OP joins Conor to discuss the limits of authority regarding the liturgy, clergy assignments, building projects, seminary formation, and parish management. They delve into the difference between a religious superior’s authority and that of a diocesan bishop’s authority. What does it mean for a diocesan priest to be obedient to his bishop? Do religious priests ordained bishops confuse the two? And what are the three branches of government in canon law, which was largely influenced by our American system? Do bishops understand that they are merely the executive branch of Holy Mother Church and thus do not “make law”? Is there a broader agenda in the Church today?

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RESOURCES:

• General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM): https://bit.ly/3POjeIt
• Code of Canon Law: https://bit.ly/3Wbo1XW
• Caeremoniale Episcoporum: https://bit.ly/4gPEKbE
• Built of Living Stones: https://bit.ly/3WbB5wo

CHAPTERS:

• (0:00) Coming Up
• (1:33) Introduction
• (2:17) Fr. Pius Pietrzyk, O Background and Bio
• (8:40) Fr. Pius Expertise in Canonical Issues of Authority
• (11:34) Do Conservative or Progressive Bishops Overstep Authority More?
• (12:21) Fr. James Altman and Canceled Priests
• (14:39) Can a Bishop Regulate What a Priest Says From the Pulpit?
• (16:29) Where Are the Canons on Preaching?
• (18:44) What is the Canonical Process For Removing a Pastor?
• (22:24) How Are Pastors Transferred to Other Parishes?
• (25:07) The Principle of Legality and How Authority is Exercised
• (26:16) The Correct Meaning of Pastoral and The Bishop’s Primary Goal
• (27:35) Can a Bishop Prohibit the Practice of Ad Orientem
• (32:09) How Should a Priest Respond to the Bishop and Priestly Obedience?
• (35:11) Can a Bishop Mandate How Holy Communion is Distributed and Received?
• (39:18) Can a Bishop Tell a Pastor Not to Use Communion Rails?
• (43:40) Particular Law and Local Diocesan Laws
• (46:23) Three Types of Powers and American Constitutional Law
• (49:04) Abuse of Power and Arbitrary Law
• (50:30) When a Religious Becomes a Bishop and Confuses Obedience
• (53:40) Are Bishops Assigned Because of an Agenda?
• (55:16) Can the Distribution of Holy Communion Under Both Species Be Mandated?
• (59:44) What is a Bishop’s Authority Over a Parish’s Use of Extraordinary Ministers?
• (1:01:07) Can a Bishop Restrict the Use of Latin Responses in the Liturgy?
• (1:05:35) Is the Sign of Peace Mandatory?
• (1:06:02) Rome’s Restriction of the Latin Mass and Papal Authority
• (1:10:46) The Pope is Bound to Natural Justice
• (1:12:27) Understanding the Law and Force of Law
• (1:13:53) What is the Bishop’s Authority over the Latin Mass?
• (1:22:43) Can a Bishop Control What Kind of Vestments a Priest Wears?
• (1:24:33) Can a Bishop Regulate If There is a Cross or Candles on the Altar?
• (1:26:32) Hermeneutic of Discontinuity and the Second Vatican Council
• (1:28:01) Bishop and Priestly Rights Over the Liturgy
• (1:29:43) The Bishop and the Liturgy at the Cathedral
• (1:36:28) Bishops’ Ignorance of Rubrics and the GIRM
• (1:38:38) Spiritual Advice to Priests
• (1:43:09) Break
• (1:43:44) Recap of Liturgical and Authority Issues
• (1:44:36) Who Has Authority Over Liturgical Law?
• (1:45:40) The Difference between Religious Superior vs. Bishop’s Authority
• (1:48:31) Can Bishops Control the Wearing Cassocks and Clerical Attire?
• (1:50:29) Bishop’s Control Over Parish Financial Management
• (1:54:53) The Principle of Subisidariy and Parish Ministries
• (2:01:09) What is the Bishop's Role in Building a New Church and Church Architecture?
• (2:08:54) Does the Bishop Have Unlimited Veto Power Over Church Construction?
• (2:14:24) What Authority Does a Pastor Have Over Construction and Architecture?
• (2:19:44) Bishop Authority and Priestly Formation
• (2:21:30) A Rector’s Authority, Pastoral Rights, and Removal Process
• (2:26:26) Bishop’s Authority and Relationship to Religious Orders and Institutes
• (2:28:29) Can a Bishop Remove a Religious Order From His Diocese?
• (2:30:53) Fr. Pius Pietrzyk's Final Advice to Priests

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