Bridging the Gap: A new bishop!

By Bishop David Zubik

	Bishop David Zubik

This past Tuesday, we as Church received some wonderful news! One of our own priests, Reverend Monsignor Frank J. Dewane, was named a bishop by our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI. And as this is a joy for the entire Church Universal, it is a particular joy for the local Church of Green Bay and especially for St. James Parish in Cooperstown which is Bishop-elect Dewane's home parish, the place where his faith was nurtured.

Msgr. Dewane was ordained a priest for our diocese in 1988. He served as Parochial Vicar at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral Parish and at Ss. Peter and Paul Parish, before being released from the diocese for service at the permanent observer mission of the Holy See at the United Nations where he served until 1995. Following that assignment, Bishop-elect Dewane began his service at the Holy See where he currently serves as Under-Secretary for the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

As Msgr. Dewane is appointed Bishop, he has also received an assignment from Pope Benedict XVI to be Coadjutor Bishop of the Diocese of Venice in Florida. A coadjutor bishop is one who serves in a diocese together with the current Bishop and with the right of succession. Whenever Bishop John J. Nevins, the current Bishop of Venice, receives permission to retire, Bishop-elect Dewane will automatically become the bishop of that diocese.

	Related articles: from April 28, 2006 issue: • Green Bay priest named Florida bishop   Sidebar: Biography   Sidebar: New bishop represented Vatican in many locales • New bishop possesses many skills • Bp. Zubik: News brings great joy to diocese

With this special honor and the appointment of Bishop-elect Dewane, I thought it might be interesting to answer some questions about bishops which many of you have asked. What is a bishop? What are the theological underpinnings for a bishop? How does a person become a bishop? What "types" of bishops are there? What is the role of a bishop in the Church?

First it is important to note that all bishops are successors of the original Twelve, the Apostles, who were appointed by Jesus Himself. Since Jesus appointed St. Peter to be the rock or the first pope, it is only the Pope who can appoint bishops.

Msgr. Dewane received his appointment as a bishop from Pope Benedict XVI. Thus the theological underpinnings of the episcopacy go back to the time when Jesus instituted the twelve apostles, when "He constituted them in the form of a college or permanent assembly, at the head of which He placed Peter, chosen from among them" (# 19, Lumen Gentium). And just as "by the Lord's institution, Saint Peter and the rest of the apostles constitute a single Apostolic College, so in like fashion the Roman Pontiff, Peter's successor, and the bishops, the successors of the Apostles, are related with and united to one another" (# 22, LG).

Teach/preach

As a successor to the Apostles, a bishop is given three important responsibilities: "to teach;" "to sanctify;" and "to lead." A word about each.

Bishops have as their first task to preach and teach the gospel. You have often heard the word Magisterium. It means the college of bishops, working together with the Holy Father, as authentic teachers of the faith as originally passed on to the Church by the Apostles. As teachers of the faith, the bishops work together with the pope in passing on the true faith especially in the areas of doctrine and morals.

Make holy

The second important task entrusted to a bishop is "to sanctify" as a "steward of grace" (# 26, LG). Bishops sanctify or make holy the work of a Church by their prayer and work, by the ministry of the Word and of the Sacraments together with the priests, deacons and laity. It is the job of the bishop to sanctify the Church by his example and, especially, in the careful and caring celebration of the Sacraments, particularly the Eucharist, which he offers personally or whose offering he assures through the priests, his co-workers.

Lead

The third office of the bishop is "to lead." As a representative of Christ whose power has been passed on to him by the Holy Spirit, bishops lead particular Churches that are assigned to them. As shepherd or leader of a local Church (diocese), he works in communion with the Pope leading the faithful entrusted to his care with the mind and the heart of the Church Universal.

These three important responsibilities of the bishop's office "to teach," "to sanctify," and "to lead" reflect the underlying foundation intended for every bishop's life - that he be a shepherd and a servant of God's people as he works together with God's people - laywomen and laymen, deacons, sisters and priests in building God's Kingdom in a particular corner of God's world.

In light of the theological underpinnings of the role of the bishop as well as his important tasks, it is interesting to note that there are different titles given the bishops.

An archbishop is the head of an archdiocese, a local Church given the title based on either its population size within a given geographic area or because of its significance. The Archdiocese of Washington is such because it is the capital of the United States. Baltimore is also an Archdiocese because it is the mother diocese of the country, where the Catholic Church began in the United States. In the State of Wisconsin, there is one Archdiocese, in Milwaukee, and its shepherd is Abp. Timothy M. Dolan.

An ordinary or diocesan bishop is head of a particular diocese. Following on the capable leadership of my ten predecessors, Bishops Melcher, Krautbauer, Katzer, Messmer, Fox, Rhode, Bona, Wycislo, Cardinal Maida and Bp. Banks, it is my honor to serve as shepherd of the Church of Green Bay.

A coadjutor bishop, such as Bishop-elect Dewane, is a bishop who has been appointed as a successor bishop in a particular diocese while the current bishop is still in office. Whenever that particular bishop retires or dies, the coadjutor bishop automatically becomes the "ordinary" of that diocese.

An auxiliary bishop is a "helper" bishop to the diocesan bishop. As he shares in the threefold work of all bishops, "to teach," "to sanctify" and "to lead," an auxiliary bishop can in greater or lesser degree help in some of the administrative work of the diocesan bishop. It is a joy for all of us and particularly for me to have the benefit of the wisdom of Bp. Robert Morneau, our Auxiliary.

Source of unity

Every bishop, whether he be an ordinary, coadjutor or auxiliary, is called to be the visible source and foundation of unity in his own particular diocese. All bishops are called to be servants or shepherds to the people entrusted to their care. All bishops are assisted by the good work of priests and deacons, lay leaders as well as Sisters and Brothers.

As a member of the Episcopal College, each bishop shares in the concern for all the Churches together with all the bishops throughout the world. Clearly, within each country, the College of Bishops works together for the best possible leadership of the Church in that country. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops works closely together to do such for all the faithful in the United States.

As Bishop-elect Dewane returns to the United States and prepares for his upcoming ordination as Coadjutor of the Diocese of Venice in Florida, we as the faithful of the Church of Green Bay, can rejoice that one of our own has been called by God to this important ministry in the Church.

Not only do we take our hats off to Bishop-elect Dewane in his new appointment; we especially promise our prayers that he may always reflect the mind and the heart of Christ as he shares in the mission of Jesus: "to teach," "to sanctify," and "to lead."