Resolved: except in unusual circumstances, a bishop should remain wedded to his See and not be promoted from diocese to (more important) diocese. One exception would be to allow a bishop to be appointed archbishop and metropolitan of the archdiocese his diocese is associated with.
Sandro Magister in his blog wrote that Pope Francis has been preaching against ecclesiastical careerism, which is most notably manifested in bishops being transferred between dioceses. He notes that this practice was banned in the early Church, and only became common during the middle ages. He quotes Cardinal Bernardin Gantin, who railed against this practice in a 1999 interview:
On his appointment, the bishop must be a father and a pastor for the people of God. One is always a father. Once a bishop is appointed to a particular see, he must generally and in principle stay there for ever. Let that be clear. The relationship between a bishop and a diocese is also depicted as a marriage and a marriage, according to the spirit of the Gospel, is indissoluble. The new bishop must not make other personal plans. There may well be serious reasons, very serious reasons for a decision by the authorities that the bishop go from one family, so to speak, to another. In making this decision, the authorities take numerous factors into consideration. They do not include an eventual desire by a bishop to change see.
In my own diocese our own Archbishop has reached the age of retirement. I have been told that the Chancery gossip is entirely focused on which existing bishop is going to be transferred here. No one is discussing who among the clergy should be ordained bishop, or even if our auxiliary bishop should be made ordinary.
One problem with this resolution is that it will have an impact on who is eligible to be elected Pope and will also have an impact on who might be called upon to fill important positions at the Vatican. I would be interested in hearing your ideas on possible alternatives for addressing these concerns.
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