Episcopal conference
In the Roman Catholic Church, an Episcopal Conference, Conference of Bishops, or National Conference of Bishops is an official assembly of all the bishops of a given territory. Episcopal conferences have long existed as informal entities, but were first established as formal bodies by the Second Vatican Council (Christus Dominus, 38), and implemented by Pope Paul VI's 1966 motu proprio Ecclesiae sanctae.[1] The operation, authority, and responsibilities of episcopal conferences are currently governed by the 1983 Code of Canon Law (see especially canons 447-459).[2] The nature of episcopal conferences, and their magisterial authority in particular, was subsequently clarified by Pope John Paul II's 1998 motu proprio Apostolos suos.
Episcopal conferences are generally defined by geographic borders, with all the bishops in a given country belonging to the same conference — which might also include neighboring countries. Certain tasks and authority are assigned to episcopal conferences, particularly with regard to setting the liturgical norms for the Mass. Episcopal conferences receive their authority under universal law or particular mandates. In certain circumstances, as defined by canon law, the decisions of an episcopal conference are subject to ratification from the Holy See. Individual bishops do not relinquish their authority to the conference, and remain responsible for the governance of their respective diocese.
Episcopal Conferences
This is a partial list of episcopal conferences:
- Africa
- Conférence Episcopale Nationale du Congo
- Kenya Episcopal Conference
- Namibian Catholic Bishops' Conference
- Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference
- Sudan Catholic Bishops' Conference
- Asia
- Chinese Catholic Bishops Conference
- Catholic Bishops' Conference of India
- Conference of Catholic Bishops of India
- Bishops' Conference of Indonesia
- Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan
- Bishops' Conference of Malaysia, Singapore & Brunei
- Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines
- Europe
- Konferenca Ipeshkvnore e Shqipërisë
- Conférence épiscopale de Belgique
- Biskupska Konferencija Bosne i Hercegovine
- Česká biskupská konference
- Conference of the German Bishops
- Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales
- Conferencia Episcopal Española
- Conférence des évêques de France
- Irish Bishops Conference
- Conferenza Episcopale Italiana
- Magyar Katolikus Püspöki Konferencia
- Konferenza Episkopali Maltija
- Nederlandse Bisschoppenconferentie
- Österreichische Bischofskonferenz
- Polish Episcopal Conference
- Conferência Episcopal Portuguesa
- Scandinavian Bishops Conference
- Bishops' Conference of Scotland
- Konferencia biskupov Slovenska
- Slovenska škofovska konferenca
- Conférence des Evêques Suisses
- Conference of the Roman Catholic Bishops of Ukraine
- North America
- Antilles Episcopal Conference
- Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops
- Conferencia Episcopal de Costa Rica
- Conferencia Episcopal de Guatemala
- Mexican Episcopal Conference
- Conferencia Episcopal de Nicaragua
- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
- Oceania
- Australian Catholic Bishops Conference
- New Zealand Catholic Bishops' Conference
- Catholic Bishops' Conference of Papua New Guinea & Solomon Islands
- South America
- Argentine Episcopal Conference
- Conferência Nacional dos Bispos do Brasil
- Conferencia Episcopal de Colombia
- Conferencia Episcopal Ecuatoriana
- Conferencia Episcopal Peruana
- Conferencia Episcopal del Uruguay
- Conferencia Episcopal Venezolana
- Latin America
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Footnotes
See also
- Episcopal see
- List of all Episcopal Conferences by Giga-Catholic Information
- Sullivan, Francis. "The Teaching Authority of Episcopal Conferences", Theological Studies, v. 63, 2002, pp. 472-493.