Prior to being ordained and assuming his office, a bishop takes the Oath of Fidelity in which he states, “In fulfilling the charge entrusted to me in the name of the Church, I shall hold fast to the deposit of faith in its entirety; I shall faithfully hand it on and explain it, and I shall avoid any teachings contrary to it”.

 

As an essential element to his ministry, a bishop has the responsibility to ensure the integrity of the faith taught and lived within his diocese.

This task was outlined by St Paul when he wrote to Timothy to whom he had given pastoral responsibility for the Church in Ephesus. He encouraged him in these words, “Keep as your pattern the sound teaching you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. You have been trusted to look after something precious, guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us”. St Paul understood that one of the key roles of being a leader in the Christian community was to ensure the sound teaching of the faith is presented and preserved.

Later in this letter St Paul returned to this theme giving the young man a solemn charge: “Before God and before Christ Jesus who is to be judge of the living and the dead, I put this duty to you, in the name of his Appearing and of his kingdom: proclaim the message and, welcome or unwelcome, insist on it. Refute falsehood, correct error, call to obedience”.

Upholding the integrity of the faith has been the pastoral burden of bishops over the centuries.

In the early centuries the theological and doctrinal disputes required bishops to not only be pastors of their flocks but become actively engaged in clearly articulating and in defending Catholic doctrine.

St Irenaeus, the second century bishop of Lyon, addressed the issue of Gnosticism, entitling his major work Adversus haereses (Against Heresies). In the early fourth century in the face of rapid spread of Arianism St Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, wrote and suffered greatly to preserve the Church’s understanding of the divinity of Christ. He has become known as the “Father of Orthodoxy”.

St Augustine, bishop of Hippo, strongly defended the Church’s understanding of the action of saving grace when he challenged the views of Pelagius which were gaining currency in the Church.

Throughout the history of the Church bishops have had to stand up against heresy and false teaching that has emerged in their times.

Often they were voices that spoke against a rising tide of opinion. Many paid a deep personal price for their courage to speak out.

Even to our own time, bishops have been renown for being faithful defenders of the authentic Catholic faith. We have been blessed by the clear teaching of Pope St John Paul II where, in a number of encyclicals, he has expounded the faith of the Church in the face of false expressions of Catholic doctrine. In Evangelium Vitae he addressed the emerging “culture of death” which promoted abortion and euthanasia. In Fides et Ratio he argued for the place of faith as a source of truth that accords with human reason. In Veritatis Splendour he defended the moral tradition of the Church. It was he who championed the writing and publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, a definitive expression of the Catholic faith for our time.

In a similar vein Cardinal Ratzinger, firstly as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and later as Pope, eloquently yet humbly expressed and confirmed Catholic teaching especially in the face of the rise of secularism. Some of his themes included defence of the divine authorship of Sacred Scripture, the Liturgy as an act of worship and stressing that the teaching of Vatican II was in harmony with and not a break from the traditional teachings of past centuries.

The Church has recognised those who have made outstanding contributions to the exposition of the faith as “Doctors of the Church”. Among the thirty-seven currently recognised are many bishops, many of whom wrote to defend the faith in the light of false teachings emerging in their times.

In the Office of Readings for the feast day of St Boniface (June 5), we are offered a section of one of his letters. St Boniface, an English monk, became a missionary in Germany and later bishop, and is honoured as the “Apostle of Germany”. Along with his great missionary endeavours he had to face many challenges which he did with patience and perseverance.

The excerpt from the letter reveals his awareness of the existence of serious threats to the Church of his time. He writes, “In her voyage across the ocean of this world, the Church is like a great ship being pounded by the waves of life’s different stresses. Our duty is not to abandon ship but to keep her on her course”.

He then proceeds to mention a number of bishops from the early Church whom he admires for their fidelity – “they all steered Christ’s ship” – in the face of many challenges.

There is always the temptation to avoid conflict and strife.

He knows this, but comments, “Let us be neither dogs that do not bark nor silent onlookers nor paid servants who run away before the wolf. Instead let us be careful shepherds watching over Christ’s flock”.

We read in chapter 33 of the writings of the Prophet Ezekiel that the Lord called him to be a watchman: “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me”. The role of the watchman was to stand on the wall at the city gate and warn the city’s inhabitants of enemy threat. The responsibility was great and the Prophet is warned: “I will hold you accountable for their blood”. He is also promised that should he complete his task, “you yourself will be saved”.

In a homily on Ezekiel Pope St Gregory the Great humbly comments on his own efforts to be the watchman he is expected to be, “How hard it is for me to say this, for by these very words I denounce myself. I cannot preach with any competence, and yet insofar as I do succeed, still I myself do not live my life according to my own preaching”. One of the greatest of the popes recognised the enormous burden of his office. He acutely senses his own weaknesses in the face of the task to faithfully guide the Church.

He adds, “I do not deny my responsibility; I recognize that I am slothful and negligent, but perhaps the acknowledgment of my fault will win me pardon from my just judge”. He was, in fact, a great and courageous pope. It shows, however, the burden of spiritual and pastoral leadership.

May God raise up courageous bishops as defenders of the faith in our time.