Collegiality

[Dave]

In the past I've heard extreme traditionalists denounce collegiality in the Church and claim that Vatican II promoted it whereas previously the Church was against it (so they say). What is collegiality anyway, and why do some claim it goes against previous Church teaching?

[Thy Geekdom Come]

[i]Collegiality[/i] is the proper internal relationship for the [i]college[/i] of bishops. It respects the authority of bishops as successors to Apostles and ordinaries of their own dioceses. Often, radical traditionalists will oppose it in favor of a headstrong version of ultramontanism, in which the pope is somehow more completely a bishop than other bishops. In reality, the pope is not higher than a bishop (he isn't ordained pope, his order is still episcopal), but is sort of the big brother and the leader among the bishops. Authentic collegiality respects the authority of individual bishops while still holding the pope as their leader. So, for instance, the pope rarely tells other bishops how to run their dioceses, but often makes overarching norms for how bishops should run dioceses. At times, though, when necessary, the pope may order another bishop to do something, but it's usually only after other things have been exhausted. The pope has the authority, but it's not necessarily right for him to abuse the authority, so he treats the bishops with collegiality.