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Bishops call for reform of Church governance under new pontificate

Bishops in England and Wales have called for a new Pope to implement greater consultation in matters of church governance.

Three bishops - including Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor - said they would like to see a deeper sense of collegiality, the principle developed at the Second Vatican Council of the Pope governing the Church with the bishops.

The Bishop of Menevia, Tom Burns, said that following Pope Benedict XVI's resignation it was time to reform the Vatican's "monarchical style and turgid bureaucracy" and introduce greater consultation, transparency and a "root and branch review of the method of appointing bishops."

He also told The Tablet it was time for "a freedom of speech to search for ways ahead that will address key issues like remarriage after divorce; re-examining ethical issues; developing a simpler and humbler Church stripped of status and elitism."

Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor, who will play a crucial role in the cardinals' meetings before the conclave next month, said on Tuesday in a lecture on the Second Vatican Council that there should be a "richer sense of collegiality" in the Church.

The Bishop of Arundel and Brighton, Kieran Conry, said said that a "stronger sense" of collegiality would have been helpful in the establishment of ordinariates for former Anglicans and the new translation of the missal.

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