Romanis Pontificibus
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Romanis Pontificibus'' is a papal decree, issued on 6 June 1975 by Pope Paul VI, that concerns the
Herzegovina Affair Herzegovina Affair ( hr, Hercegovačka afera) or Herzegovina Case ( hr, Hercegovački slučaj) refers to a conflict between the Franciscan Province of Herzegovina and the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno over the redistribution of parishes in the said dioc ...
: the
Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...
friars of Herzegovina took control of the local parishes and refused to hand them over to the local bishops and priests, despite the Franciscan
vow of obedience In the Catholic Church, the vow of obedience is one of the three vows of professing to live according to the evangelical counsels. It forms part of the religious vows that are made both by members of the religious institutes and diocesan hermits. ...
. The decree specified the relative jurisdictions of the friars and the diocesan clergy.


Historical precedent

In July 1881
Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...
, by the apostolic constitution '' Ex hac augusta'', established the ecclesiastical province of Vrhbosna, which also contained Herzegovina, and appointed a residential bishop for the diocese of Mostar, to which he joined the ancient title of Duvno. Paul VI references Leo's ''Romanos Pontifices'', an apostolic constitution of May 1881 which defined the relationship between bishops and members of religious institutes.Meehan, Andrew. "Constitutio Romanos Pontifices." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 10 November 2015
Paul VI quoted ''
Ad gentes ''Ad gentes'' (''To the Nations'') is the Second Vatican Council's decree on missionary activity. The document establishes evangelization as one of the fundamental missions of the Catholic Church and reaffirms the tie between evangelization an ...
'', the Second Vatican Council's decree regarding missionary activity.
It is the bishop's role, as the ruler and center of unity in the diocesan apostolate, to promote missionary activity, to direct it and to coordinate it but always in such a way that the zeal and spontaneity of those who share in the work may be preserved and fostered. All missionaries, even exempt Religious, are subject to his power in the various works which refer to the exercise of the sacred apostolate.
It is the responsibility of the local Ordinary to provide for the governance of parishes, while moderators of religious institutes are encouraged to offer their assistance to bishops, even by taking up, for a time, the care of parishes.


Terms

After consultation with Sacred Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples or Propagation of Faith, the Pope decreed that "in consideration of the merits which the Friars Minor of the Province of Herzegovina have secured for themselves, the Holy See accepts that it be taken as a general rule that half of the faithful of the diocese of Mostar-Duvno remain entrusted to the pastoral care of the same religious, while the other half entrusted to diocesan clergy."Rossi, Agnellus. "Romanis Pontificibus", #1, Sacred Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples or Propagation of Faith, June 6, 1975
/ref> Pastoral care of the parishes in Izbično, Klobuk, and Kongora was entrusted to the Friars Minor of the Province of Herzegovina, but they were required to turn over to the diocesan clergy the parishes of Blagaj, Jablanica, Ploče, and Nevesinje. Additional arrangements were made regarding other parishes. To facilitate the transition the Sacred Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples or Propagation of the Faith established as executors Peter Čule, bishop of Mostar-Duvno, coadjutor bishop Pavao Žanić and Father Constantine Koser, minister general of the Order of Friars Minor. It also confirmed Stephan László, bishop of Eisenstadt, as Apostolic visitor to Herzegovina, assisted by Vladimir Vlašić, S.J., rector of the interdiocesan minor seminary of Zagreb. In 1990, Bishop
Ratko Perić Ratko Perić (born 2 February 1944) is a prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the bishop of Mostar-Duvno and apostolic administrator of Trebinje-Mrkan from 1993 until his retirement in 2020. After his retirement in July 2020, he briefly ...
complained about an alleged
Marian apparition A Marian apparition is a reported supernatural appearance by Mary, the mother of Jesus, or a series of related such appearances during a period of time. In the Catholic Church, in order for a reported appearance to be classified as a Marian a ...
in
Medjugorje Medjugorje ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Međugorje, Међугорје, ) is a town located in southwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina, about southwest of Mostar and east of the border with Croatia. The town is part of the Čitluk municipality ...
, called
Our Lady of Medjugorje Our Lady of Medjugorje ( hr, Međugorska Gospa), also called Queen of Peace ( hr, Kraljica mira) and Mother of the Redeemer ( hr, Majka Otkupiteljica), is the title given to visions of Mary, the mother of Jesus, which began in 1981 to six Herze ...
, that was telling people the Franciscan friars could stay in Medjugorje because they were innocent. Fr. Tomislav Vlasic, whom Peric has claimed is behind the apparition, was found guilty of disobedience and sexual misconduct.


Implementation

In February 1999, the vicar general of the order and Bishop Peric met in Mostar. The Holy See was represented by the Nunciature acting Charg d’Affaires. The seven parishes listed in the decree were formally turned over to the diocese with the friars staffing them re-assigned to other houses in the province effective February 22. However the parties noted that it was not possible for diocesan clergy to immediately assume their assignments due to "...acts of organised physical resistance, serious written and verbal threats, occupation of parochial Churches and houses, removal of parish registers and stamps." In order to assure a continuation of pastoral care in the interim, the Bishop referred parishioners temporarily to other parishes in the area.


References

{{reflist Catholic Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina Pope Paul VI