FRORUNE - Volume 3 - Number 3 - Toward a Theology of the Episcopacy

Sep 29, 2026

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FRORUNE is a winter 1965 quarterly devoted to concerns of the Church, presenting material on episcopacy and the Church’s search for a meaningful social role. The article “Toward a Theology of the Episcopacy” examines modern individualism alongside humanity’s need to belong, then argues that the bishop embodies unity within the Body of Christ. Using a historical-theological method, it frames episcopacy as both a theological “given” and an evolving historical development, aiming at outlines for renewal in expression and event.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryReligion & Spirituality

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Pages52

Reading Time2 h 11 min

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Toward a Theology of the Episcopacy

Individualism and the Church’s challenge

Episcopacy as the sign of unity in the Body of Christ

Method: historical-theological approach

# FRORUNE A Quarterly Devoted to the Concerns of the Churchin a New Age Volume 3 ·Number 3 ·Winter,1965 "Finally,the behavior of priests around their bishop isthat of small children.Few will tell him the truth....Devotion and loyalty to the pope have become far morereal than that to a local bishop.” S3VENTY-FIVE CENTS ER◎Z5辽辽Z) A Quarterly of the Society of the Catholic Apostolate Published with ecclesiastical permission.Publisher:G.J.Carcich,S.A.C.Editorial committee:Geno A.BallottiDavid B.Maguire,Bernard A.Curtis.Managing editor:Edward J.Foye.Book review editor:Barbara E.Ford.Advertising director:Frank C.Mirabile. "The faithful,and more especially the laity,are in thefront line of the Church's life."—PIUS XII Volume 3 .Number 3 .Winter,1965 Toward a Theology of the Episcopacy.*JAMES J.KAVANAUGH...98The Christian and the World.I.SR.MARY EILEEN PAUL......127 *The source of this issue's cover quotation. Front Line,a quarterly publication,is owned,edited,and published in Baltimore,Maryland,by the Pallottine Fathers of the Immaculate Conception Province,Society of the CatholicApostolate(legal title:The Pallottine Fathers of the Eastern Province,Inc.),309 NorthPaca Street,Baltimore 1,Maryland.Second class postal rate paid at Baltimore,Maryland,Post Office.Subscription rate:$3.00 per year,$5.00 for two years,single copy 754. ## Toward a Theology of the Episcopacy JAMES J.KAVANAUGH erhaps no one is sufficiently attuned to both the intellectuallegacy of the past,and the practical,work-a-day demands ofthe present to trace the modern insistence,in-and outside the Church,on the pre-eminent value of the individual.The intellectual break-through of Descartes,the religious regeneration of Luther,the socialtheory of Rousseau,the rise of the deified state—all have in turn beennamed,in varying degrees,the intellectual forebears.The futility ofscientism as expressed in global wars,the breakup of empires,theexaggerated threats of rising nations,the disintegration of familytradition and personal morality—all are mingled as both cause andeffect in the analysis of contemporary man.But the individual willbe heard.Each discipline demands it,literature,art,and social forms.All express the individual's rebellion against traditional forms andseemingly sacred values.Pulpits rise in strange places to provide ananswer.Crusaders are garbed in nuclear stoles,texts are chosen fromcomputers.Yet man,disappointed by so many social foundations,prefers to stand alone. And yet,side by side with this somewhat gloomy individualism,man seeks also to belong,as if,try as he might,he cannot ignore thesocial side of his nature.Socialism in parts of Europe,the growth ofworld communism,the current vindication of the liberal trend inAmerica—all testify to the need of the individual for the bodycorporate.But he will not come without his suspicions born of dis-appointment.We have only to witness the skepticism surrounding theUN,OAS,NATO,Common Market,and political systems in general. In the context of this dualism,the Church too,in the light of theSpirit,has risen to meet the challenge with the only real answer.In the Body of Christ the individual finds his real meaning and theChurch has elected to re-examine the nature of the episcopacy,the“sign”of unity in community.Man is .crying for a meaning to hisexistence,to find himself in a society that will not disappoint him ordestroy him.Monsignor,Charue,bishop of Namur,says:"Thepresent council recalls to the ‘Bishops that they must look beyondtheir local responsibilities to the universal mission of the Christianapostolate,which they share now in solidarity and collegiality.Cer-tain relationships must be put in focus:that between the bishop asone who shares the universal mission and who has the past oral careof his own diocese ...between the hierarchy and the Christianpeople.'”1 The Christian dignity,so succinctly expressed in terms ofthe individual by St.Paul:“I live now,not I,but Christ lives in

FAQs

What central idea does the article use to explain the episcopacy?

It presents the bishop as the sign and witness of the link between the mystical and eucharistic Body of Christ, where individuals find real meaning in the eternal society.

How does the article relate modern individualism to the Church’s message?

It contrasts gloomy individualism with the human need to belong, arguing that the Church meets this dual challenge by re-examining the episcopacy as unity within community.

What research method does the author say will be used?

The author states the method will be historical-theological: not historical alone and not theological alone, but a reflection that uses both dimensions to study the origins and development of the episcopate.

Sep 29, 2026

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