If the Vatican has no problem allowing Chinese communists to have a central role in choosing bishops, what rational objection could it possibly have to letting faithful Catholics merely observe the process?
I am not proposing direct popular election of bishops, which would be a mistake in several ways.It would be a mistake now as Roman Catholic churches are not ordered in such a way to allow that this be done well.
I only suggest that the clergy and people of a diocese have a role in proposing and vetting candidates as a routine part of the selection process. Besides helping to head off mistakes, doing so would encourage the emergence of supporting testimony on behalf of worthy individuals.I would add: 1. No transferring of bishops. 2. No transferring of pastors without sufficient cause. Let communities know those who are put in leadership positions over them and be in a position to judge.
How Catholic parishes can be stable (and small) enough that members know those being recommended for ordination is a problem Roman Catholics need to be considering.
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