Bishopric_of_the_Forces
Bishopric of the Forces in Great Britain
Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdiction
The Bishopric of the Forces (in Great Britain) is a Latin Church military ordinariate of the Catholic Church which provides chaplains to the British Armed Forces based in the United Kingdom and their overseas postings.[1][2][3]
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (January 2017) |
It is directly exempt to the Holy See and its Roman Congregation for Bishops and is not part of any ecclesiastical province, whilst being a full member of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. The chaplains (padres) are drawn from the dioceses of England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and the Commonwealth, as well as from some religious orders. Chaplains have spiritual and pastoral care of military personnel and their families.
Until 1986, military ordinariates were called "military vicariates" and had a status similar to that of apostolic vicariates which are headed by a bishop who receives his authority by delegation from the Pope. The apostolic constitution Spirituali Militum Curae of 21 April 1986 raised their status, declaring that the bishop who heads one of them is an "ordinary", holding authority by virtue of his office, and not by delegation from another person in authority.
There is sometimes confusion between the holder of this Catholic post and the Anglican "Bishop to the Forces": for this reason the former is normally referred to as "the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Forces".