Pope Leo XIV on Aug. 29 said bishops of the Eastern Catholic Churches can remove their patriarchs when assembled in synod, though the Holy Father said the pope must still give his assent to the proposal.
The pope made the declaration in an apostolic letter issued motu proprio titled Mutua Concordia. The letter modified canons 106 and 126 of the Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium.
The pope in the letter said the "mutual concord" between the head of an Eastern Church and the church's bishops "is the soul of communion of the Eastern ecclesiastical hierarchy."
If the "sacred bond" between the two "were to be irreparably compromised, this would constitute a grave wound requiring a remedy," the pope said. In such situations, the bishops in question "must be able to exercise canonical authority" to remedy the crisis.
Synods will thus have the power to "[remove] their own Patriarch from office for a grave cause," the pope said. Such a procedure would still guarantee the patriarch in question "a full defense before the synod," the pope noted.
The pope, however, will retain "the sole concession of consent to the synodal decision," Leo wrote. That provision will ensure "that the full freedom of the Fathers in expressing their choice is guaranteed, sheltered from any possible internal or external undue pressure."
The order comes into effect "immediately," Leo wrote in the letter.
In June Leo emphasized the "great gift" the Eastern Catholic Churches offer to the Universal Church, which he said is "often unaware of the diverse ecclesial traditions within its ranks."
"The Christian East can only be preserved if it is understood: to lose that understanding is to impoverish the Church," the pope told the Reunion of Aid Agencies for the Oriental Churches at the time.
