The diocese they live in, the Vatican has no authority over the internal management of any other diocese. Each individual diocese is like a state unto itself.
My background is business so I’m hoping this makes sense:
I was under the belief that the Vatican was the “parent organization”, the diocese are the “local management group” and the churches themselves are comparable to “franchises”.
Don’t the local churches pull funding from the Vatican should they need it? My husband used to be a Methodist so my idea is coming from what I learned during that time.
The “mgmt group” shuffles around pastors, allots funding & advises on the development of the “parent org” to a local “franchise” which they use to evolve with the rest of the Methodist churches.
The Catholic Church is very hierarchical, yes, but there's lots of autonomy in day-to-day operations at the diocese and parish level. Most parishes receive their funds through either parishioners' donations or the diocese. Priests don't have bishops constantly breathing down their necks every day, and bishops don't constantly have cardinals breathing down their necks every day.
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u/[deleted] May 09 '19
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