Pope Francis on Monday issued a new motu proprio, a change to canon law impacting the Eastern Catholic Churches of the Catholic communion.
The change puts an age limit on the Eastern Catholic bishops who participate in the synods of bishops of Eastern Catholic Churches — restricting the “active voice” of retired Eastern bishops over the age of 80.
The Eastern Catholic Churches headed by patriarchs — six in total — and those headed by major archbishops — another four — each have a leadership and governance institution called the “synod of bishops.”
That institution, the synod of bishops, is composed of all the bishops who belong to the particular Eastern Church — or nearly all of them.
The synod of bishops has deliberative governing authority in the Eastern Catholic Churches in which it exists — it elects a patriarch, is involved directly in the appointment of bishops and the creation of new dioceses (called eparchies), and is required to be either consulted by the patriarch, or to give consent, on a number of important financial, administrative, or personnel decisions for the Eastern Catholic Church in question.