The Role of Bishop in Transforming the Church and the World: Two National Perspectives

Are there differences in how Canadian and United States bishops understand the pre-and post-Vatican II Church, its salvific purpose, unity, authority, collegiality, equality, empowerment, the role of women, and the bishop’s role in transforming the Church and the world? Data originally collected from interviews with five Canadian and seven United States bishops as part of a study (Bunz, 1994) investigating the role of bishop were reassessed to examine this question. Differences and similarities in how Canadian and United States bishops perceived the challenges facing the Church were discerned. It is suggested that cultural variation may account for the different perceptions of Canadian and United States bishops