Editing Titular bishop (section)

== Catholic Church ==

{{Catholic Church Hierarchy}}
In the [[Catholic Church]], a titular bishop is a [[Bishop (Catholic Church)#Titular archbishop or titular bishop|bishop]] who is not in charge of a [[diocese]].<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P1D.HTM Code of Canon Law (1983), canon 376. Quote=Bishops to whom the care of some diocese is entrusted are called diocesan; others are called titular]</ref> Examples of bishops belonging to this category are [[coadjutor bishop]]s, [[auxiliary bishop]]s, bishops [[emeritus|emeriti]], [[vicar apostolic|vicars apostolic]], [[nuncio]]s, superiors of departments in the [[Roman Curia]], and [[Cardinal (Catholicism)#Cardinal bishops|cardinal bishops]] of [[suburbicarian diocese]]s (since they are not in charge of the suburbicarian dioceses).  Most titular bishops hold the title to a [[titular see]]. Assigning titular sees serves two purposes.  Since part of being a bishop means being the head of a [[Christian church]], titular sees serve that purpose for bishops without a diocese. At the same time, the office of titular bishop memorializes ancient Churches, most of which were suppressed because they fell into the hands of non-Christian conquerors. For this reason the former terminology was not "titular bishop" but "bishop in infidel regions" (''in partibus infidelium''). In recent times the names of titular sees are drawn also in numerous cases from those of former dioceses which were absorbed into other dioceses or expanded and hence moved to larger towns and cities.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}

Since 1970, there are two more exceptions.  Diocesan bishops who resign their see or are transferred to a non-diocesan appointment are no longer habitually transferred to a titular see. Instead, they take the title ''Bishop'' (or ''Archbishop'') ''[[Emeritus]]'' of the last see.  Also, [[Coadjutor bishop|coadjutors]] are no longer named to titular sees, instead taking the title ''Coadjutor Bishop'' (or ''Coadjutor Archbishop'') of the see they will inherit. In other cases titular bishops still take a titular see.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}

Beginning in 2019, titular sees are no longer being assigned to new Vicars Apostolic.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}

When [[Francis Joseph Green|Francis Green]]<ref>{{Catholic-hierarchy|bishop|bgreenf|Bishop Francis Joseph Green|21 January 2015}}</ref> was named Coadjutor Bishop of [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson|Tucson]], Arizona, in 1960, his official title remained "[[Serra (titular see)|Titular Bishop of Serra]]" until he succeeded [[Daniel James Gercke]] later that same year. However, when [[Gerald Kicanas]]<ref>{{Catholic-hierarchy|bishop|bkicanas|Bishop Gerald Frederick Kicanas|21 January 2015}}</ref> became Coadjutor Bishop of Tucson in 2001, he ceased being [[Diocese of Bela|Titular Bishop of Bela]]. He  remained a titular bishop until he succeeded Manuel Moreno in 2003, but his official title changed from "Titular Bishop of Bela" to "Coadjutor Bishop of Tucson".

Cardinal Bishops of [[suburbicarian diocese]]s are also titular bishops, but unlike others, they hold titles to existing dioceses, namely one or more of the suburbicarian sees near Rome. While they do not govern their see, they are obliged to give it their patronage. [[Angelo Sodano]], as Cardinal [[Bishop of Albano]],<ref>{{Catholic-hierarchy|bishop|bsodano|Angelo Cardinal Sodano|21 January 2015}}</ref> was titular bishop of the see, while Bishop Marcello Semeraro is its actual diocesan bishop.<ref>{{Catholic-hierarchy|bishop|bsemeraro|Bishop Marcello Semeraro|21 January 2015}}</ref> The Cardinal Dean is by tradition [[Cardinal Bishop of Ostia]], in addition to the suburbicarian see he previously held.

Occasionally, the transfer of a diocesan bishop to a titular see has been used by the [[Holy See]] to strip of responsibilities a bishop whose behavior was disapproved. For instance, in 1995, [[Jacques Gaillot]], known for his activism on Catholic-sensitive social and political topics (such as support for contraception and [[Catholic Church and abortion|abortion]]), was transferred from the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Évreux|see of Évreux]] in [[France]] to [[Parthenia (Mauretania)|Parthenia]], a titular see in [[Algeria]], instead of becoming Bishop Emeritus of Évreux.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}