He needs them[53] in order to
make up for the insufficiency of his local clergy in arousing the
spirit of devotion in his parishes and in enforcing sound doctrine in
his seminaries. Now, between these two forces a common understanding
is difficult; the former, adjuncts and flying about, march in front;
the latter, holding the ground and stationary, look upon the new-
comers as usurpers who lessen both their popularity and their fees; a
bishop must possess great tact as well as energy to impose on both
bodies of this clergy, if not an intimate union, at least mutual aid
and a collaboration without conflict. - As to the nuns,[54] he is
their ordinary, the sole arbiter, overseer and ruler over all these
cloistered lives; he receives their vows, and renders them free of
them; it is he who, after due inquiry and examination, authorizes each
entrance into the community or a return to society, at first each
admission or novitiate, and next each profession of faith or
assumption of the veil, every dismissal or departure of a nun, every
claim that one makes, every grave act of severity or decision on the
part of the superior.
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