In a lengthy interview in the Irish Times, Archbishop Charles Brown said this was because "when the Pope asks someone to be a bishop, it's a very personal invitation".

None of the ten bishops appointed under Archbishop Brown's watch in Ireland was from the diocese he now leads.

The archbishop said appointments from outside dioceses was "not an absolute rule written in stone".

But he said it is "fair to say that in the Church universal, generally, for the past probably 10 or 15 years the tendency has been to appoint new bishops from outside dioceses".

Continue reading