THE Bishops of Westminster are to adopt a new-style procedure

before moving any of their clergy during an experimental period of three years.
No priest will be moved without discussing the matter with his bishop. The priest will have the chance to express his views on the proposed move, and both the parish from which he is moving and the parish to which he is going will be consulted.
In a letter to the priests of the diocese explaining the new procedure, Cardinal Hume also said that all appointments would he confirmed in writing and that all interested parties would he similarly informed.
Each month, each of Westminster's five area bishops will meet the deans of their area to consider the local situation, whether there are any priests who need or wish to move and whether there are any vacant posts to he filled.
If a priest is to he moved within the same area, the area bishop himself will make the appointment. If the appointment involves moving a priest to another area it will be discussed by all the bishops and Cardinal Hume at one of the regular meetings held to review the allocation of priests in the diocese.
The appointment will then be made collectively by all the bishops.
At this stage the bishops are reluctant to lay down firm rules about how long a priest should occupy a post, but they have issued guidelines including the principle that it should become diocesan policy for a priest to review the tenure of his post regularly with his bishop.
The bishops hope that priests will agree voluntarily to undertake this review, and that on taking up new appointments they should realise that it is the bishops' wish that such a review should take place regularly.
The bishops have also said that a newly ordained priest's first appointment will normally he for a maximum of five years, and have asked that all newly-appointed parish priests should attend in-service training courses which will be provided periodically by the diocese.