By Catholic World Report Contributors - Gerhard Ludwig Cardinal Müller: The Catholic Church consists “in and of the particular Churches” (Lumen gentium 23) – of the dioceses led by a bishop. From this, we must distinguish that several dioceses are grouped into a patriarchal federation or, at the national level, into a bishops’ conference with an elected president. This is a matter of history, but not of dogmatic, which aims at the sacramental nature of the Church. The Bishop of Rome with the official title of Pope, as the successor of Peter, is the guarantor of the unity of the episcopate. He stands at the head of the bishops, just as Peter stood at the head of the apostles by virtue of his special calling by Christ himself ...