Wow!  do I agree with the simple fact that bishops need to make pastoral decisions, not just blindly follow rules.  I really do think they are afraid of simply facing people who can't stand any exceptions to any rule, who think life is lived by some master script from which all words are to be spoken and every action allowed is carefully choreographed.  Life as ritual.

I don't know if the "rules" even allow individual bishops to make these kinds of decisions any more.  JPII and BXVI tied things into such tight, intricate knots, not really trusting bishops and pulling as much power into the Vatican as they could.  

I imagine the bishop could ask Pope Francis to make an exception, but then I think he is under ++Kurtz, who doesn't strike me as the pastoral type, more the culture warrior type.