vow of celibacy, whereas most Eastern Catholic Churches permit married men to be ordained.[3] Deacons are male and usually belong to the diocesan clergy, but, unlike almost all Latin Church (Western Catholic) priests and all bishops from Eastern or Western Catholicism, they may marry as laymen before their ordination as clergy.[4] Priesthood is open only to men; women are excluded. The Catholic Church teaches that when a man participates in priesthood after the Sacrament of Holy Orders, he acts in persona Christi Capitis, representing the person of Christ.[5]
Unlike usage in English, "the Latin words sacerdos and
religious orders.[7] A priest of the regular clergy is commonly addressed with the title "Father" (contracted to Fr, in the Catholic and some other Christian churches).[8]
Catholics living a
secular priests) most often serve as clergy to a specific church or in an office of a specific diocese or in Rome.[9]
History
Traditional Latin Mass
Catholic priests are ordained by bishops through the sacrament of
Twelve Apostles, in some versions of the Gospel of Luke commanding them to "do this in memory of me". (Some Protestant critics have challenged the historical accuracy of the claim of unbroken succession.[10]
)
Catholic tradition says the apostles in turn selected other men to succeed them as the bishops (episkopoi, Greek for "overseers") of the Christian communities, with whom were associated
diaconate evolved as the liturgical assistants of the bishop and his delegate for the administration of church funds and programmes for the poor. Today, the rank of "presbyter" is typically what one thinks of as a priest, although church catechism considers both a bishop and a presbyter as "priests".[11]
The Pentarchic Church of the three first Holy Synods share the tradition of the sacrament of ordination by which the grace of apostolic succession is secured; this includes the
Pontifexes
, sovereign heads of the church-hierarchy. There are different requirements for the performance of the Eucharistic ceremony to be valid among different kinds of Christian denominations, in regard of who are to oversee the sanctity of the Eucharist and stand as guarantor that the Holy Service is properly performed. There are significant differences particularly regarding the strictness/liberality of whom are welcome to receive the sacraments.
, over a dispute in the wording of the Anglican ceremony starting in the 1500s.
In the time of National Socialism there were countless priests who offered resistance. In many cases they acted against the instructions of their church superiors. Many were executed or sent to concentration camps. The Austrian priest Heinrich Maier, who saw himself as Miles Christi, headed a resistance group which, among other things, passed on plans and production sites for V-2 rockets, Tiger tanks, Messerschmitt Bf 109, Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet and other aircraft to the Allies, which were crucial for the war. The Group informed very early about the mass murder of Jews. Like Maier, many priests were brutally tortured by the Gestapo and in the concentration camps.[12][13][14][15]
Since 1970, the number of Catholic priests in the world has decreased by about 5,000, to 414,313 priests as of 2012.
Catholic missionaries
being sent from Western countries to the rest of the world.
Only men are allowed to receive holy orders, and the church does not allow any transgender people to do so.[17][18]
In the 1990s and 2000s, the cases of sexual abuse by Catholic priests gained worldwide attention, with thousands of accused priests and tens of thousands of alleged victims. The church estimated that over the 50 years ending in 2009, between 1.5% and 5% of Catholic priests had a sexual encounter with a minor,[19] and Thomas Plante estimated a figure of 4%.[20][21] Public anger was fueled by the revelation that many accused priests were transferred to another parish rather than being removed from ministry or reported to police. The scandal caused some Catholics to leave the church, made recruitment of new priests more difficult, and resulted in billions of dollars in lawsuit settlements and bankruptcies that increased financial pressure to close parishes with declining membership. In February 2019, clerical abuse of nuns, including sexual slavery, has been acknowledged by the Pope.[22][23]
offered animal sacrifices at various times throughout the year for a variety of reasons.
In Christian theology, Jesus is the Lamb provided by God himself as the sacrifice for the sins of the world. Before his death on the cross, Jesus celebrated the Passover with his disciples (the Last Supper) and offered blessings over the bread and wine respectively, saying: "Take and eat. This is my body" and "Drink from this all of you, for this is my blood, the blood of the covenant, poured out for the forgiveness of sins." (Matthew 26:26–28 Jerusalem Bible). The next day Christ's body and blood were visibly sacrificed on the cross.
Catholics believe that it is this same body, sacrificed on the cross and risen on the third day and united with Christ's divinity, soul and blood which is made present in the offering of each Eucharistic sacrifice which is called the
Mass. At the same time, the accidents (that is, the outward appearances and attributes) remain that of bread and wine: i.e. under normal circumstances, scientific analysis of the Eucharistic elements would indicate the physical-material properties of wine and bread.[25][26]
Thus Catholic priests, in celebrating the Eucharist, join each offering of the Eucharistic elements in union with the sacrifice of Christ.[27] Through their celebration of the Holy Eucharist, they make present the one eternal sacrifice of Christ on the cross.
The Catholic Church teaches that the Sacrifice of the Mass and the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross are one and the same sacrifice (as decrees in the Council of Trent affirmed);[28] "The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice,"[29] whereas the Jewish concept of memorial states "..the memorial is not merely a recollection of past events....these events become in a certain way present and real" and thus "...the sacrifice Christ offered once and for all on the cross remains ever present."[29] Properly speaking, in Catholic theology, as expressed by Saint Thomas Aquinas, "Only Christ is the true priest, the others being only his ministers."[30] Thus, Catholic clergy share in the one, unique, Priesthood of Christ as his instruments.[31]
Education
See also:
List of Roman Catholic seminaries
The
Bishops' Conferences for local more detailed regulation. As a general rule, education is extensive and lasts at least five or six years, depending on the national Programme of Priestly Formation.[32]
In the United States, priests must have undergraduate-level instruction in philosophy plus an additional four to five years of graduate-level seminary formation in theology. A Master of Divinity is the most common degree. A preparatory (propaedeutic) year is now being added by many dioceses in the U.S. This spiritual year prepares aspirants for their eventual philosophical and theological studies.
In Scotland, there is a mandatory year of preparation before entering seminary for a year dedicated to spiritual formation, followed by several years of study.
In Germany and Austria, priest candidates graduate with an academic degree (Magister theologiae, Diplom-Theologe, Master of Arts in Theology). The degree takes five years and is preceded by a year of spiritual formation (plus learning of the ancient languages) and followed by two years of pastoral practice (during which the candidate is ordained to the deaconate). Usually, priests spend all of that time in a seminary except one "free year".
In Africa, Asia and South America, programmes are more flexible, being developed according to the age and academic abilities of those preparing for ordination.
Regardless of where a person prepares for ordination, the process includes not only academic but also human, social, spiritual and pastoral formation. The purpose of
Superior General
) is responsible for the official call to priesthood, and only a bishop may ordain. Any ordinations done before the normally scheduled time (before study completion) must have the explicit approval of the bishop.
Rite of Ordination
During the Rite of Ordination, after the bishop, the priests present lay their hands on the ordinands.Coat of arms of a Catholic priest
Main article:
Holy Orders (Catholic Church) § Rite
The Rite of Ordination is what makes one a priest, having already been a deacon and with the minister of
The Rite of Ordination occurs within the context of Holy Mass. After being called forward and presented to the assembly, the candidates are interrogated. Each promises to diligently perform the duties of the Priesthood and to respect and obey his
ordinary (bishop or religious superior). Then the candidates lie prostrate before the altar, while the assembled faithful kneel and pray for the help of all the saints in the singing of the Litany of the Saints. The essential part of the rite is when the bishop silently lays his hands upon each candidate (followed by all priests present), before offering the consecratory prayer, addressed to God the Father, invoking the power of the Holy Spirit upon those being ordained. After the consecratory prayer, the newly ordained is vested with the stole and chasuble of those belonging to the Ministerial Priesthood and then the bishop anoints his hands with chrism before presenting him with the chalice and paten which he will use when presiding at the Eucharist.[citation needed
The earliest Christians were Jews and Jewish tradition has always deemed the married state as more spiritual than the celibate state.
I Corinthians 7, Paul makes it clear that celibacy is superior to the married state: "Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do... I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world... An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs; [b]ut a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world[.] I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord. ...So then, he who marries the virgin does right, but he who does not marry her does better."[38]
From its beginnings, the idea of clerical celibacy has been contested in canon courts, in theology, and in religious practices. Celibacy for Roman Catholic priests was not mandated under canon law for the universal church until the Second Lateran Council in 1139.[39]
The
Council of Elvira in Spain (c. 305–306) was the first council to call for clerical celibacy. In February 385, Pope Siricius wrote the Directa decretal, which was a long letter to Spanish bishop Himerius of Tarragona, replying to the bishop's requests on various subjects, which had been sent several months earlier to Pope Damasus I.[40] It was the first of a series of documents published by the church's magisterium that claimed apostolic origin for clerical celibacy
.
After the Great Schism
Within a century of the Great Schism of 1054, the Churches of the East and West arrived at different disciplines as to abstaining from sexual contact during marriage. In the East, candidates for the priesthood could be married with permission to have regular sexual relations with their wives, but were required to abstain before celebrating the Eucharist. An unmarried person, once ordained, could not marry. Additionally, the Christian East required that, before becoming a bishop, a priest separate from his wife (she was permitted to object), with her typically becoming a nun. In the East, more normally, bishops are chosen from those priests who are monks and are thus unmarried.
In the West, the law of celibacy became mandatory by Pope Gregory VII at the Roman Synod of 1074.[41][42] This law mandated that, in order to become a candidate for ordination, a man could not be married. The law remains in effect in the Latin Church, although not for those who are priests of the Eastern Catholic Churches, who remain under their own discipline. (These churches either remained in or returned to full communion with Rome after the schism, unlike for example the Eastern Orthodox Church which is now entirely separate). The issue of mandatory celibacy in the Latin Church continues to be debated.[citation needed]
Duties of a Catholic priest
Bishops, priests, and deacons who want to become priests are also required to recite the principal and minor offices of the Liturgy of the Hours, or Divine Office, daily,[43] a practice which is also followed by non-ordained people in some religious orders.
A priest who is a
diocesan priests and deacons, and serves under the local diocesan bishop, who is in charge of the many parishes in the territory of the diocese or archdiocese. In some cases due to the shortage of priests and the expense of a full-time priest for depopulated parishes, a team of priests in solidum
may share the management of several parishes.
According to Catholic doctrine, a priest or bishop is necessary in order to perform the ceremony of the
martyred
for their faith.
According to canon law, a parish priest or bishop, or another priest or deacon delegated by them, ordinarily performs ("assists")
Holy Matrimony, but the role can be delegated to a layperson if that is impractical and the arrangements are supported by the conference of bishops and the Holy See, and in an emergency a couple can perform the ceremony themselves as long as there are two witnesses. Church doctrine says it is the couple actually conferring marriage upon each other, and the minister is merely assisting and witnessing that it has been done properly.[48]
Eastern Catholic Churches
Romanian Eastern Catholic
priest from Romania with his family
The Catholic Church has different rules for the priesthood in the 23
Eastern Catholic Churches than those in the Latin Church. The chief difference is that most of the Eastern Catholic Churches ordain married men, whereas the Latin Church, with very few exceptions, enforces mandatory clerical celibacy. This issue has caused tension among Catholics in some situations where Eastern churches established parishes in countries with established Latin Catholic populations. In the Americas and Australia, this tension led to bans on married Eastern Catholic priests, all of which were overturned by Pope Francis in 2014.[3]
Worldwide, the number of priests has remained fairly steady since 1970, decreasing by about 5,000. This stagnation is due to a balancing of large growth in Africa and Asia and a significant decrease in North America and Europe.
^Thomas Plante: OpEd: "A Perspective on Clergy Sexual Abuse," San Jose Mercury News, 24 March 2002 (updated online version)
^Pastoral Psychology, Vol. 52, No. 5, May 2004 ( C ° 2004) "The Sexual Abuse Crisis in the Roman Catholic Church: What Psychologists and Counselors Should Know", Thomas G. Plante, 1;2;3 and Courtney Daniels1 Springer Publishing, 2004 http://www.scu.edu/cas/psychology/faculty/upload/Plante-Clergy-Paper-2.pdf
. because Eastern Christian priests were allowed to marry and therefore the clergy soon became somewhat of a caste made up of a closely - knit families
^Tarnavky, Spohady, cited in Jean-Paul Himka. (1986). The Greek Catholic Church and Ukrainian Society in Austrian Galicia. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press pg. 444
