Wednesday Liturgy: Follow-up: New Priests Blessing Bishops
ROME, MAY 12, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university.
Related to the April 28 question of priests blessing bishops, a reader from Kampala, Uganda, asked: "Can a bishop in a given case of emergency delegate a priest to ordain another priest? It is the bishop who has the fullness of the priesthood of Christ. Yet even priests are configured to the priesthood of Christ at ordination: Alter Christus! How full is the fullness of the priesthood of Christ in a bishop vis-à-vis the fullness of the priesthood of Christ in an ordained priest?"
This question would really require a highly nuanced theological treatise, and a brief answer risks being simplistic.
With this caveat in mind I would say the following. Bishops have the fullness of the sacrament of holy orders. Priests have a lesser participation and deacons a different participation which does not entail priesthood but rather service at the altar, at the table of the Word, and toward those in need.
Even though it is hard to avoid terms such as "more" and "less" when speaking of the degrees of holy orders, it should be said that each ministry lacks nothing that is necessary for carrying out its precise mission within the Church. The fact that some functions are reserved to particular ministers does not mean that the other ministers are deprived of these functions, but that they are not required for the specific mission.
In this sense the ministry of the bishop, having the fullness of the priesthood, goes beyond the power of ordination and directly entails his function as the shepherd and principle of unity of the local church through whom unity with the universal Church is established. Priests and deacons in their respective ministries collaborate with the bishop, and the ecclesial effectiveness of their ministry requires communion with him.
Regarding the question at hand, in case of necessity, Latin-rite bishops may delegate to priests the celebration of the sacrament of confirmation. This faculty may only be validly used within the confines of the diocese itself. Eastern Catholic priests habitually confirm infants immediately following baptism.
The ordination of priests, however, is not delegable (Canon 1012 of the Code of Canon Law). Only a bishop has the power to ordain deacons and priests. Priests do not have this power as it is not required for their mission.
There is some debate as to whether a pope could authorize priests to do so. The only reason this possibility was aired is due to the existence of some medieval documents in which three popes, between the years 1400 and 1489, granted privileges to certain abbots to ordain deacons and priests.
The documents in question are of dubious theological value, the actual historical circumstances are rather murky, and the aforementioned privileges were all later withdrawn. The actual ordinations, however, were not declared invalid, and so it remains a hypothetical question if a precise papal concession might allow for an exception to the general rule.
Related to the April 28 question of priests blessing bishops, a reader from Kampala, Uganda, asked: "Can a bishop in a given case of emergency delegate a priest to ordain another priest? It is the bishop who has the fullness of the priesthood of Christ. Yet even priests are configured to the priesthood of Christ at ordination: Alter Christus! How full is the fullness of the priesthood of Christ in a bishop vis-à-vis the fullness of the priesthood of Christ in an ordained priest?"
This question would really require a highly nuanced theological treatise, and a brief answer risks being simplistic.
With this caveat in mind I would say the following. Bishops have the fullness of the sacrament of holy orders. Priests have a lesser participation and deacons a different participation which does not entail priesthood but rather service at the altar, at the table of the Word, and toward those in need.
Even though it is hard to avoid terms such as "more" and "less" when speaking of the degrees of holy orders, it should be said that each ministry lacks nothing that is necessary for carrying out its precise mission within the Church. The fact that some functions are reserved to particular ministers does not mean that the other ministers are deprived of these functions, but that they are not required for the specific mission.
In this sense the ministry of the bishop, having the fullness of the priesthood, goes beyond the power of ordination and directly entails his function as the shepherd and principle of unity of the local church through whom unity with the universal Church is established. Priests and deacons in their respective ministries collaborate with the bishop, and the ecclesial effectiveness of their ministry requires communion with him.
Regarding the question at hand, in case of necessity, Latin-rite bishops may delegate to priests the celebration of the sacrament of confirmation. This faculty may only be validly used within the confines of the diocese itself. Eastern Catholic priests habitually confirm infants immediately following baptism.
The ordination of priests, however, is not delegable (Canon 1012 of the Code of Canon Law). Only a bishop has the power to ordain deacons and priests. Priests do not have this power as it is not required for their mission.
There is some debate as to whether a pope could authorize priests to do so. The only reason this possibility was aired is due to the existence of some medieval documents in which three popes, between the years 1400 and 1489, granted privileges to certain abbots to ordain deacons and priests.
The documents in question are of dubious theological value, the actual historical circumstances are rather murky, and the aforementioned privileges were all later withdrawn. The actual ordinations, however, were not declared invalid, and so it remains a hypothetical question if a precise papal concession might allow for an exception to the general rule.
posted by Chipi Buenafe at
9:16 AM
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