Moral Theology / A Complete Course Based on St. Thomas Aquinas and the Best Modern Authorities

by John A. McHugh; Charles J. Callan

(b) the hierarchy of jurisdiction is composed of those members of the Church who receive in their accepted election or canonical commission a power over the faithful which can be lost or resigned, and which relates to the instruction and government of subjects in matters of faith and morals. From divine law this hierarchy is composed of the Supreme Pontificate and the subordinate Episcopate; from ecclesiastical law there are other ranks of authority, such as those of parish-priest, prelate, abbot, archbishop, primate, patriarch and cardinal.

2780. The Matter and Form of the Various Orders in the Latin Church.—(a) In the Minor Orders the matter consists in the bestowal of the symbols of office, and the form in the words of ordination that accompany this bestowal. The porter is ordained when he touches with his right hand the keys of the church which the bishop presents to him with the words: “Conduct yourself as one who must give an accounting for the things that are under those keys”, the reader, when he touches the lectionary (i.e., Missal, Breviary, Bible) offered him by the bishop with the form: “Receive this book and announce well the Word of God, knowing that, if you perform your office faithfully and usefully, you shall receive a portion with those who from the beginning have been good ministers of God’s word”; the exorcist, when he touches the book of exorcisms (e.g., the Ritual, Pontifical or Missal) presented to him with the words: “Receive and commit to memory and have power to impose hands on the possessed, whether baptized or catechumens”, the acolyte, when he touches the symbols of his office (i.e., first the candle and candlestick, next the empty cruet), while the words are said: “Receive this candlestick and candle and know that you are deputed to light the lamps of the church, in the name of the Lord”; “Receive this cruet to furnish the wine and water for the Eucharist of the blood of Christ, in the name of the Lord.” “Amen” should be added by the acolyte after each form.

(b) In the subdiaconate, ordination is given when the candidate touches the empty chalice and the paten (the Bishop saying: “See what a ministry is committed to you; I admonish you, therefore, so to conduct yourselves that you may be pleasing to God”) and the Book of Epistles, such as Missal or Bible (the Bishop saying: “Receive the Book of Epistles and have power to read them in the holy Church of God, both for the living and for the dead. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”).

(c) Pope Pius XII in an official decree, an Apostolic Constitution of Nov. 30, 1947 (see AAS, 40-5), determined the essential elements of ordination to diaconate, priesthood and episcopate. Formerly this had been a matter of discussion among theologians. In the diaconate ordination is given by the single imposition of the hands of the Bishop that occurs in the rite with the words of the “Preface,” of which these are the essential: “Send into him, We ask, O Lord, the Holy Spirit, by which he shall be strengthened by the gift of Thy sevenfold grace for the faithful performance of the work of the ministry.”

(d) The matter of the priesthood is the first imposition of hands of the Bishop which is made in silence. The form consists in the words of the “Preface” of which these are the essential and required for validity: “Give, we ask Thee, omnipotent Father, to this Thy servant the dignity of the priesthood ...”

(e) In episcopal consecration the matter is the imposition of the hands of the consecrating Bishop; the form is the “Preface,” the essential words being: “Fill out in Thy priest the fullness of the ministry....”

It is a disputed matter whether the episcopacy is a distinct Order from the priesthood or simply an extension of it. The common opinion favors the negative side and consequently maintains that the consecration of a Bishop is not sacramental. Accordingly, the supreme Order of Priesthood includes the simple priests or presbyters and the high priests or bishops. The episcopacy confers no new power in reference to the Eucharist, but it extends the character of the priesthood to new powers in reference to Christ’s Mystical Body, the Church.

2781. The Minister of Ordination.—(a) For validity it is necessary that the minister be a consecrated bishop; but the Orders of ecclesiastical institution (i.e., subdiaconate and Minor Orders) may be given by a priest authorized by law, or by special indult of the Apostolic See. Thus, Cardinals, Vicars and Prefects Apostolic, and Abbots have the power of conferring tonsure and Minor Orders from Canon 239.

(b) For lawfulness it is necessary that the consecrator of a bishop be the Pope or a bishop designated by him; that the ordainer to other ranks of the clergy be the proper bishop of the candidate (i.e., the bishop of his place of origin and residence or of his place of domicile), or a delegated bishop (i.e., the bishop who has received dimissorial letters from the proper bishop or religious superior). See Canons 951-967.

2782. The Special Duties of the Minister.-(a) As to the ordinandus, the ordaining prelate must be morally certain from positive arguments that the candidate is suitable according to the Canons; otherwise he would be guilty of a very grievous sin and would expose himself to the danger of sharing in the sins of others (I Tim., v. 22; Canon 973, n. 3).