(b) As to the ordination, the minister is bound to observe the law on time and place, and to follow carefully and exactly the ceremonies of his own Rite. If anything essential is omitted, it has to be supplied, absolutely or conditionally, according as there is certain or only doubtful lack. The omission of an accidental but notable ceremony (e.g., the anointing of hands) would be seriously culpable (Canons 1002-1009).
2783. The Recipient of Orders.—(a) For validity it is necessary that the recipient be of the male sex, for the divine law has reserved sacerdotal and ministerial functions to men, and the church law has properly followed this example in regard to the Orders that are of church institution; the recipient must be baptized, for without Baptism one has no capacity for other Sacraments; if he is an adult, he must have at least an habitual intention freely formed of receiving the Order to which he is raised.
(b) For lawfulness it is not sufficient that the recipient be in the state of grace, since Ordination is not merely a personal matter, but also a matter of great consequence to the whole Church. The recipient of Orders takes his place among the representatives and ministers of the Church, and therefore he should have the special qualities that fit him for his dignity and office. Intellectually, the ordinandus must be competent in theological and profane knowledge, and must have made a satisfactory course of studies (Canons 972, 1364 sqq., 589-591). According to the Code, first tonsure should not be given before the study of theology has begun, Minor Orders may be given during the first and second years of theology, subdeaconship only towards the end of the third year, deaconship only after the beginning of the fourth year, and priesthood only after the first half of the fourth year (Canon 976). Morally, the ordinandus should be of commendable life and have the internal and external excellence which is supposed by the Order he is to receive. Virtues to which the Pontifical especially exhorts clerics at their ordination are love and labor given to the Church and the things of God’s house (porter), devotion to the Scriptures and sacred study (lector), conquest of passion (exorcist), the light of good example and the self-sacrifice of good works (acolyte), temperance, vigilance, prayerfulness (subdeacon), liberality to the poor, chastity, fortitude, zeal for preaching the word of God (deacon), elderliness in dignity, leadership in virtue, and justice in stewardship (priesthood). No one should be admitted to a Sacred Order who is unable to overcome a serious habit of sin (especially _in materia turpi_), even though secret; and if there is doubt about amendment, a test during a suitable period of time should be made.
2784. Canonical Requirements for Ordination.—(a) Positive requirements are: proper age (that is, the twenty-first, twenty-second, and twenty-fourth years completed are necessary for subdeaconship, deaconship, priesthood, respectively); Confirmation should have been received before Ordination, for it is suitable that those who are to strengthen others in the faith should have the character of soldier of Christ; promotion from Order to Order should be from lower to higher in proper succession, that fitness may be shown in lesser offices before the greater are received; an interval must elapse between certain Orders, which will give to clerics the opportunity to exercise the powers they have received (e.g., between acolythate and subdiaconate a year, between subdiaconate and diaconate three months); the candidate for sacred ordination must have a title or some canonical means of support (i.e., for secular clergy the title of benefice, or patrimony or ministerial service; for religious the title of profession, common life, etc.). The law allows certain dispensations from some of these requirements (Canons 974 sqq.).
(b) Negative requirements are freedom from certain disabilities introduced by the Church for the sake of the honor and dignity of the sacred ministry. Some of these disqualifications are of their nature permanent, and they are removed only by dispensation or by disposition of the law (e.g., in certain cases by cessation of the cause, or by baptism, or by religious profession), and these are known as irregularities; other disqualifications, which are of their nature temporary and cease with lapse of time or changes in circumstances, are known as simple impediments. The effect of disqualification is to make it unlawful to receive an Order, or to exercise an Order already received. Irregularities are produced either by deficiency or by delinquency, but the cause in either case must be certain; and, in case of delinquency, it must be a personal sin committed after Baptism, which is mortal, external, and consummated in act. The irregularities from defect are: illegitimate birth; mental imperfection (such as epilepsy, insanity, possession); bodily imperfection that makes one unsuited for the service of the altar, on account of mutilation (e.g., those who have lost hand or foot, or thumb or index finger), or of unsoundness (e.g., the blind, the deaf, the dumb, cripples, paralytics), or of very noticeable deformity that excites ridicule or horror (e.g., dwarfs, giants, noseless persons, those who are hunchbacked); successive bigamy, that is, the fact that one has been twice validly married, for St. Paul ruled that a cleric should be a man of not more than one wife (I Tim., iii. 2, 12; Tit., i. 5, 6); infamy of law, that is, the commission of certain crimes which the law declares infamous _ipso facto_ or after sentence (such as profanation of the Eucharist or of graves, violence done to the Pope or a Cardinal, duelling, simultaneous bigamy, and certain sexual sins); participation in capital punishment by pronouncing (i.e., as judge or juryman) or executing the sentence of death. The irregularities from delinquency are: apostasy, heresy, schism; reception of Baptism from a non-Catholic; attempt at adulterous or sacrilegious marriage; voluntary homicide, cooperation in an abortion, mutilation of self or of another, attempt to commit suicide; unlawful exercise of medicine or surgery by a cleric with fatal results; unlawful exercise of the powers of Major Orders by a cleric or layman. The simple impediments are found in the following: in those who may be weak in faith, namely, persons whose parents are non-Catholics, or who are themselves converts (I Tim., iii. 6); in those who are prevented by other occupations, namely, persons held by marriage, business forbidden to clerics, slavery, military service (II Tim., ii. 4); in those who are actually in bad repute before the community on account of misconduct (I Tim., iii. 7). See Canons 983-991.
2785. Duties of Ordinandi According to Canon Law.—(a) Before Ordination.—Application to the bishop must be made beforehand at an opportune time, and testimonials of Baptism, Confirmation, Orders already received, certificates of good character and studies, and letters from superiors testifying to freedom from impediments and general fitness must be presented. The candidate must undergo a special examination and make a spiritual retreat before the day of his ordination. The profession of faith is made before subdeaconship.
(b) During Ordination.—All the ceremonies should be observed, and especially the physical touching of the instruments (chalice and paten, etc.), which seems to be essential in Minor Orders and the Subdiaconate. In the imposition of the hands in the other Major Orders, the head of the subject should be touched physically, although even moral touch is sufficient for validity of the Sacrament (Pius XII, Apostolic Constitution already cited). The law requires that the recipients of Major Orders receive Communion, and the obligations seems to be grave for the new priests, since they celebrate with the bishop.
(c) After Ordination.—The nocturn (three Psalms and their antiphons) which the ordaining prelate imposes on the newly ordained subdeacons and deacons should be taken from the first nocturn of the day, whether it be feria, feast or Sunday, unless the bishop appoints otherwise. The three Masses of the Holy Ghost, Blessed Virgin, and for the dead, imposed on the newly ordained priests, need not be applied for the bishop’s intention, and a stipend may be taken when they are said; but it is fitting that they be applied in thanksgiving and for the benefit of the bishop as well as of the whole Church on earth and in Purgatory. These prayers and Masses do not seem to oblige under sin, though some hold them to bind _sub gravi_. On the life duties of the clergy, see above (2596 sqq.).
2786. Registration of Ordinations.—As in the case of marriage, ordinations should be registered in a special book and notice of them (if subdiaconate was received) should be sent to the pastor of the parish of Baptism. A certificate of ordination is also to be given to the cleric ordained (Canons 1010, 1011).
2787. The Sacrament of Matrimony.—Marriage in general is defined as “the conjugal union of man and woman, contracted between two qualified persons, which obliges them to one another for life.”