THE MINISTERIAL PRIESTHOOD
THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS 30 November 1971
INTRODUCTION.........................................................1
DESCRIPTION OF THE SITUATION.........................................1
PRINCIPLES OF DOCTRINE...............................................5
1. Christ, Alpha and Omega...........................................5
2. Coming to Christ in the Church....................................6
4. The origin and nature of the hierarchical ministry................6
5. Permanence of the priesthood......................................8
6. For the service of fellowship.....................................8
7. The priest and temporal matters...................................9
GUIDELINES FOR THE PRIESTLY LIFE AND MINISTRY........................9
I. PRIESTS IN THE MISSION OF CHRIST AND THE CHURCH...................9
1. Mission: Evangelization and sacramental life......................9
2. Secular and political activity...................................12
3. The spiritual life of priests....................................13
4. Celibacy.........................................................14
II. PRIESTS IN THE COMMUNION OF THE CHURCH..........................17
1. Relations between priests and bishop.............................17
2. Relations of priests with each other.............................18
3. Relations between priests and laity..............................19
4. Economic affairs.................................................19
CONCLUSION..........................................................20
INTRODUCTION
In recent times, especially since the close of the Second
Vatican Council, the Church is experiencing a profound movement of
renewal, which all Christians should follow with great joy and with
fidelity to the Gospel. The power of the Holy spirit is present to
illumine, strengthen and perfect our mission.
Every true renewal brings the Church undoubted benefits of
great value. We well know that through the recent Council priests
have been fired with new zeal and that they have contributed much to
fostering this renewal by their daily solicitude. We have before our
minds our many heroic brothers who, in fidelity of their ministry,
live lives dedicated to God with joy, either among the peoples where
the Church is subjected to a harsh yoke or in mission lands. At the
same time, however, the renewal also entails difficulties, which are
especially felt by all in the priesthood, whether bishops or priests.
We should all scrutinize the signs of the times in this age
of renewal and interpret them in the light of the Gospel1 in order
that we may work together in distinguishing between spirits, to see if
they come from God, lest ambiguity cloud the unity of the Church's
mission or excessive uniformity hinder needed adaptation. Thus, by
testing everything and holding fast to what is good, the present
crisis can give occasion for an increase of faith.
In accordance with its importance, the Holy Father put
forward the ministerial priesthood for discussion by this year's
Synod. Before the Synod many episcopal conferences examined this
theme together with priests and quite frequently with lay people.
Some priests were also 'called to the Synod' as "auditores", to assist
the bishops in dealing with important questions.
We wish to fulfill our duty with the evangelical simplicity
which befits pastors who are serving the Church. Considering our
responsibility before the fraternal community of the Church, we desire
to strengthen the faith, uplift the hope and stimulate the love both
of our brothers in the ministerial priesthood and of all the faithful.
May our words bring solace tot he People of God and the priests
dedicated to their service and renew their joy!
DESCRIPTION OF THE SITUATION
1. The extent of the Church's mission was illustrated at
length by the Second Vatican Council. Indeed, the Church's
relationship with the world was the subject especially of the pastoral
constitution GAUDIUM ET SPES. Many good results followed from a
closer consideration of this matter: it is more clearly seen that
salvation is not an abstract category outside, as it were, of history
and time, but that it comes from God and ought to permeate the whole
Page -1-
of man and the whole history of men and lead them freely to the
Kingdom of God, so that at last "God may be all in all."2
However, as is understandable, difficulties have also
arisen: some priests feel themselves estranged from the movements
which permeate society and unable to solve the problems which touch
men deeply. Often too the problems and troubles of priests derive
from their having, in their pastoral and missionary care, to use
methods which are now perhaps obsolete to meet the modern mentality.
Serious problems and several questions then arise, especially from
real difficulties which they experience in exercising their function
and not - although this is sometimes the case - from an exasperated
spirit of protest or from selfish personal concerns. Is it possible
to exhort the laity as if from the outside? Is the Church
sufficiently present to certain groups without the active presence of
the priest? If the situation characteristic of a priest consists in
segregation from secular life, is not the situation of the laymen
better? What is to be thought of the celibacy of Latin-rite priests
in present-day circumstances, and of the personal spiritual life of
the priest immersed in the world.
2. Many priests, experiencing within themselves the
questionings that have arisen with the secularization of the world,
feel the need to sanctify worldly activities by exercising them
directly and bring the leaven of the Gospel into the midst of events.
Similarly, the desire is developing of cooperating with the joint
efforts of men to build up a more just and fraternal society. In a
world in which almost all problems have political aspects,
participation in politics and even in revolutionary activity is by
some considered indispensable.
3. The Council emphasized the pre-eminence of the
proclamation of the Gospel, which should lead through faith to the
fulness of the celebration of the sacraments. But current thinking
about the religious phenomenon fosters doubts in many minds concerning
the sense of a sacramental and cultic ministry. Many priests not
suffering from a personal identity crisis ask themselves another
question: What methods should be used so that sacramental practice may
be an expression of faith really affecting the whole of personal and
social life, in order that Christian worship should not be wrongly
reduced to a mere external ritualism?
Since priests are very concerned with the image of herself
that the Church seems to present to the world, and at the same time
are deeply conscious of the singular dignity of the human person, they
desire to bring bout a change within the Church herself in
inter-personal relationships, in relations between person and
institutions, and in the very structures of authority.
4. And still, relationships between bishops and priests and
between priests themselves are growing more difficult by the very fact
that the exercise of the ministry is becoming more diversified.
Page -2-
Present-day society is divided into many groups with different
disciplines, which call for differing skills and forms of apostolate.
This gives rise to problems concerning brotherhood, union, and
consistency in the priestly ministry.
Happily the recent Council recalled the traditional and
fruitful teaching on the common priesthood of the faithful.3 That,
however, gives rise, as by a swing of the pendulum, to certain
questions which seem to obscure the position of the priestly ministry
in the Church and which deeply trouble the minds of some priests and
faithful. Many activities which in the past were reserved to priests
- for instance, catechetical work, administrative activity in the
communities, and even liturgical activities - are today quite
frequently carried out by lay people, while on the other hand many
priests, for reasons already mentioned, are trying to involve
themselves in the condition of life of lay persons. Hence a number of
questions are being asked: Does the priestly ministry have any
specific nature? Is this ministry necessary? Is the priesthood
incapable of being lost? What does being a priest mean today? Would
it not be enough to have for the service of the Christian communities
presidents designated for the preservation of the common good, without
sacramental ordination, and exercising their office for a fixed
period?
5. Still more serious questions are posed, some of them as a
result of exegetical and historical research, which show a crisis of
confidence in the Church: Is the present-day Church too far removed
from its origins to be able to proclaim the ancient Gospel credibly to
modern man? Is it still possible to reach the reality of Christ after
so many critical investigations? Are the essential structures of the
early Church well enough known to us so that they can and must be
considered an invariable scheme for every age, including our own?
6. The above-mentioned questions, some of them new, others
already long familiar but appearing in new forms today, cannot be
understood outside the whole context of modern culture, which has
strong doubts about its meaning and value. New means of technology
have stirred up a hope based excessively on enthusiasm and at the same
time they have aroused profound anxiety. One rightly asks whether man
will be capable of being master of his work and directing it toward
progress.
Some, especially the young, despair of the meaning of this
world and look for salvation in purely meditative systems and in
artificial marginal paradises, abandoning the common striving of
mankind.
Others dedicate themselves with ardent utopian hope devoid
of reference to God to the attainment of some state of total
liberation, and transfer the meaning of their whole personal lives
from the present to the future.
Page -3-
There is therefore a profound cleavage between action and
contemplation, work and recreation, culture and religion, and between
the immanent and the transcendental aspects of human life.
Thus the world itself is obscurely awaiting a solution to
this dilemma and is paving a way whereby the Church may go forward
proclaiming the Gospel. Certainly, the only complete salvation
offered to men is Christ himself, Son of God and Son of Man, who makes
himself present in history through the Church. He joins inseparably
together love for God and the love which God has until the end for men
as they seek their way amid the shadows, and the value of human love
whereby a man gives his life for his friends. In Christ, and only in
him, do all of these become one whole, and in this synthesis the
meaning of human life, both individual and social, shines forth. The
mission of the Church, Christ's Body, far from being obsolete, is
therefore rather of the highest relevance for the present and the
future: the whole Church is the witness and effective sign of this
union, especially through the priestly ministry. The minister's
proper task in the Church's midst is to render present, by the word
and sacrament, the love of God in Christ for us, and at the same time
to promote the fellowship of men with God and with each other. All
this of course demands that we should all, especially those who
perform the sacred office, strive to renew ourselves daily in
accordance with the Gospel.
7. We know that there are some parts of the world in which
that profound cultural change has hitherto been less felt, and that
the questions raised above are not being asked everywhere, nor by all
priests, nor in the same way. But since communications between men
and peoples have today become more frequent and more speedy, we judge
it good and opportune to examine these questions in the light of faith
and to give humbly but in the strength of the Holy Spirit some
principles for finding more concrete answers to them. Although this
response must be applied differently according to the circumstances of
each region, it will have the force of truth for all those faithful
and priests who live in situations of great tranquillity. Therefore,
ardently desiring to strengthen the witness of faith, we fraternally
urge all the faithful to strive to contemplate the Lord Jesus living
in his Church and to realize that he wishes to work in a special way
through his ministers; they will thus be convinced that the Christian
community cannot fulfill its complete mission without the ministerial
priesthood. Let priests be aware that their anxieties are truly
shared by the bishops,and that the bishops desire to share them still
more.
* * *
Page -4-
Moved by this desire, the Synod Fathers, in the spirit of
the Gospel, following closely the teaching of the Second Vatican
Council, and considering also the documents and addresses of the
Supreme Pontiff Paul VI, intend to set forth briefly some principles
of the Church's teaching on the ministerial priesthood which are at
present more urgent, together with some guidelines for pastoral
practice.
Part One
PRINCIPLES OF DOCTRINE
1. Christ, Alpha and Omega
Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Word, "whom the Father
sanctified and sent into the world,"4 and who was marked with the seal
of the fullness of the Holy Spirit,5 proclaimed to the world the Good
News of reconciliation between God and men. His preaching as a
prophet, confirmed by signs, reaches it summit in the paschal mystery,
the supreme word of the divine love with which the Father addressed
us. On the cross Jesus showed himself to the greatest possible extent
to be the Good Shepherd who laid down his life for his sheep in order
to gather them into that unity which depends on himself.6 Exercising
a supreme and unique priesthood by the offering of himself, he
surpassed, by fulfilling them, all the ritual priesthoods and
holocausts of the Old Testament and indeed of the pagans. In his
sacrifice he took on himself the miseries and sacrifices of men of
every age and also the efforts of those who suffer for the cause of
justice or who are daily oppressed by misfortune. He took on himself
the endeavors of those who abandon the world and attempt to reach God
by asceticism and contemplation as well as the labors of those who
sincerely devote their lives to a better present and future society.
He bore the sins of us all on the cross; rising from the dead and
being made Lord,7 he reconciled us to God; and he laid the foundation
of the people of the New Covenant, which is the Church.
He is the "one mediator between God and men, the man Christ
Jesus,"8 "for in him were created all things"9 and everything is
brought together under him, as head.10 Since he is the image of the
Father and manifestation of the unseen God,11 by emptying himself and
by being raised up he brought us into the fellowship of the Holy
Spirit which he lives with the Father.
When therefore we speak of the priesthood of Christ, we
should have before our eyes a unique, incomparable reality, which
includes the prophetic and royal office of the Incarnate Word of God.
So Jesus Christ signifies and manifests in many ways the
presence and effectiveness of the anticipatory love of God. The Lord
himself, constantly influencing the Church by his Spirit, stirs up and
Page -5-
fosters the response of al those who offer themselves to this freely
given love.
2. Coming to Christ in the Church
The way to the person and mystery of Christ lies ever open
in the Holy Spirit through the Scriptures understood in the living
tradition of the Church. All the Scriptures, especially those of the
New Testament, must be interpreted as intimately inter-linked and
inter-related by their single inspiration. The books of the New
Testament are not of such differing value that some of them can be
reduced to mere late inventions.
A personal and immediate relationship with Christ in the
Church should still for the faithful of today sustain their whole
spiritual lives.
The Church from Christ through the Apostles
The Church which he had declared would be built on Peter,
Christ founded on the Apostles.12 In them are already manifested two
aspects of the Church: in the Group of the Twelve Apostles there are
already both fellowship in the Spirit and the origin of the
hierarchical ministry.13 For that reason, the New Testament writings
speak of the Church as founded on the Apostles.14 This was concisely
expressed by ancient tradition: "The Church from the Apostles, the
Apostles from Christ, Christ from God."15
The Church, which was founded on the Apostles and sent into
the world and is a pilgrim there, was established to be a sacrament of
the salvation which came to us from God in Christ. In her, Christ is
present and operative for the world as a savior, so that the love
offered by God to men and their response meet. The Holy Spirit stirs
up in and through the Church impulses of generous free will by which
man participates in the very work of creation and redemption.
4. The origin and nature of the hierarchical ministry.
The Church, which through the gift of the Spirit is made up
organically, participates in different ways in the functions of Christ
as Priest, Prophet and King, in order to carry out her mission of
salvation in his name and by his power, as a priestly people.16
It is clear from the New Testament writings that an Apostle
and a community of faithful united with one another by a mutual link
under Christ as head and the influence of his Spirit belong to the
original inalienable structure of the Church. The Twelve Apostles
exercised their mission and functions, and "they not only had helpers
in their ministry,17 but also, in order that the mission assigned to
them might continue after their death, they passed on to their
immediate cooperators, as a kind of testament, the duty of perfecting
and consolidating the work begun by themselves,18 charging them to
Page -6-
attend to the whole flock in which the Holy spirit placed them to
shepherd the Church of God.19 They appointed such men, and made
provision that, when these men should die, other approved men would
take up their ministry.20
The letters of Saint Paul show that he was conscious of
acting by Christ's mission and mandate.21 The powers entrusted to the
Apostle for the Churches were handed on to others insofar as they were
communicable,22 and these others were obliged to hand them on to yet
others.23
This essential structure of the Church - consisting of a
flock and of pastors appointed for this purpose24 - according to the
Tradition of the church herself was always and remains the norm.
Precisely as a result of this structure, the Church can never remain
closed in on herself and is always subject to Christ as her origin and
head.
Among the various charisms and services, the priestly
ministry of the New Testament, which continues Christ's function as
mediator, and which in essence and not merely in degree is distinct
from the common priesthood of all the faithful,25 alone perpetuates
the essential work of the Apostles: by effectively proclaiming the
Gospel, by gathering together and leading the community, by remitting
sins, and especially by celebrating the Eucharist, it makes Christ,
the head of the community, present in the exercise of his work of
redeeming mankind and glorifying God perfectly.
Bishops and, on a subordinate level, priests, by virtue of
the sacrament of Orders, which confers an anointing of the Holy spirit
and configures to Christ,26 become sharers in the functions of
sanctifying, teaching and governing, and the exercise of these
functions is determined more precisely by hierarchical communion.27
The priestly ministry reaches its summit in the celebration
of the Eucharist, which is the source and center of the Church's
unity. Only a priest is able to act in the person of Christ in
presiding over and effecting the sacrificial banquet wherein the
People of God are associated with Christ's offering.28
The priest is a sign of the divine anticipatory plan
proclaimed and effective today in the Church. He makes Christ, the
Savior of all men, sacramentally present among his brothers and
sisters, in both their personal and social lives. He is a guarantor
both of the first proclamation of the Gospel for the gathering
together of the church and of the ceaseless renewal of the Church
which has already been gathered together. If the Church lacks the
presence and activity of the ministry which is received by the laying
on of hands with prayer, she cannot have full certainty of her
fidelity and of her visible continuity.
Page -7-
5. Permanence of the priesthood
By the laying on of hands there is communicated a gift of
the Holy Spirit which cannot be lost.29 This reality configures the
ordained minister to Christ the Priest, consecrates him30 and makes
him a sharer in Christ's mission under its two aspects of authority
and service.
That authority does not belong to the minister as his own;
it is a manifestation of the "exousia"31 of the Lord, by which the
priest is an ambassador of Christ in the eschatological work of
reconciliation.32 He also assists the conversion of human freedom to
God for the building up of the Christian community.
The lifelong permanence of this reality, which is a sign,
and which is a teaching of the faith and is referred to in the
Church's tradition as the priestly character, expresses the fact that
Christ associated the Church with himself in an irrevocable way for
the salvation of the world, and that the Church dedicates herself to
Christ in a definitive way for the carrying out of his work. The
minister whose life bears the seal of the gift received through the
sacrament of Orders reminds the Church that the gift of God is
irrevocable. In the midst of the Christian community which, in spite
of its defects, lives by the Spirit, he is a pledge of the salvific
presence of Christ.
This special participation in Christ's priesthood does not
disappear even if a priest for ecclesial or personal reasons is
dispensed or removed from the exercise of his ministry.
6. For the service of fellowship
Even if he exercises his ministry in a determined community,
the priest nevertheless cannot be exclusively devoted to a particular
group of faithful. His ministry always tends toward the unity of the
whole Church and to the gathering together in her of all men. Each
individual community of faithful needs fellowship with the bishop and
the universal Church. In this way the priestly ministry too is
essentially communitarian within the presbyterium and with the bishop
who, preserving communion with the Successor of Peter, is a part of
the body of bishops. This holds also for priests who are not in the
immediate service of any community or who work in remote and isolated
territories. Religious priests also, within the context of the
special purpose and structure of their institute, are indissolubly
part of a mission which is ecclesially ordered.
Let the whole life and activity of the priest be imbued with
a spirit of catholicity, that is, with a sense of the universal
mission of the Church, so that he will willingly recognize all the
gifts of the Spirit, give them freedom and direct them toward the
common good.
Page -8-
Let priests follow Christ's example and cultivate with the
bishop and with each other that brotherhood which is founded on their
ordination and the oneness of their mission so that their priestly
witness may be more credible.
7. The priest and temporal matters
All truly Christian undertakings are related to the
salvation of mankind, which, while it is of an eschatological
nature,also embraces temporal matters. Every reality of this world
must be subjected to the lordship of Christ. This however does not
mean that the Church claims technical competence in the secular order,
with disregard for the latter's autonomy.
The proper mission entrusted by Christ to the priest, as to
the Church, is not of the political, economic or social order, but of
the religious order;33 yet, in the pursuit of his ministry, the priest
can contribute greatly to the establishment of a more just secular
order, especially in places where the human problems of injustice and
oppression are more serious. He must always, however, preserve
ecclesial communion and reject violence in words or deeds as not being
in accordance with the Gospel.
In fact, the word of the Gospel which he proclaims in the
name of Christ and the Church, and the effective grace of sacramental
life which he administers should free man from his personal and social
egoism and foster among men conditions of justice, which would be a
sign of the love of Christ present among us.34
Part Two
GUIDELINES FOR THE PRIESTLY LIFE AND MINISTRY
Considering the priestly mission in the light of the mystery
of Christ and the communion of the Church, the Fathers of this Synod,
united with the Roman Pontiff and conscious of the anxieties which
bishops and priests are experiencing in the fulfillment of their
common role today, present the following guidelines to clarify certain
questions and to give encouragement.
I. PRIESTS IN THE MISSION OF CHRIST AND THE CHURCH
1. Mission: Evangelization and sacramental life
a) "By their vocation and ordination, the priests of the New
Testament are indeed set apart in a certain sense within the midst of
God's people. But this is so, not that they may be made distant from
this people or from any man, but that they may be totally dedicated
tot he work for which the Lord has raised them up."35 Priests thus
find their identity to the extent that they fully live the mission of
the Church and exercise it in different ways in communion with the
entire People of God, as pastors and ministers of the Lord in the
Spirit, in order to fulfill by their work the plan of salvation in
Page -9-
history. "By means of their own ministry, which deals principally with
the Eucharist as the source of perfecting the Church, priests are in
communion with Christ the Head and are leading others to this
communion. Hence they cannot help realizing how much is yet wanting
to the fulness of that Body, and how much therefore must be done if it
is to grow from day to day."36
b) Priests are sent to all men and their mission must begin
with the preaching of God's word. "Priests have as their duty the
proclamation of the Gospel of Christ to all ... For through the saving
Word the spark of faith is struck in the hearts of unbelievers and fed
in the hearts of the faithful."37 The goal of evangelization is "that
all who are made sons of God by faith and baptism should come together
to praise God in the midst of his Church, to take part in her
sacrifice and to eat the Lord's Supper."38 The ministry of the Word,
if rightly understood, leads to the sacraments and to the Christian
life, as it is practiced in the visible community of the church and in
the world.
The sacraments are celebrated in conjunction with the
proclamation of the Word of God and thus develop faith by
strengthening it with grace. They cannot be considered of slight
importance, since through them the word is brought to fuller effect,
namely communion in the mystery of Christ.
Let priests then perform their ministry in such a way that
the faithful will "have recourse with great eagerness to the
sacraments which were instituted to nourish the Christian life."39
An enduring evangelization and a well-ordered sacramental
life of the community demand, by their nature, a 'diaconia' of
authority, that is, a serving of unity and a presiding over charity.
Thus the mutual relationship between evangelization and the
celebration of the sacraments is clearly seen in the mission of the
Church. A separation between the two would divide the heart of the
Church to the point of imperilling the faith, and the priest, who is
dedicated to the service of unity in the community, would be gravely
distorting his ministry.
Unity between evangelization and sacramental life is always
proper to the ministerial priesthood and must carefully be kept in
mind by every priest. And yet the application of this principle to
the life and ministry of individual priests must be made with
discretion, for the exercise of the priestly ministry often in
practice needs to take different forms in order better to meet special
or new situations in which the Gospel is to be proclaimed.
c) Although the pedagogy of faith demands that man be
gradually initiated into the Christian life, the Church must
nevertheless always proclaim to the world the Gospel in its entirety.
Each priest shares in the special responsibility of preaching the
Page -10-
whole of the Word of God and of interpreting it according to the faith
of the Church.
The proclamation of the Word of God is the announcement in
the power of the Spirit of the wonders performed by God and the
calling of men to share the paschal mystery and to introduce it as a
leaven into concrete human history. It is the action of God in which
the power of the Holy Spirit brings the Church together interiorly and
exteriorly. The minister of the word by evangelization prepares the
ways of the Lord with great patience and faith, conforming himself to
the various conditions of individuals' and peoples' lives, which are
evolving more or less rapidly.
Impelled by the need to keep in view both the personal and
social aspects of the announcement of the Gospel, so that in it an
answer may be given to all the more fundamental questions of men,40
the Church not only preaches conversion to God to individual men, but
also, to the best of her ability, as the conscience of humanity, she
addresses society itself and performs a prophetic function in
society's regard, always taking pains to affect her own renewal.
As regards the experiences of life, whether of men in
general or of priests, which must be kept in mind and always
interpreted in the light of the Gospel, these experiences cannot be
either the sole or the principle norm of preaching.
d) Salvation, which is effected through the sacraments, does
not come from us but from God; this demonstrates the primacy of action
of Christ, the one priest and mediator, in his body, which is the
Church.
Since the sacraments are truly sacraments of faith,41 they
require conscious and free participation by every Christian who has
the use of reason. This makes clear the great importance of
preparation and of a disposition of faith on the part of the person
who receives the sacraments; it also makes clear the necessity for a
witness of faith on the part of the minister in his entire life and
especially in the way he values and celebrates the sacraments
themselves.
To bishops and, in the cases foreseen by law, to episcopal
conferences is committed the role of authentically promoting, in
accordance with the norms given by the Holy See, pastoral activity and
liturgical renewal better adapted to each region, and also of
determining the criteria for admission to the sacraments. These
criteria, which must be applied by priests, are likewise to be
explained to the faithful, so that a person who asks for a sacrament
may become more aware of his own responsibility.
Let priests, with consciousness of their office of
reconciling all men in the love of Christ and with attention to the
dangers of divisions, strive with great prudence and pastoral charity
Page -11-
to form communities which are imbued with apostolic zeal and which
will make the Church's missionary spirit present everywhere. Small
communities, which are not opposed to the parish or diocesan
structure, ought to be inserted into the parochial or diocesan
community in such a way that they may serve it as a leaven of
missionary spirit. The need to find apt forms of effectively bringing
the Gospel message to all men, who live in differing circumstances,
furnishes a place for the multiple exercise of ministries lower than
the priesthood.
2. Secular and political activity
a) The priestly ministry, even if compared with other
activities, not only is to be considered as a fully valid human
activity but indeed as more excellent than other activities, though
this great value can be fully understood only in the light of faith.
Thus, as a general rule, the priestly ministry shall be a full-time
occupation. Sharing int he secular activities of men is by no means
to be considered the principal end nor can such participation suffice
to give expression to priests' specific responsibility. Priests,
without being of the world and without taking it as their model, must
nevertheless live in the world,42 as witnesses and stewards of another
life.43
In order to determine in concrete circumstances whether
secular activity is in accord with the priestly ministry, inquiry
should be made whether and in what way those duties and activities
serve the mission of the Church, those who have not yet received the
Gospel message and finally the Christian community. This is to be
judged by the local bishop with his presbyterium, and if necessary in
consultation with the episcopal conference.
When activities of this sort, which ordinarily pertain to
the laity, are as it were demanded by the priest's very mission to
evangelize, they must be harmonized with his other ministerial
activities, in those circumstances where they can be considered as
necessary forms of true ministry.44
b) Together with the entire Church, priests are obliged, to
the utmost of their ability, to select a definite pattern of action,
when it is a question of the defense of fundamental human rights, the
promotion of the full development of persons and the pursuit of the
cause of peace and justice; the means must indeed always be consonant
with the Gospel. These principles are all valid not only in the
individual sphere, but also int he social field; in this regard
priests should help the laity to devote themselves to forming their
consciences rightly.
In circumstances in which there legitimately exist different
political, social and economic options, priests like all citizens have
a right to select their personal options. But since political options
are by nature contingent and never in an entirely adequate and
Page -12-
perennial way interpret the Gospel, the priest, who is the witness of
things to come, must keep a certain distance from any political office
or involvement.
In order that he may remain a valid sign of unity and be
able to preach the Gospel in its entirety, the priest can sometimes be
obliged to abstain from the exercise of his own right in this matter.
Moreover, care must be taken lest his option appear to Christians to
be the only legitimate one or become a cause of division among the
faithful. Let priests be mindful of the laity's maturity, which is to
be valued highly when it is a question of their specific role.
Leadership or active militancy on behalf of any political
party is to be excluded by every priest unless, in concrete and
exceptional circumstances, this is truly required by the good of the
community, and receives the consent of the bishop after consultation
with the priests' council and, if the circumstances call for it, with
the episcopal conference.
The priority of the specific mission which pervades the
entire priestly existence must therefore always be kept in mind so
that, with great confidence, and having a renewed experience of the
things of God, priests may be able to announce these things
efficaciously and with joy to the men who await them.
3. The spiritual life of priests
Every priest will find in his very vocation and ministry the
deep motivation for living his entire life in oneness and strength of
spirit. Called like the rest of those who have been baptized to
become a true image of Christ,45 the priest, like the Apostles, shares
besides in a special way companionship with Christ and his mission as
the Supreme Pastor: "And he appointed twelve; they were to be his
companions and to be sent out to preach."46 Therefore in the priestly
life there can be no dichotomy between love for Christ and zeal for
souls.
Just as Christ, anointed by the Holy spirit, was impelled by
his deep love for his Father to give his life for me, so the priest,
consecrated by the Holy Spirit, and in a special way made like to
Christ the Priest, dedicates himself to the work of the Father
performed through the Son. Thus the whole rule for the priest's life
is expressed in the words of Jesus: "And for their sake I consecrate
myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth."47
Following the example of Christ who was continually in
prayer, and led by the Holy spirit in whom we cry, "Abba, Father,"
priests should give themselves to the contemplation of the Word of God
and daily take the opportunity to examine the events of life in the
light of the Gospel so that having become faithful and attentive
hearers of the Word they may become true ministers of the Word. Let
them be assiduous in personal prayer, in the Liturgy of the Hours,
Page -13-
---------------------------------
153 (of 153) AVATAR June 14, 1988 at 23:36 Eastern (24087 characters)
---------------------------------
infrequent reception of the sacrament of penance and especially in
devotion to the mystery of the Eucharist. Even if the Eucharist
should be celebrated without participation by the faithful, it
nevertheless remains the center of the life of the entire Church and
the heart of priestly existence.
With his mind raised to heaven and sharing in the communion
of saints, the priest should turn very often to Mary the Mother of
God, who received the Word of God with perfect faith, and daily ask
her for the grace of conforming himself to her Son.
The activities of the apostolate for their part furnish an
indispensable nourishment for fostering the spiritual life of the
priest: "By assuming the role of the Good Shepherd, they will find
precisely in the pastoral exercise of love the bond of priestly
perfection which will unify their lives and activities."48 In the
exercise of his ministry the priest is enlightened and strengthened by
the action of the Church and the example of he faithful. The
renunciations imposed by the pastoral life itself help him to acquire
an ever greater sharing in Christ's Cross and hence a purer pastoral
charity.
This same charity of priests will also cause them to adapt
their spiritual lives to the modes and forms of sanctification which
are more suitable and fitting for the men of their own times and
culture. Desiring to be all things to all men, to save all,49 the
priest should be attentive to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in
these days. Thus he will announce the Word of God not only by human
means, but he will be taken as a valid instrument by the Word himself,
whose message is "living and active and sharper than any two-edged
sword."50
4. Celibacy
a) The basis for celibacy.
Celibacy for priests is in full harmony with the vocation to
the apostolic following of Christ and also with the unconditional
response of the person who is called and who undertakes pastoral
service. Through celibacy, the priest, following his Lord, shows in a
fuller way his availability, and embarking up the way of the Cross
with paschal joy he ardently desires to be consumed in an offering
which can be compared to the Eucharist.
If celibacy is lived in the spirit of the gospel, in prayer
and vigilance, with poverty, joy, contempt of honors, and brotherly
love, it is a sign which cannot long be hidden, but which effectively
proclaims Christ to modern men also. For words today are scarcely
heeded, but the witness of a life which displays the radical character
to the Gospel has the power of exercising a strong attraction.
Page -14-
b) Convergence of motives.
Celibacy, as a personal option for some more important good,
even a merely natural one, can promote the full maturity and
integration of the human personality. This is all the more true in
regard to celibacy undertaken for the Kingdom of heaven, as is evident
in the lives of so many saints and of the faithful who, living the
celibate life, dedicated themselves totally to promoting human and
Christian progress for the sake of God and men.
Within modern culture, in which spiritual values are to a
great extent obscured, the celibate priest indicates the presence of
the Absolute God, who invites us to be renewed in his image. Where
the value of sexuality is so exaggerated that genuine love is
forgotten, celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom of Christ calls men
back to the sublimity of faithful love and reveals the ultimate
meaning of life.
Furthermore, one rightly speaks of the value of celibacy as
an eschatological sign. By transcending every contingent human value,
the celibate priest associates himself in a special way with Christ as
the final and absolute good and shows forth, in anticipation, the
freedom of the children of God. While the value of the sign and
holiness of Christian marriage is fully recognized, celibacy for the
sake of the Kingdom nevertheless more clearly displays that spiritual
fruitfulness or generative power of the New Law by which the apostle
knows that in Christ he is the father and mother of his communities.
From this special way of following Christ, the priest draws
greater strength and power for the building up of the Church; and this
power can be preserved and increased only by an intimate and permanent
union with Christ's Spirit. The faithful people of God wish to see in
their pastors this union with Christ, and they are able to recognize
it.
Through celibacy, priests are more easily able to serve God
with undivided heart and spend themselves for their sheep, and as a
result they are able more fully to be promoters of evangelization and
of the Church's unity. For this reason, priests, even if they are
fewer in number, but are resplendent with this outstanding witness of
life, will enjoy greater apostolic fruitfulness.
Priestly celibacy, furthermore, is not just the witness of
one person alone, but by reason of the special fellowship linking
members of the presbyterium it also takes on a social character as the
witness of the whole priestly order enriching the People of God.
Page -15-
c) Celibacy to be kept in the Latin Church.
The traditions of the Eastern Churches shall remain
unchanged, as they are now in force in the various territories.
The Church has the right and duty to determine the concrete
form of the priestly ministry and therefore to select more suitable
candidates, endowed with certain human and supernatural qualities.
When the Latin Church demands celibacy as a necessary condition for
the priesthood,51 she does not do so out of a belief that this way of
life is the only path to attaining sanctification. She does so while
carefully considering the concrete form of exercising the ministry in
the community for the building up of the Church.
Because of the intimate and multiple coherence between the
pastoral function and a celibate life, the existing law is upheld: one
who freely wills total availability, the distinctive characteristic of
this function, also freely undertakes a celibate life. The candidate
should feel this form of living not as having been imposed from
outside, but rather as a manifestation of his free self-giving, which
is accepted and ratified by the Church through the bishop. In this
way the law becomes a protection and safeguard of the freedom
wherewith the priest gives himself to Christ, and it becomes "an easy
yoke."
d) Conditions favoring celibacy
We know well that in the world of today particular
difficulties threaten celibacy from all sides; priests have indeed
already experienced them in the course of centuries. But they can
overcome these difficulties if suitable conditions are fostered,
namely: growth of the interior life through prayer, renunciation and
fervent love for God and one's neighbor and by other aids to the
spiritual life; human balance through well-ordered integration into
the fabric of social relationships; fraternal association and
companionship with other priests and with the bishop, through pastoral
structures better suited to this purpose and with the assistance also
of the community of the faithful.
It must be admitted that celibacy, as a gift of God, cannot
be preserved unless the candidate is adequately prepared for it. From
the beginning, candidates should give attention to the positive
reasons for choosing celibacy, without letting themselves be disturbed
by objections, the accumulation and continual pressure of which are
now rather a sign that the original value of celibacy itself has
been called in question. Let them also remember that the power with
which God strengthens us is always available for those who strive to
serve him faithfully and entirely.
A priest who leaves the ministry should receive just and
fraternal treatment; even though he can give assistance to the service
Page -16-
of the Church, he is not however to be admitted to the exercise of
priestly activities.
e) The law of Celibacy
The law of priestly celibacy existing in the Latin Church is
to be kept in its entirety.52
* * *
f) The ordination of married men
Two formulas were proposed to the vote of the Fathers:53
Formula A: Excepting always the right of the Supreme
Pontiff, the priestly ordination of married men is not permitted, even
in particular cases.
Formula B: It belongs solely to the Supreme Pontiff, in
particular cases, by reason of pastoral needs and the good of the
universal Church to allow the priestly ordination of married men, who
are of mature age and proven life.
* * *
II. PRIESTS IN THE COMMUNION OF THE CHURCH
1. Relations between priests and bishop
Priests will adhere more faithfully to their mission the
more they know and show themselves to be faithful to ecclesial
communion. Thus the pastoral ministry, which is exercised by bishops,
priests and deacons, is an eminent sign of this ecclesial communion,
in that they have received a special mandate to serve this communion.
But in order that this ministry may really become a sign of
communion, the actual conditions in which it is exercised must be
considered to be of the greatest importance.
The guiding principle expressed by the Second Vatican
Council in the decree PRESBYTERORUM ORDINIS, namely that the very
unity of consecration and mission requires the hierarchical communion
of priests with the order of bishops, is considered fundamental to a
practical restoration or renewal, with full confidence, of the mutual
relationship between the bishop and the presbyterium over which the
bishop presides. This principle is more concretely to be put into
practice especially by the diligence of the bishops.
The service of authority on the one hand and the exercise of
not merely passive obedience on the other should be carried out in a
spirit of faith, mutual charity, filial and friendly confidence and
constant and patient dialogue. Thus the collaboration and responsible
Page -17-
cooperation of priests with the bishop will be sincere, human and at
the same time supernatural.54
Personal freedom, responding to the individual vocation and
to the charisms received from God, and also the ordered solidarity for
all the service of the community and the good of the mission to be
fulfilled are two conditions which should shape the church's proper
mode of pastoral action.55 The guarantee of these conditions is the
bishop's authority, to be exercised in a spirit of service.
The Council of Priests, which is of its nature something
diocesan, is an institutional manifestation of the brotherhood among
priests which has its basis in the sacrament of Orders.
The activity of this council cannot be fully shaped by law.
Its effectiveness depends especially on a repeated effort to listen to
the opinions of all in order to reach a consensus with the bishop, to
whom it belongs to make the final decision.
If this is done with the greatest sincerity and humility,
and if all one- sidedness is overcome, it will be easier to provide
properly for the common good.
The Priests' Council is an institution in which priests
recognize, at a time when variety in the exercise of their ministry
increases every day, that they are mutually complementary in serving
one and the same mission of the Church.
It is the task of this Council, among other things, to seek
out clear and distinctly defined aims, to suggest priorities, to
indicate methods of acting, to assist whatever the Spirit frequently
stirs up through individuals or groups, and to foster the spiritual
life, whence the necessary unity may more easily be attained.
New forms of hierarchical communion between bishops and
priests56 must be found, to facilitate contacts between local
Churches. A search must be made for ways whereby priests may
collaborate with bishops in supra-diocesan bodies and enterprises.
The collaboration of religious priests with the bishop in
the presbyterium is necessary, thought heir work is of valuable
assistance to the universal Church.
2. Relations of priests with each other
Since priests are bound together by an intimate sacramental
brotherhood and by their mission, and since they work and plan
together for the same task, some community of life or a certain
association of life shall be encouraged among them and can take
various forms, including non-institutional ones. This shall be
allowed for by the law itself through opportune norms and by renewed
or newly-discovered pastoral structures.
Page -18-
Priestly associations should also be fostered which in a
spirit of ecclesial communion and being recognized by the competent
ecclesiastical authority, "through an apt and properly approved rule
of life and through brotherly assistance,"57 seek to advance the aims
which belong to their function and "holiness in the exercise of the
ministry."58
It is desirable that, as far as possible, ways be sought,
even if they prove rather difficult, whereby associations which
perhaps divide the clergy into factions may be brought back to
communion and to the ecclesial structure.
There should be greater communication between religious
priests and diocesan priests, so that true priestly fraternity may
exist between them and that they may provide one another with mutual
help, especially in spiritual matters.
3. Relations between priests and laity
Let priests remember "confidently to entrust to the laity
duties in the service of the Church, allowing them freedom and room
for action. In fact, on suitable occasions, they should invite them
to undertake works on their own initiative."59 The laity, "likewise
sharing their cares, should help their priests by prayer and work to
the extent possible, so that their priests can more readily overcome
difficulties and be able to fulfill their duties more fruitfully."60
It is necessary to keep always in mind the special character
of the Church's communion in order that personal freedom, in
accordance with the recognized duties and charisms of each person, and
the unity of life and activity of the People of God may be fittingly
combined.
The pastoral council, in which specially chosen clergy,
religious, and lay people take part,61 furnishes by its study and
reflection elements necessary for enabling the diocesan community to
arrange its pastoral program organically and to fulfill it
effectively.
In proportion as the co-responsibility of bishops and
priests daily increases62 the more desirable it becomes that a
pastoral council be established in each diocese.
4. Economic affairs
The economic questions of the Church cannot be adequately
solved unless they are carefully examined within the context of the
communion and mission of the People of God. All the faithful have the
duty of assisting the Church's needs.
In treating these questions account must be taken not only
of solidarity within the local Church, diocese or religious institute,
Page -19-
but also of the condition of dioceses of the same region or nation,
indeed of the whole world, especially of the Churches in the so-called
Mission Territories and of other poor regions.
The remuneration of priests, to be determined certainly in a
spirit of evangelical poverty, but as far as possible equitable and
sufficient, is a duty of justice and ought to include social security.
Excessive differences in this matter must be removed, especially among
priests of the same diocese or jurisdiction, account also being taken
of the average condition of the people of the region.
It seems greatly to be desired that the Christian people be
gradually instructed in such a way that priests' incomes may be
separated from the acts of their ministry, especially sacramental
ones.
CONCLUSION
To priests exercising the ministry of the Spirit63 in the
midst of the communion of the entire Church,new ways are open for
giving a profoundly renewed witness in today's world.
It is necessary therefore to look to the future with
Christian confidence and to ask the Holy Spirit that by his guidance
and inspiration doors may be opened to the Gospel, in spite of the
dangers which the Church cannot overcome by merely human means.
Having always before our eyes the Apostles, especially Peter
and Paul, as the examples for the renewal of the priesthood, we should
give thanks to God the Father that he has given us all the opportunity
of manifesting more faithfully the countenance of Christ.
Already there are true signs of a rebirth of spiritual life,
while men everywhere, amid the uncertainties of modern times, look
forward to fullness of life. This renewal certainly cannot take place
without a sharing in the Lord's Cross, because the servant is not
greater than his master.64 Forgetting the past let us strive for what
is still to come.65
With real daring we must show the world the fullness of the
mystery hidden through all ages in God so that men through their
sharing in it may be able to enter into the fullness of God.66
"We proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the
Father and was made manifest to us - that which we have seen and heard
we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and
our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ."67
Page -20-
FOOTNOTES
1. cf. Gaudium et Spes 4
2. 1 Cor. 15:28
3. Cf. Lumen Gentium 10
4. John 10:36
5. Cf. Luke 4:1, 18:21; Acts 10:38
6. Cf. John 10:15ff; 11:52
7. Cf. Phil. 2:9-11
8. 1 Tim. 2:5
9. Col. 1:16; cf. John 1:3ff
10. cf Eph. 1:10
11. Cf. Col. 1:15
12. Lumen Gentium 18
13. Ad Gentes Divinitus 5
14. Rev. 21:14; Mt. 16:18
15. Tertullian, "De Praescr. Haer." XXI, 4; cf. also I Letter of
Clement "Ad Cor." XLII, 1-4; Ignatius of Antioch, "Ad Magn."
VI and passim; Iraenaeus, "Adv. Haer." 4,21,3; Origen, "De
Princip." IV,2,1; Serapion, Bishop of Antioch, in Eusebius,
"Hist. Eccl." VI,12
16. Lumen Gentium 10
17. Cf. Acts 6:2- 6; 11:30; 13:1; 14:23; 24:17; 1 Thes. 5:12-13;
Phil. 1:1; Col. 4:11 and passim
18. Acts 20:25-27; 2 Tim. 4:6 taken together with 1 Tim 5:22; 2
Tim. 2:2; Titus 1:5; Saint Clement of Rome to the Corinthians
44:3
19. Acts 20:28
20. Saint Clement of Rome to the Corinthians, 44:2; Lumen Gentium
20
21. 2 Cor. 5:18ff
Page -21-
22. 2 Tim. 1:6
23. Titus 1:5
24. Cf. 1 Pt. 5:1-4
25. Cf. Lumen Gentium 10
26. Cf. Presbyterorum Ordinis 2
27. Lumen Gentium 24, 27- 28
28. Lumen Gentium 28
29. 2 Tim. 1:6
30. Presbyterorum Ordinis 2
31. the power
32. 2 Cor. 5:18-20
33. Gaudium et Spes 42
34. Gaudium et Spes 58
35. Presbyterorum Ordinis 3
36. Ad Gentes Divinitus 39
37. Presbyterorum Ordinis 4
38. Sacrosanctum Concilium 10
39. Sacrosanctum Concilium 59
40. Christus Dominus
41. Sacrosanctum Concilium 59
42. Presbyterorum Ordinis 3, 17; John 17:14-16
43. Presbyterorum Ordinis 3
44. Presbyterorum Ordinis 8
45. Romans 8:29
46. Mark 3:14
47. John 17:19
Page -22-
48. Presbyterorum Ordinis 14
49. 1 Cor. 9:22
50. Hebrews 4:12
51. Presbyterorum Ordinis 16
52. Result of the vote on this proposition: "placet 168. Non placet
10. Placet juxta modum 21. Abstentions 3.
53. According to the directives of the Presidents the vote was
taken not by Placet or Non placet, but by the choice of the
first or second formula. The first formula, A, obtained 107
votes; the second,B, obtained 87. There were 2 abstentions and
also 2 null votes.
54. cf. Lumen Gentium 28; Christus Dominus 15; Presbyterorum
Ordinis 7
55. Presbyterorum Ordinis 7
56. Cf. Presbyterorum Ordinis 7
57. Presbyterorum Ordinis 8
58. ibid.
59. Presbyterorum Ordinis 9
60. ibid.
61. Christus Dominus 27
62. especially through priests' councils
63. 2 Cor. 3:4-12
64. John 13:16
65. Phil. 3:13
66. cf. Eph. 3:19
Page -23-