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SECTION I. PRIESTS' FUNCTIONS
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4. The People of God are joined together primarily by the word of
the living God.[24] And rightfully they expect this from their
priests.[25] Since no one can be saved who does not first
believe,[26] priests, as co-workers with their bishops, have the
primary duty of proclaiming the Gospel of God to all.[27] In this
way they fulfill the command of the Lord: "Going therefore into the
whole world preach the Gospel to every creature" (Mk
16:15),[28] and they establish and build up the People of
God. Through the saving word the spark of faith is lit in the hearts
of unbelievers, and fed in the hearts of the faithful. This is the
way that the congregation of faithful is started and grows, just as the
Apostle describes: "Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through
the word of Christ" (Rom 10:17).
To all men, therefore, priests are debtors that the truth of the
Gospel[29] which they have may be given to others. And so, whether
by entering into profitable dialogue they bring people to the worship of
God,[30] whether by openly preaching they proclaim the mystery of
Christ, or whether in the light of Christ they treat contemporary
problems, they are relying not on their own wisdom for it is the word
of Christ they teach, and it is to conversion and holiness that they
exhort all men.[31] But priestly preaching is often very difficult
in the circumstances of the modern world. In order that it might more
effectively move men's minds, the word of God ought not to be
explained in a general and abstract way, but rather by applying the
lasting truth of the Gospel to the particular circumstances of life.
The ministry of the word is carried out in many ways, according to the
various needs of those who hear and the special gifts of those who
preach. In areas or communities of non-Christians, the proclaiming
of the Gospel draws men to faith and to the sacraments of
salvation.[32] In the Christian community, especially among those
who seem to understand and believe little of what they practice, the
preaching of the word is needed for the very ministering of the
sacraments. They are precisely sacraments of faith, a faith which is
born of and nourished by the word.[33] This is especially true of
the Liturgy of the Word in the celebration of Mass, in which the
proclaiming of the death and resurrection of Christ is inseparably
joined to the response of the people who hear, and to the very offering
whereby Christ ratified the New Testament in his blood. In this
offering the faithful are united both by their dispositions and by their
discernment of the sacrament.[34]
5. God, who alone is holy and who alone bestows holiness, willed to
take as his companions and helpers men who would humbly dedicate
themselves to the work of sanctification. Hence, through the ministry
of the bishop, God consecrates priests, that being made sharers by
special title in the priesthood of Christ, they might act as his
ministers in performing sacred functions. In the liturgy they continue
to carry on his priestly office by the action of his Spirit.[35]
By Baptism men are truly brought into the People of God; by the
sacrament of Penance sinners are reconciled to God and his Church;
by the Anointing of the Sick, the ill are given solace; and
especially by the celebration of Mass they offer sacramentally the
Sacrifice of Christ. In administering all sacraments, as St.
Ignatius Martyr[36] has borne witness from the early days of the
Church, priests by various titles are bound together hierarchically
with the bishop. And so in a certain way they make him present in
every congregation.[37]
The other sacraments, as well as with every ministry of the Church
and every work of the apostolate, are tied together with the Eucharist
and are directed toward it.[38] The Most Blessed Eucharist
contains the entire spiritual boon of the Church,[39] that is,
Christ himself, our Pasch and Living Bread, by the action of the
Holy Spirit through his very flesh vital and vitalizing, giving life
to men who are thus invited and encouraged to offer themselves, their
labors and all created things, together with him. In this light, the
Eucharist shows itself as the source and the apex of the whole work of
preaching the Gospel. Those under instruction are introduced by
stages to a sharing in the Eucharist, and the faithful, already
marked with the seal of Baptism and Confirmation, are through the
reception of the Eucharist fully joined to the Body of Christ.
Thus the Eucharistic Action, over which the priest presides, is the
very heart of the congregation. So priests must instruct their people
to offer to God the Father the Divine Victim in the Sacrifice of
the Mass, and to join to it the offering of their own lives. In the
spirit of Christ the Shepherd, they must prompt their people to
confess their sins with a contrite heart in the sacrament of Penance,
so that, mindful of his words "Repent for the kingdom of God is at
hand" (Mt 4:17), they are drawn closer to the Lord more and
more each day. Priests likewise must instruct their people to
participate in the celebrations of the sacred liturgy in such a way that
they become proficient in genuine prayer. They must coax their people
on to an ever more perfect and constant spirit of prayer for every grace
and need. They must gently persuade everyone to the fulfillment of the
duties of his state of life, and to greater progress in responding in a
sensible way to the evangelical counsels. Finally, they must train
the faithful to sing hymns and spiritual songs in their hearts to the
Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for all things in the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ.[40]
Priests themselves extend to the other hours of the day the praise and
thanksgiving of the Eucharistic celebration in praying the Divine
Office, offered in the name of the Church for all the people
entrusted to their care, and indeed for the whole world.
The house of prayer in which the Most Holy Eucharist is celebrated
and reserved, where the faithful gather and where the presence of the
Son of God, our Savior, offered for us on the altar of sacrifice
bestows strength and blessings on the faithful, must be spotless and
suitable for prayer and sacred functions.[41] There pastors and
the faithful are called to acknowledge with grateful heart the gift of
him, Who through his humanity constantly pours divine life into the
members of his Body.[42] Let priests take care so to foster a
knowledge of and facility in the liturgy, that by their own liturgical
ministry Christian communities entrusted to their care may ever more
perfectly give praise to God, the Father, and Son, and Holy
Spirit.
6. Exercising the office of Christ, the Shepherd and Head, and
according to their share of his authority, priests, in the name of the
bishop, gather the family of God together as a brotherhood enlivened
by one spirit. Through Christ they lead them in the Holy Spirit to
God the Father.[43] For the exercise of this ministry, as for
the other priestly duties, spiritual power is conferred upon them for
the building up of the Church.[44] In building up of the
Church, priests must treat all with exceptional kindness in imitation
of the Lord. They should act toward men, not as seeking to please
them,[45] but in accord with the demands of Christian doctrine and
life. They should teach them and admonish them as beloved
sons,[46] according to the words of the Apostle: "Be urgent in
season, out of season, reprove, entreat, rebuke in all patience and
doctrine" (2 Tim 4:2).[47]
Priests therefore, as educators in the faith, must see to it either
by themselves or through others that the faithful are led individually
in the Holy Spirit to a development of their own vocation according to
the Gospel, to a sincere and practical charity, and to that freedom
with which Christ has made us free.[48] Ceremonies however
beautiful, or associations however flourishing, will be of little
value if they are not directed toward the education of men to Christian
maturity.[49] In furthering this, priests should help men to see
what is required and what is God's will in the important and
unimportant events of life. Also, Christians should be taught that
they live not only for themselves, but, according to the demands of
the new law of charity; as every man has received grace, he must
administer the same to others.[50] In this way, all will
discharge in a Christian manner their duties in the community of men.
Although they have obligations toward all men, priests have a special
obligation to the poor and weak entrusted to them, for our Lord
himself showed that he was united to them,[51] and their
evangelization is mentioned as a sign of messianic activity.[52]
With special diligence, attention should be given to youth and also to
married people and parents. It is desirable that these join together
in friendly meetings for mutual aid in leading more easily and fully and
in a Christian manner a life that is often difficult. Priests should
remember that all religious, both men and women, who certainly have a
distinguished place in the house of the Lord, deserve special care in
their spiritual progress for the good of the whole Church. Finally,
and above all, priests must be solicitous for the sick and the dying,
visiting them and strengthening them in the Lord.[53]
The office of pastor is not confined to the care of the faithful as
individuals, but also in a true sense is extended to the formation of a
genuine Christian community. Yet the spirit of the community should
be so fostered as to embrace not only the local church, but also the
universal Church. The local community should promote not only the
care of its own faithful, but, filled with a missionary zeal, it
should prepare also the way to Christ for all men. In a special way,
catechumens and the newly-baptized who must be educated gradually to
know and to live the Christian life are entrusted to his care.
No Christian community, however, is built up unless it has its basis
and center in the celebration of the most Holy Eucharist; from this,
therefore, all education to the spirit of community must take its
origin.[54] This celebration, if it is to be genuine and
complete, should lead to various works of charity and mutual help, as
well as to missionary activity and to different forms of Christian
witness.
The ecclesial community by prayer, example, and works of penance,
exercise a true motherhood toward souls who are to be led to Christ.
The Christian community forms an effective instrument by which the
path to Christ and his Church is pointed out and made smooth for
non-believers. It is an effective instrument also for arousing,
nourishing and strengthening the faithful for their spiritual combat.
In building the Christian community, priests are never to put
themselves at the service of some human faction of ideology, but, as
heralds of the Gospel and shepherds of the Church, they are to spend
themselves for the spiritual growth of the Body of Christ.
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SECTION 2.
PRIESTS' RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS
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7. All priests, in union with bishops, so share in one and the same
priesthood and ministry of Christ that the very unity of their
consecration and mission requires their hierarchical communion with the
order of bishops.[55] At times in an excellent manner they
manifest this communion in liturgical concelebration as joined with the
bishop when they celebrate the Eucharistic Sacrifice.[56]
Therefore, by reason of the gift of the Holy Spirit which is given
to priests in Holy Orders, bishops regard them as necessary helpers
and counselors in the ministry and in their role of teaching,
sanctifying and nourishing the People of God.[57] Already in the
ancient ages of the Church we find liturgical texts proclaiming this
with insistence, as when they solemnly call upon God to pour out upon
the candidate for priestly ordination "the spirit of grace and
counsel, so that with a pure heart he may help and govern the People
of God,"[58] just as in the desert the spirit of Moses was
spread abroad in the minds of the seventy prudent men,[59] "and
using them as helpers among the people, he easily governed countless
multitudes."[60]
Therefore, on account of this communion in the same priesthood and
ministry, bishops should regard priests as their brothers and
friends[61] and be concerned as far as they are able for their
material and especially for their spiritual well-being. For above all
upon the bishops rests the heavy responsibility for the sanctity of
their priests.[62] Therefore, they should exercise the greatest
care in the continual formation of their priests.[63] They should
gladly listen to their priests, indeed consult them and engage in
dialogue with them in those matters which concern the necessities of
pastoral work and welfare of the diocese. In order to put this into
effect, there should be-in a manner suited to today's conditions and
necessities,[64] and with a structure and norms to be determined by
law-a body or senate[65] of priests representing all the priests.
This representative body by its advice will be able to give the bishop
effective assistance in the administration of the diocese.
Priests, never losing sight of the fullness of the priesthood which
the bishops enjoy, must respect in them the authority of Christ, the
Supreme Shepherd. They must therefore stand by their bishops in
sincere charity and obedience.[66] This priestly obedience,
imbued with a spirit of cooperation is based on the very sharing in the
episcopal ministry which is conferred on priests both through the
Sacrament of Orders and the canonical mission.[67]
This union of priests with their bishops is all the more necessary
today since in our present age, for various reasons, apostolic
undertakings must necessarily not only take on many forms but frequently
extend even beyond the boundaries of one parish or diocese. No
priest, therefore, can on his own accomplish his mission in a
satisfactory way. He can do so only by joining forces with other
priests under the direction of the Church authorities.
8. Priests by virtue of their ordination to the priesthood are united
among themselves in an intimate sacramental brotherhood. In individual
dioceses, priests form one priesthood under their own bishop. Even
though priests are assigned to different duties, nevertheless they
carry on one priestly ministry for men. All priests are sent as
co-workers in the same apostolate, whether they engage in parochial or
extra-parochial ministry. This is true whether they devote their
efforts to scientific research or teaching, or whether by manual labor
they share in the lot of the workers themselves-if there is need for
this and competent authority approves-or finally whether they fulfill
some other apostolic tasks or labor designed for the apostolate. All,
indeed, are united in the building up of the Body of Christ which,
especially in our times, requires manifold duties and new methods. It
is very important that all priests, whether diocesan or religious,
help one another always to be fellow workers in the truth.[68]
Each one, therefore, is united in special bonds of apostolic
charity, ministry and brotherhood with the other members of this
priesthood. This has been manifested from ancient times in the liturgy
when the priests present at an ordination are invited to impose hands
together with the ordaining bishop on the new candidate, and with
united hearts concelebrate the Sacred Eucharist. Each and every
priest, therefore, is united with his fellow priests in a bond of
charity, prayer and total cooperation. In this manner, they manifest
that unity which Christ willed, namely, that his own be perfected in
one so that the world might know that the Son was sent by the
Father.[69]
Older priests, therefore, should receive younger priests as true
brothers and help them in their first undertakings and priestly duties.
The older ones should likewise endeavor to understand the mentality of
younger priests, even though it be different from their own, and
follow their projects with good will. By the same token, young
priests should respect the age and experience of their seniors; they
should seek their advice and willingly cooperate with them in everything
that pertains to the care of souls. In a fraternal spirit, priests
should extend hospitality,[70] cultivate kindliness and share their
goods in common.[71] They should be particularly solicitous for
the sick, the afflicted, those overburdened with work, the lonely,
those exiled from their homeland, and those who suffer
persecution.[72] They should gladly and joyfully gather together
for recreation, remembering Christ's invitation to the weary
apostles: "Come aside to a desert place, and rest awhile" (Mk
6:31). And further, in order that priests may find mutual
assistance in the development of their spiritual and intellectual life,
that they may be able to cooperate more effectively in their ministry
and be saved from the dangers of loneliness which may arise, it is
necessary that some kind of common life or some sharing of common life
be encouraged among priests. This, however, may take many forms,
according to different personal or pastoral needs, such as living
together where this is possible, or having a common table, or at least
by frequent and periodic meetings. One should hold also in high regard
and eagerly promote those associations which, having been recognized by
competent ecclesiastical authority, encourage priestly holiness in the
ministry by the use of an appropriate and duly approved rule of life and
by fraternal aid, intending thus to do service to the whole order of
priests.
Finally, by reason of the same communion in the priesthood, priests
should realize that they are obliged in a special manner toward those
priests who labor under certain difficulties. They should give them
timely help, and also, if necessary, admonish them discreetly.
Moreover, they should always treat with fraternal charity and
magnanimity those who have failed in some matters, offer urgent prayers
to God for them, and continually show themselves as true brothers and
friends.
9. Though priests of the New Testament, in virtue of the sacrament
of Orders, exercise the most outstanding and necessary office of
father and teacher among and for the People of God, they are
nevertheless, together with all Christ's faithful, disciples of the
Lord, made sharers in his Kingdom by the grace of God's
call.[73] For priests are brothers among brothers[74] with all
those who have been reborn at the baptismal font. They are all members
of one and the same Body of Christ, the building up of which is
required of everyone.[75]
Priests, therefore, must take the lead in seeking the things of
Jesus Christ, not the things that are their own.[76] They must
work together with the lay faithful, and conduct themselves in their
midst after the example of their Master, who among men "came not to
be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life as
redemption for many" (Mt 20:28). Priests must sincerely
acknowledge and promote the dignity of the laity and the part proper to
them in the mission of the Church. And they should hold in high honor
that just freedom which is due to everyone in the earthly city. They
must willingly listen to the laity, consider their wants in a fraternal
spirit, recognize their experience and competence in the different
areas of human activity, so that together with them they will be able
to recognize the signs of the times. While trying the spirits to see
if they be of God,[77] priests should uncover with a sense of
faith, acknowledge with joy and foster with diligence the various
humble and exalted charisms of the laity. Among the other gifts of
God, which are found in abundance among the laity, those are worthy
of special mention by which not a few of the laity are attracted to a
higher spiritual life. Likewise, they should confidently entrust to
the laity duties in the service of the Church, allowing them freedom
and room for action; in fact, they should invite them on suitable
occasions to undertake worlds on their own initiative.[78]
Finally priests have been placed in the midst of the laity to lead them
to the unity of charity, "loving one another with fraternal love,
eager to give one another precedence" (Rom 12:10). It is
their task, therefore, to reconcile differences of mentality in such a
way that no one need feel himself a stranger in the community of the
faithful. They are defenders of the common good, with which they are
charged in the name of the bishop. At the same time, they are
strenuous assertors of the truth, lest the faithful be carried about by
every wind of doctrine.[79] They are united by a special
solicitude with those who have fallen away from the use of the
sacraments, or perhaps even from the faith. Indeed, as good
shepherds, they should not cease from going out to them.
Mindful of the prescripts on ecumenism,[80] let them not forget
their brothers who do not enjoy full ecclesiastical communion with us.
Finally, they have entrusted to them all those who do not recognize
Christ as their Savior.
The Christian faithful, for their part, should realize their
obligations to their priests, and with filial love they should follow
them as their pastors and fathers. In like manner, sharing their
cares, they should help their priests by prayer and work insofar as
possible so that their priests might more readily overcome difficulties
and be able to fulfill their duties more fruitfully.[81]
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SECTION 3.
THE DISTRIBUTION OF PRIESTS, AND VOCATIONS TO THE PRIESTHOOD
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10. The spiritual gift which priests receive at their ordination
prepared them not for a sort of limited and narrow mission but for the
widest possible and universal mission of salvation "even to the ends of
the earth" (Acts 1:8), for every priestly ministry shares in the
universality of the mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles. The
priesthood of Christ, in which all priests really share, is
necessarily intended for all peoples and all times, and it knows no
limits of blood, nationality or time, since it is already mysteriously
prefigured in the person of Melchisedech.[82] Let priests
remember, therefore, that the care of all churches must be their
intimate concern. Hence, priests of such dioceses as are rich in
vocations should show themselves willing and ready, with the permission
of their own ordinaries (bishops), to volunteer for work in other
regions, missions or endeavors which are poor in numbers of clergy.
Present norms of incardination and excardination should be so revised
that, while this ancient institution still remains intact, they will
better correspond to today's pastoral needs. Where a real apostolic
spirit requires it, not only should a better distribution of priests be
brought about but there should also be favored such particular pastoral
works as are necessary in any region or nation anywhere on earth. To
accomplish this purpose there should be set up international
seminaries, special personal dioceses or prelatures (vicariates),
and so forth, by means of which, according to their particular
statutes and always saving the right of bishops, priests may be trained
and incardinated for the good of the whole Church.
Priests should not be sent singly to a new field of labor, especially
to one where they are not completely familiar with the language and
customs; rather, after the example of the disciples of
Christ,[83] they should be sent two or three together so that they
may be mutually helpful to one another. Likewise, thoughtful care
should be given to their spiritual life as well as their mental and
bodily welfare; and, so far as is possible, the circumstances and
conditions of labor should be adapted to individual needs and
capabilities. At the same time it will be quite advantageous if those
priests who go to work in a nation new to them not only know well the
language of that place but also the psychological and social milieu
peculiar to the people they go to serve, so that they may communicate
with them easily, thus following the example of Paul the Apostle who
could say of himself: "For when I was free of all I made myself the
servant of all, that I might win over many. Among Jews I was a
Jew that I might win over the Jews" (1 Cor 9:19-20).
11. The Shepherd and Bishop of our souls[84] so constituted
his Church that the people whom he chose and acquired by his
blood[85] would have its priests to the end of time, and that
Christians would never be like sheep without a shepherd.[86]
Recognizing Christ's desire, and at the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit, the apostles considered it their duty to select men "who will
be capable of teaching others" (2 Tim 2:2). This duty, then,
is a part oś the priestly mission by which every priest becomes a
sharer in the care of the whole Church, lest ministers be ever lacking
for the People of God on earth. Since, however, there is common
cause between the captain of a ship and the sailors,[87] let all
Christian people be taught that it is their duty to cooperate in one
way or another, by constant prayer and other means at their
disposal,[88] that the Church will always have a sufficient number
of priests to carry out her divine mission. In the first place,
therefore, it is the duty of priests, by the ministry of the word and
by the example of their own lives, showing forth the spirit of service
and the paschal joy to demonstrate to the faithful the excellence and
necessity of the priesthood; then they should see to it that young men
and adults whom they judge worthy of such ministry should be called by
their bishops to ordination, sparing no effort or inconvenience in
helping them to prepare for this call, always saving their internal and
external freedom of action. In this effort, diligent and prudent
spiritual direction is of the greatest value. Parents and teachers and
all who are engaged in any way in the education of boys and young men
should so prepare them that they will recognize the solicitude of our
Lord for his flock, will consider the needs of the Church, and will
be prepared to respond generously to our Lord when he calls, saying:
"Here I am Lord, send me" (Is 6:8). This voice of the
Lord calling, however, is never to be expected as something which in
an extraordinary manner will be heard by the ears of the future priest.
It is rather to be known and understood in the manner in which the will
of God is daily made known to prudent Christians. These indications
should be carefully noted by priests.[89]
Works favoring vocations, therefore, whether diocesan or national,
are highly recommended to the consideration of priests.[90] In
sermons, in catechetical instructions, and written articles, priests
should set forth the needs of the Church both locally and universally,
putting into vivid light the nature and excellence of the priestly
ministry, which consoles heavy burdens with great joys, and in which
in a special way, as the Fathers of the Church point out, the
greatest love of Christ can be shown.[91]
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