The Structure of the Church PDF

RALPH RIGOR M. CANLAPAN, RN Instructor, Theology 3 College of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (P) AUTHORITY IN THE CHURCH Authority in the Church is singular and unique in nature because it has a supernatural character and a divine origin Ecclesiastical authority comes from God and exercised by...

RALPH RIGOR M. CANLAPAN, RN Instructor, Theology 3 College of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (P) AUTHORITY IN THE CHURCH Authority in the Church is singular and unique in nature because it has a supernatural character and a divine origin Ecclesiastical authority comes from God and exercised by those whom God chooses to lead His Church. Church leaders are not elected officials of the Church. AUTHORITY IN THE CHURCH It is by the will of Christ to establish the Church as a living and hierarchical society. Jesus resolved to pass on to the apostles the power which He Himself had received from the Father. This power is supernatural and sacred, so it must be used solely for the purpose of sanctification and salvation AUTHORITY IN THE CHURCH “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Mt 28:18-20) The hierarchical constitution of the Church is clearly delineated by the Second Vatican Council in the following text: "In order to shepherd the People of God and to increase its numbers without cease, Christ the Lord set up in His Church a variety of offices which aim at the good of the whole body... Jesus Christ, the eternal pastor, set up the holy Church by entrusting the apostles with their mission as He Himself had been sent by the Father. He willed that their successors, the bishops namely, should be the shepherds in His Church until the end of the world. In order that the episcopate itself, however, might be one and undivided He put Peter at the head of the other apostles, and in him He set up a lasting and visible source and foundation of the unity both of faith and of communion" (LG 18). THE HIERARCHIAL CONSTITUTION The Church's hierarchical order is represented by the ministerial priesthood of those who have received the sacrament of Holy Orders. Their authority and mission is from Christ the Lord They act and speak not as members of the community, but as ministers of Christ's grace with the power to act “in persona Christi Capitis”—in person of Christ the Head. “The ministerial priest, by the sacred power that he has, forms and rules the priestly people in the person of Christ he effects the Eucharistic sacrifice and offers it to God in the name of all the people” (LG 10). FEATURES OF THE CHURCH'S HIERARCHY (CCC 874-879) It comes from and acts in the person of Christ, the Head. It is conferred by the sacrament of Holy Orders. It is a real service It has a collegial character: the bishops act within the college of bishops, the priests within the presbytery of the diocese; and It has a personal character which is proper to the sacramental nature of the office DEGREES OF PRIESTHOOD Having received their mandate from the Lord, the apostles acted as a specifically distinct group exercising their powers as ministers of Christ (cf. Acts 1:15-26; 2:42; 6:1-7; 8:14- 17; 1 Cor 14:2611). And to perpetuate the apostolic powers to teach, rule, and sanctify, Jesus willed that the Church should have a hierarchy. “To proclaim the faith and to plant His reign, Christ sends His apostles and their successors. He gives them a share in His own mission. From Him they receive the power to act in His person” (CCC 935). DEGREES OF PRIESTHOOD He willed that the bishops as successors of the apostles should be the shepherds in the Church endowed with the power and mission to teach doctrine, guard the deposit of the faith, govern the life of the Church and administer the sacraments DEGREES OF PRIESTHOOD In the Church, there are three degrees of priesthood: bishop, priest, and deacon. THE BISHOPS The bishop possesses the highest degree or fullness of priesthood. From the Greek word episkopos meaning "overseer." A bishop is a supreme, divinely instituted member of the Church's hierarchy, invested with the authority to govern a diocese, and called a successor of the apostles THE BISHOPS The bishops as successors of the apostles are definitely set apart as officials of the People of God whose functions are: To teach (prophetic office): “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt 28:19-20). THE BISHOPS To govern (kingly office): “Amen. I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Mt 18:18). To sanctify (priestly office): “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Mt 28:19). “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained” THE PRIESTS A priest is a man who is ordained and has the triple power of teaching, ministering, and governing. He exercises his ministry in collaboration with the bishop. “All priests, both diocesan and religious, by reason of orders and ministry, are associated with the body of bishops, and serve the good of the whole Church according to their vocation and the grace given to them” (LG 28). THE PRIESTS Both diocesan priests and religious priests can be assigned as parish priests, seminary formators, school chaplains, hospital chaplains, spiritual directors of charitable institutions, and missionaries in non-Catholic areas THE PRIESTS There are two kinds of priesthood, namely ministerial and common priesthood. Ministerial priesthood is conferred to deacons, priests, and bishops by virtue of ordination. Common priesthood is shared by all lay faithful—all those who are baptized, but not ordained as ministers. THE DEACONS The deacon, which means “servant,” occupies the lowest in the hierarchical order of the Church. His functions: administering baptism, assisting at burial and funeral services, officiating marriages, and assisting the priest at Mass by proclaiming the Gospel, giving homily, and distributing the Holy Communion. As he is not yet a priest, he cannot perform the consecration of the Holy Eucharist, the sacrament of Confirmation, and Confession THE LAITY If the Church is a pyramid, the largest part, which is the base, represents the composition of the laity in the Church. They comprise the greater majority in the structure of the Church.  Who are the Laity? “The laity are the faithful who by baptism are incorporated into Christ and integrated into the People of God, are made sharers in their particular way in the priestly, prophetic, and kingly office of Christ, and have their own part to play in the mission of the whole Christian people in the Church and in the world” (LG 31; CCC 897). THE LAITY The Church is congregatio fidelium, the “congregation of the faithful.” The lay people together with those in Holy Orders and those who belong to consecrated life—a religious state of life approved by the Church— form the People of God Place of the laity in the Church According to Blessed Alvaro del Portillo, “the laity are those members of the Church who belong fundamentally to the civitas terrena [earthly city] and take part in its development Hence for the layman to be a good Christian, it is essential that he be a good member of the civitas terrena Place of the laity in the Church Hence also, since a man is good because of his virtues, the layman must have and practice the human natural virtues— which are the basis of the supernatural virtues—and know as much as possible, within his capabilities, about his secular function, that is to say his occupation” (Belmonte, 1993). Mission of the Laity Evangelization founded by in the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, and for the majority of them, in the sacrament of Matrimony. “the vast and complex world of education, politics, society, and economics, as well as the world of culture, of the sciences and the art, of international life, of the mass media. To fulfill the mission of communicating Christ in these vast areas, the Church needs all the lay faithful, rich and poor, with the special gifts, individual and collective, of farmers, fishermen, workers, mass media practitioners, educators and lawyers, civil servants, those in the medical and nursing services, and professionals in the various strata of society” (PCP II 434; CFC 1425).