Can I wear my cassock everywhere?

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I don’t see how it breaks any liturgical law, if I had an altar server cassock (Without the surplice), could I wear it around town?

Note: Not really going to do this, just asking. 🙂
 
Sounds like it could a source of pride.
Sorta like when Jesus condemned the religious leaders of His time for taking pride in their shawls and tassles etc etc

Sounds Pharisitcal to me…
 
A cassock is clerical garb. It would not be appropriate for you to wear it, unless of course you are a priest.
 
Unless you are a priest, the cassock is only to be worn for the liturgy, not for casual wear. You are a lay person, not a priest.
 
Are you a cleric? Then yes. Are you a man religious part of whose habit is the cassock? Then yes. Are you a layman substituting for a cleric in minor orders during a liturgical ceremony? Then you may during the time of that liturgical ceremony. Are you a layman under any other circumstances? Then you may not.
 
Just to be clear, a permanent deacon would (or atleast should) be allow to wear a cassock. A cassock is not just for priest, but all clerics. Heck a deacon could wear a biretta; not that I’ve seen them used by most clergy outside of the EF. 😉
 
Usige said:
Just to be clear, a permanent deacon would (or atleast should) be allow to wear a cassock. A cassock is not just for priest, but all clerics. Heck a deacon could wear a biretta; not that I’ve seen them used by most clergy outside of the EF. 😉
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Well, sadly, most of the permanent deacons in the U.S. aren’t even allowed to wear the Roman Collar while engaged in ministry such as hospital visits, cemetery committals, etc. It’s a diocese-by-diocese decision, and most bishops don’t allow it.
 
Tarpeian_Rock said:
Well, sadly, most of the permanent deacons in the U.S. aren’t even allowed to wear the Roman Collar while engaged in ministry such as hospital visits, cemetery committals, etc. It’s a diocese-by-diocese decision, and most bishops don’t allow it.
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Not that I would think it wise for any cleric to disobey his bishop save if he counsels sin, but doesn’t universal law regarding clerical dress trump any particular law base upon a bishop’s mere preference?
 
This is just cute stuff, but I saw a movie about one of my patron saints, and back in the old days, a boy who went to seminary at age 14, could wear his own cassock and parson’s hat. (This was around 1855). OF course, he did not start studing actual priest courses till he was older, around 18.

I have a photo of same person at age 65, walking around the city he lived in, in the exact same outfit: cassock and parson’s hat. But now, 42 years a priest! 😉
 
Usige said:
Just to be clear, a permanent deacon would (or atleast should) be allow to wear a cassock. A cassock is not just for priest, but all clerics. Heck a deacon could wear a biretta; not that I’ve seen them used by most clergy outside of the EF. 😉
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Provided the ordinary allows deacons to do so.
Talking with the permanent deacons in my parish, the ordinary in the beginning of the reinstatement of the diaconate did not allow deacons to wear any clerical outside of the Mass to avoid confusion…

As for OP’s ? - same answers as above, if you’re a layperson, you can not wear the cassock outside of the Mass.
 
I once heard Fulton Sheen say during an interview that it was illegal for priests even to wear cassocks out and about in the United States. This was probably in the 50s and I doubt it’s changed.
 
JD27076 said:
I don’t see how it breaks any liturgical law, if I had an altar server cassock (Without the surplice), could I wear it around town?

If you were a butcher, would you wear your butcher’s garb around town?🙂
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bardegaulois said:
Not that I would think it wise for any cleric to disobey his bishop save if he counsels sin, but doesn’t universal law regarding clerical dress trump any particular law base upon a bishop’s mere preference?
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As I understand it the bishop’s conference can determine the norms of clerical dress. So while a deacon is entitled to wear clerics (and be addressed as Rev. Mr. Jones), the USCCB has put out a mixed message for permanent deacons. In general it says that since permanent deacons normally are employed in secular positions that they should not wear clerical attire unless their ordinary makes an exception. Later in the same document they state that wearing a cassock is at the cleric’s discretion. Since a permanent deacon is a cleric it would be at their discretion.

While I would say that any deacon (or priest) should be obedient to their bishop, it is possible that they could appeal to the Congregation of the Clergy if they felt they were unlawfully denied the rights afforded to them via the clerical state. Not wise, but their right under law.
Tarpeian_Rock said:
Well, sadly, most of the permanent deacons in the U.S. aren’t even allowed to wear the Roman Collar while engaged in ministry such as hospital visits, cemetery committals, etc. It’s a diocese-by-diocese decision, and most bishops don’t allow it.
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z_0101 said:
Provided the ordinary allows deacons to do so.
Talking with the permanent deacons in my parish, the ordinary in the beginning of the reinstatement of the diaconate did not allow deacons to wear any clerical outside of the Mass to avoid confusion.
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That is the unfortunate truth. One of the odd things is that every seminarian I have ever met wore the Roman Collar and cassock years before they were ordained. So here we have men who are not technically clerics yet allow to wear clerical attire, while men that are validly ordained are restricted from doing so. 🤷

I think it’s not just the confusion of the laity, but in some instances bishops that don’t know what to do with permanent deacons. There is a tendency in some places to see them as something not quite as members of the clergy, but something more than the laity. I would think a good compromise would be to reserve a different color for deacons versus priests. If the USCCB specified black clerical dress for priests and grey for deacons I think it could solve the confusion problem while still allowing deacons their right to wear clerical garb.
 
Around town? Outside of Rome, its uncommon for even clerics to wear cassocks around town. Maybe its just where I live, but about the only place I see priests wearing cassocks are in old movies and “era” TV shows…The simple Roman collar, or habits of religious, seem to be the norm.
 
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