Is a cassock sort of like a habit?
No, a cassock is not like a habit. A habit may only be worn by those who live the Consecrated Life, that is religious.
If a priest is ALSO a religious he may wear the habit of his community. The habit is a sacred gard that is consecrated at the time that the religious is invested. In most religious communities the members receive the habit at the beginning of the novitiate, but it may also be postponed to the end of the novitiate when the religiuos makes vows.
Secular priests do not make vows. They are seculars. The idea that a priest is not a secular man is erroneous and against canon law. A priest is a secular man.
Only those priests who are ALSO members of religoius orders are not secular men. Religioius men and women are consecrated to God by vows of poverty, obedience and chastity.
These vows are not part of the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Therefore a priest who is not a member of a religious community does not make these vows nor can he wear a habit.
The cassock was originally created for the Society of Jesus during the 1500s. St. Ignatius wanted to found a society of priests and brothers to counteract heressy. But he did not want them to be friars or monks. Friars and monks wear habits, as do nuns and many sisters, because they are all Consecrated Religious.
St. Ignatius wanted a group of consecrated religious who looked like secular men. He never gave his priests a habit, even though they took vows. He gave them a long black coat that went over their clothes with a white collar as a sign of celibacy.
Diocesan or secular priests did not wear such distinctive garb. They adopted it from the Jesuits.
It is also not true that priests do not wear a cassock because of the post Vatican II Church.
In many countries they were banned either by the State or by the Church or both.
At the Council of Baltimore the American clergy was advised to adopt the clerical garb of the Anglican clergy by Archbishop Carrol, the first bishop of the United States. At the time the war was just over and there were many anti-Catholic sentiments as many Irish immigrants had arrived in NY and Baltimore. To protect the priests from harm, the Archibishop told them to wear the black suit and collar of the Anglicans when on the streets.
Years later, when the danger was no longer present, many American priests returned to wearing the cassock in public.
In Mexico it is still banned off Church property. The Constitution prohibits all forms of religious garb in public places. To avoid conflicts and arrests, priests and religious change into secular clothes when leaving their houses. This has been the law for more than 100 years.
This is also the case in most communist countries. Poland was one of the few communist countries where priests wore cassocks in public.
Most European priests do not wear a suit with a roman collar as this is more of an Anglican custom in Europe. That’s why we often see pictures of Joseph Ratzinger in a shirt and tie during his younger days as a professor in Germany. That was the expected norm of dress for German priests.
In spain the custom was a black crew neck shirt under a jacket or a cassock or habit. That had been the custom since the Spanish Civil War. Again, this was to protect priests.
After the French Revolution priests and religioius in France adopted secular garb. That is why many sisters who came to the USA from France dressed as widows. In France they passed without detection. The clergy in France covered ther cassocks or habits with cloaks. Later they switched to a suit with a tie. It wasn’t until after World War II that the French clergy went back to wearing a cassock or habit in public. Under the new Constitution they were guarranteed freedom of religion and protection from anti-clericalism.
Interestingly enough, the only Nation where the clergy or religious never had to hide their identity was in Israel. By the 1949 when Israel was founded the Franciscan Friars of Jerusalem had been there for more than 700 years along with the Orthodox clergy of Jerusalem. Their presence was not seen as a threat by either Jews or Muslims.
Also, you will find that Franciscan bishops will wear the Franciscan habit instead of the Cassock. The reason for this is because even though they are bishops or cardinals, they are still friars. The are allowed to choose what to wear.
In the pic below, to the left of the Pope you will see a Capuchin-Franciscan Cardinal wearing a Brother’s habit, instead of a cassock. This has nothing to do with modernism. It has to do with fidelity to the individual’s religious order and his vocation to be a Brother and a Priest.
cardinalseansblog.org/?m=200706
JR
