Positions in the Church

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melissa09

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I know what the priests and the bishops do and the pope, but what are the roles of deacons, archbishops, cardinals, etc.? Sorry, I’m from a rural parish and have only encountered my bishop and priests.
 
Hi Melissa09,

The quick answer is this:
  1. Deacons assist the presider during Mass (Pope, Cardinal, Archbishop, Bishop or Priest), read the Gospel, can give a homily, baptize, officiate at weddings, and other duties.
  2. Archbishops are the head of a larger geographical area of parishes and other Catholic institutions that serve a larger population of Catholics (Ex: Los Angeles Archdiocese, New Orleans Archdiocese, New York Archdiocese and many others.)
  3. Cardinals are the Princes of the Church, they elect the Pope, serve as his cabinet, advisors. Its a position of honor.
 
PatrickJT914 said:
Hi Melissa09,

The quick answer is this:
  1. Deacons assist the presider during Mass (Pope, Cardinal, Archbishop, Bishop or Priest), read the Gospel, can give a homily, baptize, officiate at weddings, and other duties.
  2. Archbishops are the head of a larger geographical area of parishes and other Catholic institutions that serve a larger population of Catholics (Ex: Los Angeles Archdiocese, New Orleans Archdiocese, New York Archdiocese and many others.)
  3. Cardinals are the Princes of the Church, they elect the Pope, serve as his cabinet, advisors. Its a position of honor.
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Within the Cardinals, there are three orders: the Cardinal Deacons, the Cardinal Priests and the Cardinal Bishops. All Cardinals make up the Roman clergy, since the clergy of Rome must vote on the successor of St. Peter. Voting age ends at 80.

If you were to have caught the Papal Mass for the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, you would have seen two cardinals wearing the dalmatic (the vestment proper to a deacon) along with their mitres as they accompanied the Holy Father. The one who announces that a new pope has been elected “Habemus Papam” is the Cardinal Proto-deacon. The Cardinal Priests have titular parishes in Rome. The Cardinal Bishops (I believe that there are six of them) have titular sees in Rome. The former Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, was made a Cardinal Bishop by Pope John Paul II. I believe that our own Lone Star Prince of the Church, Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, is a Cardinal Priest.
 
Not all Cardinals are Roman clerics.

Here are the few who are not that I can find; their cardinalate sees are their patriarchal sees:
His Beattitude Cardinal Nasrallah Pierre Sfeir (Maronite)
His Beattitude Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly (Chaldean)
His Beattitude Cardinal Stéphanos II Ghattas (Coptic, Ret. Patriarch)
His Beattitude Cardinal Ignace Moussa I Daoud (Syrian, Ret. Patriarch)

The following two are not properly Roman Clerics, but hold cardinal sees within the Roman patriachate:
His Beattitude Cardinal Mar Varkey Vithayathil, C.SS.R. (Syro-Malabar)
His Beattitude Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, M.S.U. (Ukrainian)
 
so now I’m confused on the cardinals - how do they become cardinals and…:confused:
 
melissa09 said:
so now I’m confused on the cardinals - how do they become cardinals and…:confused:
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They become cardinals when the pope names them as such (the verb used is “create”). Only the pope may name a cardinal, although there are certain positions which by tradition are usually held by a cardinal and it is more-or-less expected that if the pope names him to that position, he will likewise name him a cardinal in the near future (like the Archbishops of Baltimore, New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia to name but a few).

This thread can get to be very confusing, so if you have more questions, it might be best to post them one-at-a-time.
 
Thanks FrDavid and the other posters!!

I do have a few more questions though…

Question #1

Are the cardinals divided somewhat equally between countries or are there usually more from particular places?
 
melissa09 said:
Thanks FrDavid and the other posters!!

I do have a few more questions though…

Question #1

Are the cardinals divided somewhat equally between countries or are there usually more from particular places?
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I don’t think that there is a particular mechanism in place; however, a good deal of them do come from Italy and Europe. We do have several cardinals from the United States, including one that has a curial position, William Cardinal Leveda. Other American Cardinals living in Rome include Bernard Cardnial Law and John Cardinal Foley.

Cardinals are created during events called consistories. During the Consitory, the entire college comes together. The new meet the current and then, at some point, they have a meeting with the Holy Father. Then, there is a ceremony when the new cardinals receive the red beretta (hat) and the ring.

Now, there are some priests who are made honorary cardinals by the Holy Father in honor of something they have done. The late Avery Cardinal Dulles, SJ, was one such priest who became a cardinal without becoming a bishop.
 
thanks!!!..well I thought I had more questions but I can’t seem to think of them right now…i might have some later though
 
I have a question that fits this thread.

What is a Monsignor, and who gives them the title?

Thanks,

Ruthie
 
Historically, Cardinals were the clergy of the Church of Rome, since that is the “cardinal” or principal Church where the sucessor of St. Peter (the Pope) presides. Over time, however, the honor was bestowed on clergy elsewhere as well.
 
“Monsignor” is a title given to a priest. It is purely honorary, but they can wear certain clerical attire usually reserved for bishops. I believe the bishop bestows that honor, but I am not entirely sure.
 
A monsignor is a member of the Papal Household, a chaplain to His Holiness. It is an honor bestowed upon a priest for a particular accomplishment or because he has assumed a role of importance in the diocese. Such a role could include being Chancellor, Episcopal Vicar, Vicar General, Dean of one of the deaneries or the rector of the Cathedral.

I was privileged to attend the investiture ceremony when my friend and PV became a monsignor. The bishop is the one who confers the honor, which he receives from the Holy Father. It was wonderful to see him process out with his new monsignor cassock.
 
benedictgal said:
A monsignor is a member of the Papal Household, a chaplain to His Holiness. It is an honor bestowed upon a priest for a particular accomplishment or because he has assumed a role of importance in the diocese. Such a role could include being Chancellor, Episcopal Vicar, Vicar General, Dean of one of the deaneries or the rector of the Cathedral.

I was privileged to attend the investiture ceremony when my friend and PV became a monsignor. The bishop is the one who confers the honor, which he receives from the Holy Father. It was wonderful to see him process out with his new monsignor cassock.
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Ah, thanks for elaborating. 👍
 
Ruthie said:
I have a question that fits this thread.

What is a Monsignor, and who gives them the title?

Thanks,

Ruthie
Click to expand...
A monsignor is a priest who has been given this title as a way of honoring him for his outstanding service to the Church.

“Monsignor” is actually a form of address, it is not a title itself.

Priests might be:
Chaplains to His Holiness
Prelates to His Holiness
Protonotary Apostolica

There are other titles, all of them given by the pope. Typically, a bishop “nominates” a priest for one of these titles by writing a letter of recomendation to Rome, and the Holy See responds with an official letter written in the name of the pope granting the title. Officially, such priests are made “members of the papal household”–that is, part of the pope’s personal staff even though this is just a technicality.
The word “Monsignor” (literally French for my lord) is the way we address those priests, but it is not an office unto itself.

PS to elaborate on what was posted while I was typing, usually the recognition of Monsignor and the added responsibility of an important office go hand-in-hand.
 
FrDavid96 said:
A monsignor is a priest who has been given this title as a way of honoring him for his outstanding service to the Church.

“Monsignor” is actually a form of address, it is not a title itself.

Priests might be:
Chaplains to His Holiness
Prelates to His Holiness
Protonotary Apostolica

There are other titles, all of them given by the pope. Typically, a bishop “nominates” a priest for one of these titles by writing a letter of recomendation to Rome, and the Holy See responds with an official letter written in the name of the pope granting the title. Officially, such priests are made “members of the papal household”–that is, part of the pope’s personal staff even though this is just a technicality.
The word “Monsignor” (literally French for my lord) is the way we address those priests, but it is not an office unto itself.
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Yes, my friend, upon being decked in his new cassock (which he wears on Sundays), told me that “monsignor” means “my lord.” I told him that I would stick to calling him Msgr. X. The color of the sash (for lack of a better word) is magenta, as is the piping on the cassock. He even went so far sa to get the beretta (with the magenta “pom-pom”-for lack of a better word) and the zucchetto (with magenta piping).

When he last went to Rome (leading a pilgrimage), he wore his cassock and was saluted by the Swiss Guard. 🙂 I thought that was kind of funny.

Incidentally, the Pope’s personal secretary is, himself, a monsignor. The cassock you see Msgr. Georg Ganswein wearing is the same one my friend wears.
 
melissa09 said:
New question…what are the differences between these
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My friend is a chaplain to His Holiness. The Prelate to His Holiness has a cassock that is completely magenta in color, almost like a bishop’s, but, without the pastor’s cape. I remember because when I attended my friend’s investiture, there was one lone monsignor who had that designation. He was the judicial vicar of the diocese. I don’t know what the last one is.
 
melissa09 said:
New question…what are the differences between these
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Wow. That one gets very very complicated. There is a certain “ranking” of all these offices, so a “Prelate to His Holiness” is given a place of honor above a “Chaplain to His Holiness” (which usually means nothing practical, but the lower cleric walks in front of the higher one in processions).

Each rank also has very very specific “trims” which they are allowed to wear on their clerical garb. There’s are different shades of red and different amounts of it that are worn for each rank. Ecclesiastical taylors actually have reference books to tell them the precise way to make garments for each rank–It’ll make your head spin! I remember years ago a friend of mine was named a Monsignor, had a cassock made, but it was the wrong shade of red and he had to have it re-done.

In practical terms, there isn’t much difference. But if one was named a Monsignor several years ago but has done much in the meantime to deserve further recognition, he might be advanced into the next ranking.
 
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