|
Candidates |
"Do not lay hands too readily on anyone, and do not share in another's sins. Keep yourself pure."
(1 Tm. 5:22)
"This saying is
trustworthy: whoever aspires to the office of bishop desires a noble task.
Therefore, a bishop must be irreproachable, married only once*, temperate, self-controlled, decent, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not aggressive, but gentle, not contentious, not a lover of money.
He must manage his own household well, keeping his children under control with perfect dignity;
for if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how can he take care of the church of God?
He should not be a recent convert, so that he may not become conceited and thus incur the devil's
punishment. He must also have a good reputation among outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, the devil's trap. Similarly, deacons must be dignified, not deceitful, not addicted to drink, not greedy for sordid gain,
holding fast to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. Moreover, they should be tested first; then, if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons."
(1 Tm. 3:1-10) [*Note: Religious offices indicated in the
New Testament are in their infancy and can be shown to be
developing even in Scripture. Within a short time, many religious
offices in the Church adopted Jesus' and St. Paul's recommended
observance of celibacy
as a general rule.]
"A
man who is going to be a priest should excel in holiness and
learning." (Pope Pius VI, "Inscrutabile", 1775
A.D.)
"Can.
641 The right to admit candidates to the novitiate belongs to the
major Superiors, in accordance with the norms of the institute's
own law." (1983 Code of Canon Law)
"...let
them exclude from sacred orders those young men who give the very
faintest reason for doubt that they favor condemned doctrines and
pernicious novelties." (Pope St. Pius X, "Praestantia
Scripturae", 1907 A.D.)
"The
office enjoined on prelates manifestly shows how great care should
be taken in their election, for they are appointed for the
government of souls for which our Lord Jesus Christ died and shed
His precious Blood." (Council of Basel)
"Equal
diligence and severity are to be used in examining and selecting
candidates for Holy Orders. Far, far from the clergy be the love
of novelty! God hates the proud and the obstinate." (Pope St.
Pius X, "Pascendi Dominici Gregis", 1907 A.D.)
"If now you would have Us define more
exactly the qualifications of those who are really to be
considered fit [for preaching], We answer: those in whom you find
the signs of a Divine vocation." (Pope Benedict XV, "Humani
Generis Redemptionem", 1917 A.D.)
"[T]o
use the short but clear expression of the Angelic Doctor:
'Holiness must come before holy orders...hence the burden of
orders should be placed only on walls seasoned with sanctity,
freed of the damp of sins.'" (Pope Pius XI, "Ad
Catholici Sacerdotii", 1935 A.D.)
"Do not admit anyone to the clergy, entrust
to no one the ministry of the mysteries of God, allow no one to
hear confessions or preach sermons, do not transfer any
administration or office to anyone, before you carefully weigh,
examine and 'test their spirit to see if they are of God.'"
(Pope Pius VII, "Diu Satis", 1800 A.D.)
"Candidates
for holy orders especially must be examined at thorough length to
determine whether their learning, serious morals and zeal for
divine worship indicate that they will by their life and work
edify and bring spiritual benefit to your flock, like lanterns
burning in the house of the Lord." (Pope Pius IX, "Nostis
et Nobiscum", 1849 A.D.)
"Sound
your young clerics, too, most carefully, by yourselves and by the
directors of your seminaries, and when you find the spirit of
pride among any of them reject them without compunction from the
priesthood. Would to God that this had always been done with the
proper vigilance and constancy." (Pope
St. Pius X, "Pascendi Dominici Gregis")
"The
substance of our hierarchy are the words handed down from God,
that is to say, the true knowledge of the divine scriptures, as
the great Dionysius made plain. If someone is doubtful and ill at
ease with such conduct and teaching, let him not be ordained. For
God said through the prophet: You rejected knowledge, and I shall
reject you, so that you may not serve me in a priestly
function." (Second Council of Nicaea)
"The chief and most necessary quality
requisite in him who is to be ordained a priest is that he be
recommended by integrity of life and morals; first because, by
procuring or permitting his ordination while conscious of mortal
sin, a man renders himself guilty of a new and enormous crime; and
secondly, because the priest is bound to give others the example
of a holy and innocent life." (Catechism of the Council of
Trent)
"Can.
1371 The disruptive, incorrigible, and unruly are to be dismissed
from the Seminary, as are those whose lifestyle and
characteristics seem unsuitable for the ecclesiastical state;
likewise those who are not sufficient in progress of studies and
who give no hope of getting sufficient learning; and especially to
be dismissed are those who offend against good morals and
faith." (1917 Code of Canon Law)
"But
it is always necessary to investigate individual aspirants to the
priesthood with diligence, to ascertain the intentions and the
reasons with which they have taken this resolution. Particularly,
when it is a question of boys, it is necessary to find out if they
are furnished with the necessary moral and physical qualifications
and whether they aspire to the priesthood solely for its dignity
and the spiritual profit of themselves and other people."
(Pope Pius XII, "Menti Nostrae", 1950 A.D.)
"Some there are who embrace this state to
secure the necessaries of life, and who, consequently, seek in the
priesthood, just as other men do in the lowest walks of life,
nothing more or less than gain. Though both the natural and divine
law lay down, as the Apostle remarks, that he who serves the altar
should live by the altar; yet to approach the altar for the sake
of gain and money is one of the very gravest of sacrileges."
(Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"Therefore,
you should carefully consider that those whom you choose to
exercise the priestly ministry and to teach the people the
fundamentals of Christianity should possess great purity of life,
moral integrity, chastity, justice, piety, and devotion. How
serious it would be if something bad, if something vicious, if
something perverse were to infect their character with bad habits.
Cautiously and prudently remove this danger from the
pastors." (Pope Clement XIII, "A Quo Die", 1758
A.D.)
"Prevent
from entering the Church's service all who lack exceptional moral
holiness, who are uninstructed in the law of the Lord, and who
give little or no promise of becoming energetic members of the
clergy. For instead of proving helpers to you in feeding and
guiding your flock, they will increase your toil and troubles.
They will hinder you from ensuring that the Lord receives from his
workers the fruits of the vineyard which Christ in strictest
justice will expect from you at the final judgment." (Pope
Pius VI, "Inscrutabile", 1775 A.D.)
"Can.
968 § 1 Only a baptized male validly receives sacred ordination;
for liceity, however, he should be outstanding in the qualities
according to the norm of the sacred canons, in the judgement of
the proper Ordinary, and not detained by any irregularity or other
impediment. § 2 Those who are detained by an irregularity or
other impediment, even if it arises without their fault after
ordination, are prohibited from exercising the orders
received." (1917 Code of Canon Law)
"It is far better to dismiss an unfit
[seminary] student in the early stages; but if, for any reason,
such dismissal has been delayed, the mistake should be corrected
as soon as it is known. There should be no human consideration or
false mercy. Such false mercy would be a real cruelty, not only
towards the Church, to whom would be given an unfitted or unworthy
minister, but also towards the youth himself; for, thus embarked
upon a false course, he would find himself exposed to the risk of
becoming a stumbling block to himself and to others with peril of
eternal ruin." (Pope Pius XI, "Ad Catholici Sacerdotii", 1935
A.D.)
"Those
who are discovered to be unfit for physical, psychological or
moral reasons should be quickly removed from the path to the
priesthood. Let educators appreciate that this is one of their
very grave duties. They must neither indulge in false hopes and
dangerous illusions nor permit the candidate to nourish these
hopes in any way, with resultant damage to himself or to the
Church. The life of the celibate priest, which engages the whole
man so totally and so delicately, excludes in fact those of
insufficient physical, psychic and moral qualifications. Nor
should anyone pretend that grace supplies for the defects of
nature in such a man." (Pope Paul VI, 1967)
"Also watch the seminaries more diligently.
The fathers of Trent made you responsible for their
administration. From them must come forth men well instructed both
in Christian and ecclesiastical discipline and in the principles
of sound doctrine. Such men may then distinguish themselves for
their piety and their teaching. Thus, their ministry will be a
witness, even to those outside the Church and they will be able to
refute those who have strayed from the path of justice. Be very
careful in choosing the seminarians since the salvation of the
people principally depends on good pastors. Nothing contributes
more to the ruin of souls than impious, weak, or uninformed
clerics." (Pope Pius VIII, "Traditi Humilitati",
1829 A.D.)
"Can.
973 § 1 First tonsure and orders are to be conferred only on
those who are proposed for ascending to the presbyterate and who
seem correctly understood as, at some point in the future, being
worthy priests. § 2 One ordained who, however, who refuses to
receive higher orders cannot be coerced into receiving them by the
Bishop or prohibited from the exercise of those orders already
received, unless a canonical impediment detains them or another
grave cause, in the judgment of the Bishop, so bars. § 3 A bishop
shall confer sacred orders on no one unless from positive
arguments he is certain that [the recipient] is canonically
suitable; otherwise not only does he sin most gravely, but he also
places himself in danger of sharing in the sin of the other."
(1917 Code of Canon Law)
"With
watchful concern for the age of each and for his stage of
progress, an inquiry should be made into the candidate's proper
intention and freedom of choice, into his spiritual, moral and
intellectual qualifications, into his appropriate physical and
psychic health taking into consideration also possible hereditary
deficiencies. Also to be considered is the ability of the
candidate to bear the priestly burdens and exercise the pastoral
offices. In the entire process of selecting and testing students,
however, a due firmness is to be adopted, even if a deplorable
lack of priests should exist, since God will not allow His Church
to want for ministers if those who are worthy are promoted and
those not qualified are, at an early date, guided in a fatherly
way to undertake other tasks." (Second Vatican Council)
"The restoration of all things in Christ which, with
God's help, we have made it our purpose to achieve in the
government of the Church, demands - as we have more than once
shown - proper formation of the clergy, testing of vocations,
examination of the integrity of life of the candidates, and
prudence lest there be excessive leniency in opening to them the
doors of the sanctuary. To bring about the reign of Jesus Christ
in the world, nothing is more essential than a saintly clergy who,
by their example, their preaching and their learning will be the
guides of the faithful; an old proverb says that the people will
always be like their priests: Sicut sacerdos, sic populus. Indeed
we read in the Council of Trent. Nothing is more effective in
training to piety and the worship of God than the life and example
of those who are consecrated to the divine ministry; cut off from
the world and its affairs, clerics are on a pedestal where they
can be seen, and men look into their lives as into a mirror in
which they may see what they are to imitate'' (Pope St. Pius X)
"In
considering someone's suitability for the ministry, do not rely
only on individual enthusiasm or on someone's recommendation. You
should consider as best suited to be a faithful minister and to
receive a part of the Lord's flock the man whose timid virtue
shirks the ministry. 'Do not be too quick to lay hands on any man'
which happens if we do not consider and test the men over and over
again. Lest we pay the price to God for imprudent rashness and
share in another's sin, let him be tested carefully and accurately
and judged severely. It should not weary you if We dwell a little
longer on this matter which requires great attention. In whatever
manner the priests behave, the majority of the people will behave
in the same way. Everyone looks upon them - especially if they are
parish priests - as if in a mirror. For this reason, nobody
[receives] anything more destructive from the Church than evil
priests, who infect the people with their vices and so corrupt the
Church that they seem to harm it more by their example than by
their sin." (Pope Clement XIII, "A Quo Die", 1758
A.D.)
"[T]hose
with the right of electing [prelates] should be very careful that
they make a worthy election in the presence of God and of the
people, and let them be most solicitous to elect such persons as
can fill so great an office. Let them remember that if they act in
so important an affair either fraudulently or carelessly or
without regard for the fear of God, they will be the authors and
cause of evil pastors and will therefore share in the penalties
which the evil pastors themselves will suffer in the severe
judgment of God. Since the endeavor of human fragility can effect
nothing without the help of almighty God, from whom every good
endowment and every perfect gift comes down, those in whose hands
lies the election of a pontiff or an abbot shall meet in church on
the day of the election in order to hear with great devotion a Mass of the
Holy Spirit, whom they will humbly petition to deign
to inspire them to elect a worthy pastor. The more devoutly they
approach the act of election, the more readily they will merit
that grace, so let them confess and reverently receive the
sacrament of the Eucharist." (Council of Basel)
"Bishops
and religious superiors should not be deterred from this needful
severity by fear of diminishing the number of priests for the
diocese or institute. The Angelic Doctor St. Thomas long ago
proposed this difficulty, and answers it with his usual lucidity
and wisdom: 'God never abandons His Church; and so the number of
priests will be always sufficient for the needs of the faithful,
provided the worthy are advanced and the unworthy sent away.' The
same Doctor and Saint, basing himself upon the severe words quoted
by the fourth Ecumenical Council of the Lateran, observes to Our
purpose: 'Should it ever become impossible to maintain the present
number, it is better to have a few good priests than a multitude
of bad ones.' It was in this sense that We Ourselves, on the
solemn occasion of the international pilgrimage of seminarists
during the year of Our priestly jubilee, addressing an imposing
group of Italian Archbishops and Bishops, reaffirmed that one well
trained priest is worth more than many trained badly or scarcely
at all. For such would be not merely unreliable but a likely
source of sorrow to the Church. What a terrifying account,
Venerable Brethren, We shall have to give to the Prince of
Shepherds, to the Supreme Bishop of souls, if we have handed over
these souls to incompetent guides and incapable leaders."
(Pope Pius XI, "Ad Catholici Sacerdotii", 1935 A.D.)
"First and foremost, keeping always in mind
the precepts of the Apostle, be most careful not to lay hands
prematurely on anyone and be extremely cautious in conferring
sacred orders. Never, from a misplaced sense of obligation,
partisanship, or favor, join to the clergy and promote to
ecclesiastical grades and orders those who, not having even
minimally the gifts required by the sacred canons, should be
totally rejected from sacred ministry. He who does not fear to
initiate into sacred orders those who are unworthy inflicts great
harm on the Church. Therefore, your first concern is to strictly
follow the prescriptions of the sacred canons. Carefully examine
and scrutinize each candidate's origin, training, talents,
character, and teaching. Ordain only those outstanding individuals
who can truly benefit your dioceses. If they earnestly reject all
things which are forbidden to clerics and which never become them,
they may be an example to the faithful in 'word, speech, charity,
faith, and chastity.' Moreover, examine most intently the conduct,
honesty, piety, knowledge, and prudence of those to whom the care
and direction of souls is to be committed. Be ever vigilant that
pastors fulfill their office zealously, wisely and holily. They
should never fail to feed the Christian people entrusted to them
by means of preaching the divine word, of administering the
sacraments, and of dispensing of the multiple grace of God. They
should diligently imbue young people especially and the uneducated
with the mysteries and teachings of our divine religion and form
them in all piety and virtue. If pastors do not fulfill their
duty, religion and public life are damaged, morals are perverted,
Christian discipline weakens, the exercise of religious worship
declines, and all sorts of vices overwhelm people." (Pope
Pius IX, "Cum Nuper", 1858 A.D.)
"In
designating a man for the episcopal office, something has to be
considered on the part of the person designate, and something on
the part of the designator. For on the part of the designator,
whether by election or by appointment, it is required that he
choose such a one as will dispense the divine mysteries
faithfully. These should be dispensed for the good of the Church,
according to 1 Corinthians 14:12, 'Seek to abound unto the
edifying of the Church'; and the divine mysteries are not
committed to men for their own meed, which they should await in
the life to come. Consequently he who has to choose or appoint one
for a bishop is not bound to take one who is best simply, i.e.
according to charity, but one who is best for governing the
Church, one namely who is able to instruct, defend, and govern the
Church peacefully. Hence Jerome, commenting on Titus 1:5, says
against certain persons that 'some seek to erect as pillars of the
Church, not those whom they know to be more useful to the Church,
but those whom they love more, or those by whose obsequiousness
they have been cajoled or undone, or for whom some person in
authority has spoken, and, not to say worse than this, have
succeeded by means of gifts in being made clerics.' Now this
pertains to the respect of persons, which in such matters is a
grave sin. Wherefore a gloss of Augustine (Ep. 167 ad Hieron.) on
James 2:1, 'Brethren, have not... with respect of persons,' says:
'If this distinction of sitting and standing be referred to
ecclesiastical honors, we must not deem it a slight sin to have
the faith of the Lord of glory with respect of persons. For who
would suffer a rich man to be chosen for the Church's seat of
honor, in despite of a poor man who is better instructed and
holier?' On the part of the person appointed, it is not required
that he esteem himself better than others, for this would be proud
and presumptuous; but it suffices that he perceive nothing in
himself which would make it unlawful for him to take up the office
of prelate. Hence although Peter was asked by our Lord if he loved
Him more than the others, he did not, in his reply, set himself
before the others, but answered simply that he loved Christ... Our
Lord knew that, by His own bestowal, Peter was in other respects
fitted to govern the Church: wherefore He questioned him about his
greater love, to show that when we find a man otherwise fitted for
the government of the Church, we must look chiefly to his
pre-eminence in the love of God." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor
of the Church and "greatest theologian in the history of the
Church")
Also
See: Seminaries
/ Seminarians / Training / Formation | Religious
/ Religious Life / Religious Institutes | The
Calling to Religious Life | Priests
/ Priesthood [Pg.] | Holy
Orders (Sacraments Reflections) | Fostering
Vocations [Pg.] | Are
You Called to Religious Life? | Why
Priestly Celibacy? | Religious
Institutes For Men | Top
Reasons Why Women Can't Be Priests
| Prayers
for Priests / Vocations | Misc.
Priests / Vocations Facts
Note:
Categories are subjective and may overlap. For more items related
to this topic, please review all applicable categories. For more
'Reflections' and for Scripture topics, see links below.
Top |
Reflections: A-Z | Categ.
| Scripture: A-Z |
Categ.
| Help
|
