Catholic Ministry
Has
Unique Boundaries
Catholic ministry, whether it's a soup kitchen, or
marriage counseling,
takes place only within very clearly defined geographical and
administrative boundaries and differs from the ministry of other denominations in two
fundamental ways...(click on the titles below to open a panel. Reclick to close and reduce the need for scrolling)...
The first difference is...
The first difference between catholic ministry and other ministries is that
the only ministry in a catholic diocese is the ministry of the bishop who heads that diocese.
Though in conversation priests and professed
religious, as well as lay ministers, refer to "My ministry", none
of
them may work in the diocese without the explicit permission of the
bishop. In catholic ministry, they
are all doing the bishop's ministry.
The second difference is...
Unlike many non-catholic denominations, lay catholics have no say in the hierarchical organization of
the church or in the election or assignment of bishops or priests with
authority over them. All authority is bestowed from above from pope to bishop to pastor.
All ministry in the catholic church is governed by a
clerical hierarchy within specific
territories...
The Pope And The Vatican
The pope is elected in closed conclave by a body of bishops appointed
by
the previous popes, who are called cardinals. They make up the college
of cardinals whose sole function is
to elect the pope.
The pope, is not only head of the Roman
Catholic Church, he is
also a Head of State. The Vatican is a sovereign nation among the other nations of the world. It has
political ties to other countries through its diplomatic corps,
through treaties, through its seat in the United Nations, and
it has worldwide financial ties through its central bank.
The Bishop And The Diocese
A priest is selected by the pope to be a bishop
who is then appointed by the pope to head a diocese in which the bishop is the sole authority for
catholics in matters of faith and morals.
The bishop has three major responsibilities...
- To teach the magisterium of the church relating
to such beliefs as the divinity of Jesus, the authority of scripture,
and so forth.
- Ministering to the sacramental needs of the
people in the diocese.
- Ordaining priests to help meet the sacramental
needs of the people.
The Pastor And The Parish
In catholic
ministry, the pastor of a parish, which is a subdivision of
the diocese with its own local church, is a priest ordained and
appointed by the bishop. At his ordination the priest makes a solemn
public promise to assist the bishop in carrying out the bishop’s
ministry to the diocese.
In catholic ministry, the priest is not independent of the bishop. He
cannot engage in public ministry of any kind without the explicit
authority to do so from the bishop. And under the due process
requirements
of canon
law the bishop may withdraw his permission for a priest to
function if there is good cause to do so.
All catholic ministry, then, takes place in both a religious and
political context.
This elaborate and ancient organization is the
context in which
even
the humblest catholic ministry, such as a soup kitchen, takes place. While non-catholic ministry is often much more local...and often includes
input
from the congregation about hiring and firing of local church
ministers.
This complex organization has been an added complication in redressing
violations of sexual boundaries. Because offending ministers could
simply be tranferred from one jurisdiction to another without
notification to, or input from, the people of the congregation.
This permitted secrecy and coverups in the church.
With the advent of local child protection policies
in dioceses, the organizational structure of the catholic church will
be much more transparent in identifying and dealing with boundary
violations by clergy as well as religious and lay ministers.
From catholic ministry you can return to professional boundaries
Or you can...
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