The Christian as a member of the
political Community
Does
Christianity, and more specifically Christian ethics, have anything to say
about political life and human relations between men within the State and
relations between States; and can clerics participate in politics? In the
Jewish–Christian tradition, there is no divorce between religion and life:
every aspect of human activity must be judged in the light of the will of God,
political life is no less that the other. The bible and Church authorities have
much to say about relationship between rulers and the ruled and about
relationship between one political community and others.
In
the Africae Munus, Pope Benedict XVI talks
about the good governance of States and he recognizes that the individual
members of the Church are citizens of two worlds, as it were –the Church and
the nation. Therefore, they should “render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar
and unto God what belongs to God”. These words of Christ justify the
involvement of the members of the Church in the politics of their nation. As
citizens of the nation, Christians have every right to be involved in the
political life of the country. They should be actively involved in politic and
should join political parties, take part in voting, and seek key political
positions. In a democratic system, they should strive to become political
leaders at any level. If they refuse to vote, or show indifference to political
issues, others will vote and take decisions that will affect them, for good or
ill. This is also echoed in Vatican II’s Gaudium
et Spes no.75.
On
the other hand, Priests are also citizens of the nation and must be concerned
about all political issues. These issues will affect their life whether they
likes it or not, and so they cannot ignore them. They must discus political
matters and vote when there are elections. If they happen to have any expertise
on political matters, they can serve their nation by offering suggestions
through writing to the ruling regime or government. If government seeks their
advice on political matters, they must give this for the good of the nation.
Thus a priest or minister can be an adviser to the government; he can be a
member of an advisory body, which the government can consult. However,
membership of such a body must not be to the detriment of his priestly or
pastoral duties. He is primarily a priest, a pastor, and not a professional
politician.
This brings us to the
rather problematic question whether a priest can and should hold and executive,
legislative, of judicial position in government. The issue here is where a
clergyman should hold such and executive position in government at any level.
This is forbidden in the Catholic Church by Canon Law no. 285 sec. 3 and
several papal pronouncements. Rather
than the Church law and papal pronouncements, other reasons against this fact
are that: from Church history, the Church has learned lessons from her mistakes
and so has enjoined her clerics to desist from active political involvement in
the sense of holding executive/legislative/judicial positions in government. By
not holding an executive position, clerics can be objective and approach
political issues in an unbiased way; being in a political party identifies them
with a section of citizens yet they have the unique role as pastor of the flock
of God thus, should strive to be the source of unity for all citizens. Finally,
doing so will affect their cleric’s pastoral work.
Priesthood
in the Hierarchy of the Church
According to the
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church
(LG), “the divinely established ecclesiastical ministry is exercised on
different levels by those who from antiquity have been called bishop, priests
and deacons” (no. 28). According to Basic
Norms for the Formation of Permanent Deacons[1]
and Directory for the Ministry and Life
of Permanent Deacons,[2]
the hierarchy of the Catholic Church “traditionally consists of bishops,
priests and deacons”.[3] I
wish to look at priests among these three ministries.
Priest is an
English word which is derived from a Greek word usually translated as “elder”
or Presbyter”. The word “elder” or
“presbyter” is found repetitively in the New Testament. In Acts 11:29ff. elders
appear as those to whom Barnabas and Saul brought the donations from the
community at Antioch. In the context of the so-called Council of Jerusalem, they
exercise together with the apostles some kind of teaching authority (Cf. Acts
15:2ff.). In 1 Pet. 5:1-4, they function as shepherds while in Jas. 5:14ff.,
elders are called in to anoint and pray for the sick. Although a list of qualifications is given
(e.g. Tit. 1:5ff; 1 Tim. 3:ff.), their responsibilities are not spelled out and
may have functioned as bishops. It in only with Ignatius of Antioch (c.115)
that the traditional threefold division of church office into bishops, priests
and deacons becomes clear. Each of the churches of Asia Minor mentioned in his
letters seems to have been led by a single bishop who was supported by a
council of presbyters and a number of deacons, what became a standard
everywhere by 2nd Century. The expansion of the Christian
communities saw many duties of bishops taken by presbyters. For a long time,
baptism together, anointing, and reconciliation were performed only by the
bishop. Interestingly the language of priesthood begun to be used at the end of
2nd Century, Cyprian used the terms “bishop” and “Priest” almost
interchangeably. It was only later that the word priest became a common way of
referring to the presbyter.
In
the Decree on the Ministry and Life of
Priest,[4]
Vatican II said that Presbyters, like bishops, although at a subordinate level
(no. 2), participate in the threefold office of Christ – priest, prophet, and
king or shepherd. Their task is primarily pastoral. They are to exercise a
ministry of leadership within the community. Particular emphasis is place on
preaching in all its forms. The sacramental ministry has its centre and
highpoint in the Eucharist. The document stresses the need for concerted action
on the part of presbyters both with their bishop and with the people whom they
have been called to serve. Parish and diocesan councils are meant to facilitate
cooperation. Senates or councils of presbyters have been created to give form
to the renewed sense of the presbyterian. Ordination to the
presbyterate/priesthood is a sacrament. Apart from officially and publicly
designating individuals to their office, it communicates the gifts and graces
without which they could not fulfill their responsibilities. It relates them in
a special way to the risen Christ so that they can act in the name and person
of Christ in the celebration of the sacraments.
[1] Norms for the Formation of
Permanent Deacons, 1998
[2] Directory for the Ministry and
Life of Permanent Deacons, 1998
[3] Joint Declaration, n. 3
[4] Presbyterorum Ordinis, 7 December 1965
INTERCOMMUNION
Can
Catholics and non-Catholic Christians participate in each Other’s Sacraments?
The Catholic Church
teaches that by baptism, members of other Churches are brought into a real,
even if imperfect communion, with the Catholic Church. It teaches further that
the Eucharist is, for the baptized, a spiritual food that enables them to
overcome sin, to live the very life of Christ, and to be incorporated more
profoundly in him.[1]
It is in the light of
these basic principles that in general the Catholic Church permits access to
its Eucharistic communion and to the sacraments of Penance and Anointing of the
Sick to those who share its oneness in faith, worship and circumstances, by way
of exception, and under certain conditions, access to these sacraments may be
permitted, or even commended, for Christians of other Churches.
Catholic priests may
permit other Christians to share in the Eucharistic, in the sacrament of
Reconciliation and in the Anointing of the Sick as these sacraments are
celebrated in the Catholic Church. The conditions upon which such permissions
may be extended are summarized in the canon 844 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law and in the Directory for the Application of the
Principles and Norms of Ecumenism (par. 131). In brief, there are three
conditions in which Christians in need may be admitted:
a.
If they spontaneously request these
sacraments;
b.
Are unable under the circumstances to
receive them from their own minister; and
c.
Are properly disposed, approaching these
sacraments as Christians should, in faith and with repentance for personal
sins.
Catholics in need may
similarly request the sacraments from ministers in other churches whose
sacraments the Catholic Church regards as valid.
The fist two conditions
reveal the concern of the Catholic Church that the sacraments should not be
used as inducements to draw a Christian from one church into another. A similar
concern is shown in the matter of funeral services. Canon 1183 of the 1983 Code
allows Catholic ministers to officiate at the funeral of other Christians under
two conditions;
a.
That this would not be evidently against
the will of the deceased; and
b.
That the proper minister of the deceased
is unavailable to conduct the funeral.
Why does the Catholic Church not ordain Women to the
Priesthood?
The ordination
of women was not a practical question in any Christian church before 15/09/
1853, when Antoinette Brown was ordained in the Congregational church in the
U.S. Since then, most Protestant churches have admitted women to ordination. In
1988, the Lambeth Conference approved the ordination of women for the
generality of the Anglican Communion, the practical adoption of it being left
to each ecclesiastical Churches.
On 9/07/1975, Donald Coggan,
Archbishop of Canterbury, wrote to Pope Paul VI on the question of the ordination
of women. The Pope’s reply on 30/11/1975 was that, the Catholic Church “holds
that is not admissible to ordain women to the priesthood, for very fundamental
reasons, the example recorded in the Sacred Scriptures of Christ choosing his
apostles only from among men; the constant practice of the church, which has
imitated Christ in choosing only men; and her living teaching authority, which
has consistently held that the exclusion of women from the priesthood is in
accordance with God’s plan for his church”. In another letter to the archbishop
(23/03/1976), the Pope expressed his sorrow that the ordination of women in the
Anglican Communion decided would be “new obstacle and a new threat” on the way
to reconciliation. From this point of view, it is regrettable that the Anglican
Communion decided to act unilaterally in admitting women to the priesthood and
(as was decided in principle) to the episcopate.
It was in
keeping with the guidance given by Pope Paul VI that, on 15/10/1976, the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued the declaration Inter insigniores on the question of the
admission of women to the ministerial priesthood. This delicately balanced
document is in part quite progressive. All arguments that assume the
inferiority of women in any domain are rejected. The question of women deacons
is left aside and the problem is carefully circumscribed. It is limited to one
basic point: is the church authorized to ordain women. This belief is based: (1)
on the continuity of the traditional practice, where the Congregation sees an
apostolic tradition; (2) on the biblical testimony that Jesus did not include
women among the twelve apostles, which is taken to be normative for ordination,
the priesthood being considered a participation in the apostolate of the
twelve; (3) on the sacramental requirement that the priest, as signum, has a “natural likeness” to the res, which is Christ, the Word of God
incarnate as a man; (4) on the nature of the vocation on the priesthood, that
is neither a right to ordination nor a purely inner and subjective call, but
results from the “authentication by the church” of an inner call.
Code of Canon
Law no. 1983 states, “Only a baptized male validly receives sacred ordination”.
In Ordinatio Sacerdotalis[1]
Pope John Paul II reiterates the position of the Church and says that “the
Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and
that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful”.
The pope adds that in denying ordination to women the Church does not thereby
subordinate them to men. He says, “…the
fact that the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and Mother of the Church,
received neither the mission proper to the Apostles nor the ministerial
priesthood clearly shows that the non-admission of women to priestly ordination
cannot mean that women are of lesser dignity, nor can be construed as
discrimination against them[2].
[1] English: On Reserving Priestly Ordination to Men alone, May 22, 1994, par 4.
[2] Ordinatio Sacerdotalis Par. 3.
*****
The
Relationship of the Bishop to the Universal Church
Every bishop is
required to show concern for all the churches in the world since the church is
the same everywhere even if there are different races, tongues, and cultures.
Every bishop also has to act in communion with all the other bishops, in order
to keep his own local church in the communion of all the churches. It is
because of this presence of the one and indivisible church of God (the
apostolic and catholic church) in each local church that the bishops form
together an indivisible group, a college. The college is for the maintaining
and strengthening of the communion of the churches.
It is for this reason
that major decisions concerning the interpretation of the faith or the
orientations of Christian life cannot be taken by a bishop in isolation; and
especially the answers to the burning questions challenging Christian doctrine
or practice cannot be given by one local church only. A substantial
disagreement on crucial issues of faith would break the communion and make
Eucharistic concelebration impossible. A realistic communion implies that as
soon as a local church is facing great difficulties, other churches help it.
When a bishop is
ordained, he is at the same time given to his church and inserted within the unbreakable
solidarity of the Episcopal college. He cannot be a bishop without both, and
this explains why even the titular and auxiliary bishops are ordained for a
local church that had existed somewhere. In this collegial solidarity, the
bishops are acting according to the historical prerogatives and charisms of
their own local churches. This is because they are in the college not only as
pastors of their local churches but also as their representatives. In some
important situations – such as the consultation for the definition of a dogma –
they have to express, together with their own opinion, the beliefs of the
people of their dioceses, especially as reflected in liturgical devotions.
The
relation of the Bishop of Rome to other Bishops
It is because of the
charism and the prerogatives of the local church of Rome – the church in which
Peter and Paul died, giving the supreme witness of their martyrdom – that the
bishop of Rome (Pope) has a specific role concerning the solidarity of the
Episcopal college. To be in communion with him means to be one with the faith
of Peter and Paul, and of all the churches that confess, have confessed, and
will confess this faith. Vatican I says that the mission of the bishop of Rome
is unity in faith “in order that really the episcopate itself be one and
undivided” and consequently the churches. He is the first among the bishops
precisely because he is the servant of the local church, which is the guardian
of the supreme confession of the apostolic faith. This faith is the ultimate
ground of Christian communion.
A local, bishop, then
is not the vicar of the bishop of Rome. He is, strictly speaking, a member of
the Episcopal college, serving his local church in full fidelity to the
apostolic faith confessed by Peter and Paul and over which the bishop of Rome
has to watch in order to preserve and foster Christian communion.
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