ZE071016
ZENIT
The World Seen From Rome
Daily dispatch - October 16, 2007
VATICAN DOSSIER
Everyone Has a Right to Eat, Says Pope
Pontiff: Families Must Form Consciences
John Paul II's Silhouette Seen in Bonfire
WORLD FEATURES
The Many Faces of World Mission Sunday
NEWS BRIEFS
Aiming to Stoke Eucharistic Fervor in Canada
Lighting the Darkness of War
Iraqi Archbishop Calls for Pressure on Politicians
Bishops' Aide Criticizes Abortion Study
INTERVIEW
Escaping Poverty: Interview With Archbishop Silvano Tomasi
LITURGY
When an Orthodox Joins the Catholic Church
Everyone Has a Right to Eat, Says Pope
Sends Message for U.N. World Food DayVATICAN CITY, OCT. 16, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says that all people have a right to healthy and sufficient food, and that human egotism, more than natural disasters, is the cause of the phenomenon of wide-scale hunger.
The Pope stated that position in a message marking today's celebration of the World Food Day, sponsored by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.
The Holy Father called for a "consciousness of solidarity […] among the community of nations, a consciousness that considers food a universal right for all human beings, without distinction or discrimination."
The Pontiff said he considers the theme chosen for this day, "The Right to Food," as a tool to aid reflection in preparation for the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
"This coincidence helps us to think of the importance that the right to food has for the happy procurement of other rights, beginning before all with the fundamental right to life," Benedict XVI said.
The Pope lamented that the number of starving people in the world is not diminishing significantly. He said: "This is due, perhaps, to a tendency to act motivated, solely or mainly, by technical and economic incentives, forgetting the priority of the ethical dimension of 'feed the hungry.'
"This priority is linked to the sentiment of compassion and solidarity proper to human beings, which brings them to share with each other, not just in material things, but rather the love that all of us need. Effectively, we give too little if we only give material things."
Human causes
The Holy Father explained that data show the causes of hunger to be "situations provoked by the behavior of people, which flow from a general social, economic and human deterioration" more than natural disasters or similar causes.
And the Pontiff noted "an ever growing number of persons that, because of poverty or bloody conflicts, find themselves obliged to leave their houses and their loved ones to look for survival away from their homeland. Despite international commitments, many of them are rejected."
He continued: "The objective of eradicating hunger and at the same time, being able to count on sufficient and healthy food, also requires specific methods and actions that permit a utilization of resources respectful of the patrimony of creation.
"To work in this direction is a priority that implies not only benefiting from the results of science, investigation and technology, but also taking into account the cycles and rhythms of nature known by people in rural zones, as well as protecting the traditional practices of indigenous communities, leaving aside purely egotistical and economic reasoning."
The papal message concludes considering the particular situation of children, who the Pope called "the first victims of this tragedy."
He recalled that children's physical or psychological development is sometimes hampered because of hunger, and noted that "on so many occasions, [children are] forced to work or enlisted by armed groups in exchange for receiving a few bites of food."
"In this respect," the Pontiff said, "I place my hope in the initiatives that have begun on a multilateral level to favor school food programs, which allow entire communities whose existence is threatened by hunger, to view the future with more hope."
Pontiff: Families Must Form Consciences
Sets Goal for '09 World Meeting in MexicoVATICAN CITY, OCT. 16, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says he has high hopes for the meeting of Christian families at their 6th World Meeting, to be held in January 2009 in Mexico.
The Pope said this in an Oct. 1 letter sent to Cardinal Alfonso López Trujillo, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, published Friday by the Vatican press office.
The Holy Father attended the last World Meeting of Families, held in July in Valencia, Spain, but the letter does not confirm whether the Pope intends to be present in Mexico.
Benedict XVI's note does explain his objective for the world meeting: "In these times in which it is notable that there is a frequent contradiction between what is professed as belief and concrete ways of living and acting, the next World Meeting of Families proposes to encourage Christian households in the formation of a right moral conscience that, strengthened by the grace of God, helps in the faithful following of his will, which he has revealed to us through Jesus Christ and which he has sowed in the depths of the heart of each person."
The Pope said that families, as "domestic churches," are called to form new generations in human and Christian values so that "orienting their lives according to the model of Christ, they forge in themselves harmonious personalities."
The Holy Father continued, "I pray to the Lord that the process of preparation and celebration of this event be enlightened by his grace and that it becomes for families, both those that attend the event and those that spiritually unite themselves to it, a special occasion to live with joy their personal vocation and mission."
The World Meeting of Families was begun in 1994 by Pope John Paul II, coinciding with the U.N. Year of the Family. Since then, the meetings have been held every three years.
John Paul II's Silhouette Seen in Bonfire
Publisher Surprised at International ReactionVATICAN CITY, OCT. 16, 2007 (Zenit.org).- A photo of a bonfire taken in southern Poland, in which a silhouette resembling that of Pope John Paul II can be seen, has drawn international media attention.
Polish cameraman Gregorz Lukasic photographed an April 2 memorial service held at Beskid Zywiecki, close to John Paul II's birthplace of Wadowice, commemorating the second anniversary of the Pontiff's death. He took many pictures of the event, but only in the photo he took at the exact time of the Holy Father's death a silhouette appears resembling that of the Pope.
The image was published Monday by Father Jarek Cielecki, director of the Italian television station Vatican Service News. Father Cielecki told ZENIT that he was not anticipating such a widespread reaction, noting that the image had been picked up by the international press.
"I don't say that it is a miracle. I am not talking of a sensational thing," Father Cielecki said. "But it is clear that a sign is there. One can't say that he sees nothing.
"For me, it is a sign, because one has to take into account the place and the moment the photo was taken. The photographer took two photos each minute. You can only see the image in the one taken at 9:37 p.m. and 30 seconds. In the others, there is nothing recognizable in the flames.
"The photo has been analyzed scientifically and it has been shown that it hasn't been modified."
A miracle?
Legionary of Christ Father Thomas D. Williams, dean of theology at the Regina Apostolorum university in Rome, said: "God speaks to us in any way that he chooses, so miracles of this sort are not ruled out.
"There is no doubt that the photo bears an uncanny resemblance to Pope John Paul II, and the fact that the photo was taken on April 2, the anniversary of the Pope's death, is, if nothing else, a remarkable coincidence.
"No one is obliged to believe this, and the Church will never offer an official ruling that something miraculous has occurred here. Nonetheless, those who choose to see the hand of God in this will find encouragement in the thought that John Paul continues to intercede for us from heaven, which is undoubtedly the case."
"Our faith is not based on this sort of event," Father Williams added, "but God does send us many signs of his presence and providential care, so there is no reason this could not be one of them."
The Many Faces of World Mission Sunday
Cardinal Says Africa Has Duty To Help EuropeLONDON, OCT. 16, 2007 (Zenit.org).- World Mission Sunday is not just about economic aid to impoverished countries, said an African cardinal who believes that Africa has a duty to support the Church in Europe.
Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, archbishop of Cape Coast, Ghana, is visiting England this week to strengthen links between the two countries and highlight the importance of World Mission Sunday, scheduled to be observed Oct. 21.
Cardinal Turkson told ZENIT: "My first concern is to explain the vision of the mission in the Church -- this objective is not simply to be equated with development and economic aid in the south.
"The point of mission is the promotion of the Gospel and faith in Jesus. This will take many forms in different countries."
For example, the cardinal continued, "proclaiming the Gospel may require some structural support, as in India, Latin America, and Africa."
"Also, there are places where proclaiming the Gospel will take the form of the simple presence of witnesses, as in northern Africa and the Middle East; for instance, something as simple as carrying a Bible. In this case, the testimony is in the form of the witnesses' lives and what they do," he added.
Cardinal Turkson continued: "In China, and places like this, people may have an opportunity to say something, but it is limited, so new ways must be discovered.
"Mission is ways of doing all of these. The same thing applies here in the West. Here also we can do mission, though not in the same form as elsewhere. Here in the United Kingdom there are actually too many churches. So different forms must be used to present a new proclamation of what the Gospel message is."
Sharing in need
Cardinal Turkson said he believes Africa has a duty to support the Church in Europe.
The 59-year-old cardinal explained that just as Europe was generous in its missionary outreach to Africa, so now the Church in Africa must be equally forthcoming in sharing in the worldwide mission of the Church.
While Ghana has one priest for every 2,400 Catholics, Cardinal Turkson highlighted that "we are not talking about sharing personnel, since we don't have a surplus, but a recognition that we are a world Church -- a Church together. As much at possible we must respond to people's needs because we see what our brother needs. If this is what is needed in Europe, this is something we can share."
Cardinal Turkson places heavy weight upon formation to bring future priests to a more mature faith that they can bring to their parishioners.
"So very crucial, which may have been a problem of Europe, is this type of evangelization," the cardinal explained.
In Africa, he continued, "we have been the product of missionary evangelization. They did their best in putting together the essentials of the faith that they tried to share with the people."
"But people where admitted to the Church because they were taught notions they considered indicative of what the Catholic faith was about and merely recited what they had to," he emphasized.
"If a priest has to preach about conversion, he cannot do it if he himself has not experienced it, if it is missing in his life," explained the African cardinal.
He continued, "The people then leave the Church and enter other groups, like the evangelicals, because they did not have a deepening of their faith. The people learned a few notions and concepts, but not about the offer of God's love, and the richness of what the Church has to offer."
"What is needed is the experience of God's love for us in Christ Jesus, not just to be talked about but lived and experienced. When this is the case, something is lasting in the experience of the person," Cardinal Turkson added. "We need to discover new pathways of inviting people -- not simply philosophizing -- to enter into a relationship with God."
Aiming to Stoke Eucharistic Fervor in Canada
CORNWALL, Ontario, OCT. 16, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The faithful will have the opportunity to rediscover the central place of the Blessed Sacrament in Christian life, said the apostolic nuncio to Canada about the upcoming Eucharistic Congress in Quebec.Archbishop Luigi Ventura, the apostolic nuncio to Canada, said this in his traditional address at the opening of the annual general meeting of the Canadian Catholic Bishops' Conference in Cornwall on Monday.
Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the archbishop of Quebec, addressed the more than 80 bishops for the last time before the International Eucharistic Congress to be held in June 2008. He outlined the preparations for the event that is expected to involve close to 15,000 participants.
Also in his opening remarks about the congress, Archbishop Ventura said: "The celebrations that surround the 400th anniversary of Quebec City, and consequently the arrival of the Catholic faith to this part of the world, enrich themselves through openness to the spiritual dimension.
"The faithful will thus have another opportunity to rediscover the central place of the Eucharist in Christian life and the fundamental role that it has played and can play again in the building of a better society."
Catholic Military Chaplains Gather in Rome
ROME, OCT. 16, 2007 (ZENIT.org).- Defense of human dignity is the only ray of light in the darkness of war, said Cardinal Renato Martino.
Cardinal Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, said this about the 2nd International Conference for the formation of Catholic military chaplains.
The event took place Friday and Saturday, titled "Human Dignity and Humanitarian Rights: The Role of Religions." It was co-sponsored by the Pontifical Councils for Justice and Peace, Interreligious Dialogue and Promoting Christian Unity, along with the Congregation for Clergy.
The conference focused on humanitarian rights and interreligious initiatives. It gathered military chaplains, other members of the armed forces, academics and civil society representatives from more than 30 countries.
This ray of light brought about by defending human dignity, the cardinal explained, "can illuminate the mind, [and is] a little flame that can dissolve hatred and resentment, a fine red thread thanks to which man does not succumb, but continues along the path of love which leads to God.”
"War is never a right," Cardinal Martino said, "and even when dictated by the necessity to defend the innocent it must follow precise rules compatible with human dignity."
"In this perspective," said the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, "not simply for any political or strategic calculation, must international humanitarian law be numbered among the most effective expressions which emanate from the truth of peace."
The chaplains and other guests paid special attention to current issues in the area of humanitarian rights, such as the struggle against terrorism, the status of nuclear weapons, and new ways of waging war, including the military use of biotechnology.
The first conference for Catholic military chaplains took place in 2003.
Iraqi Archbishop Calls for Pressure on Politicians
Requests Prayers for Kidnapped PriestsMOSUL, Iraq, OCT. 16, 2007 (Zenit.org).- In the wake of the kidnapping of two priests from his archdiocese, Archbishop Basilios Georges Casmoussa called on Christians around the world to put pressure on political leaders.
Syrian Catholic Archbishop Casmoussa of Mosul, said that international political leaders need to show some humanity toward those people whom they have "abandoned to the altars of their political and economic interests."
"We are not mere puppets, nor are we simply firewood to be thrown on to the bonfire," the archbishop told the charity Aid to the Church in Need.
The efforts by Iraqi Christians for the survival of their people in the "country of their fathers" are not merely for the sake of their own immediate survival but are also a means of improving the living conditions of the Iraqi people generally, he added.
Archbishop Casmoussa, 68, appealed for redoubled prayers for the Christians in Iraq and for greater solidarity with them, while also requesting prayers for Father Mazen Ishoa and Father Pius Afas, missing since Saturday.
Father Ishoa was just ordained Sept. 1, and Father Afas was preparing to take on the running of the Center for Biblical Studies in Mosul along with Archbishop Casmoussa.
Bishops' Aide Criticizes Abortion Study
Procedure That Always Kills Cannot Be Called Safe, She SaysWASHINGTON, D.C., OCT. 16, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Legalization of abortion is no guarantee that the procedure will be "safe," says a U.S. bishops' aide.
Deirdre McQuade, director of planning and information at the Pro-Life Secretariat at the U.S. bishops' conference, criticized a study by the Guttmacher Institute and the World Health Organization published in the Oct. 13 issue of the British medical journal The Lancet, calling for the global legalization and promotion of abortion.
Citing the article "Induced Abortion: Estimated Rates and Trends Worldwide," McQuade pointed out, "Some say the new Guttmacher study shows that legalizing abortions makes them 'safe'; but the study's methodology is flawed."
McQuade continued: "The authors start out by simply defining 'safe' abortions as 'those that meet legal requirements' in countries with permissive laws. But by this unusual definition, legal abortions are 'safe' even if they kill women as well as their unborn children.
"The authors then say that illegal abortions are 'harmful' -- even when women experience no medical complications -- because women have to violate the law. This is a closed semantic circle into which no fact about real-life women can intrude."
"An accompanying Lancet editorial says the worldwide abortion situation has been worsened by the United States’ Mexico City policy," the bishops' aide continued. "But the study says that total worldwide abortions substantially decreased from 1995 -- when the policy was not in effect -- to 2003 -- after it was reinstated."
"Lost in the authors' ideological fog," she said, "is the fact that abortion always kills; legal or illegal, it sometimes also kills women, especially when they are poor and have a terrible health care system."
McQuade concluded, "Promoting more abortions will not change this. Rather than pitting women and their children against each other, we need to stand in solidarity with both and focus on improving the quality of global health care."
Escaping Poverty: Interview With Archbishop Silvano Tomasi
GENEVA, OCT. 16, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Intelligent use of the economy, market and culture is needed to attain objectives coinciding with our values as Christians and members of the human family, says a Holy See representative.In this interview with ZENIT, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, apostolic nuncio and permanent observer of the Holy See to the Office of the United Nations and Specialized Institutions in Geneva, spoke of the necessary avenues to help developing nations escape poverty.
Q: What tools does Vatican diplomacy use to evaluate the most underprivileged in the world?
Archbishop Tomasi: The Holy See works within the international sphere, with the United Nations and in the U.N.-related agencies, as an "observer" state; this gives the Holy See the right to intervene and take part in non-voting activities, thus allowing the Holy See to act more freely than other states.
Furthermore, the Holy See endeavors to promote a line of discourse to support and aid the least developed countries, particularly those suffering in conditions of extreme poverty.
Specifically, the Holy See tries to generate a public culture, a world opinion within the international sphere, by declaring that developed countries are not only in a position to choose to support poorer populations, but that they bear the ethical responsibility to do so.
Then, the Holy See tries to offer actual help to these populations, not only in the form of financial support, which sometimes contributes to corruption, but, above all, through technical training, the exchange of information and licenses, all to help facilitate production.
And, with the aid of existing international structures and U.N.-related entities, such as the U.N. Conference for Trade and Development, we try to equip less wealthy countries with the ability to take part in trade, keeping in mind that participation is one of the most important concepts in the Church's social doctrine.
According to this concept, everyone is entitled to take part in international life, to have access to common goods in a fair, proportionate and justified manner.
Q: What is your position in the debate about debt forgiveness for poor countries?
Archbishop Tomasi: For years, particularly since the Jubilee of the year 2000, several private organizations, the Church, and the Holy Father himself, have issued exhortations on the subject of debt forgiveness for poor countries because even payment of the interest is so burdensome that it obstructs development.
Therefore, I am in favor of debt forgiveness for the poorest countries as soon as possible, so that some of the resources that thus become available can be channeled toward social development, health care, children's education, drinking water systems, all for a gradual improvement of living standards.
Q: Do you consider the developed world to be adequately informed and involved in the problems of poor countries?
Archbishop Tomasi: Public opinion is often distracted by many things that are not so essential. Occasionally, great tragedies or humanitarian campaigns draw attention for a while.
Some time back, we had the tsunami in Southeast Asia, which brought about people's very constructive, positive and generous response. But we have other "tsunamis." We have thousands of people dying of hunger, malaria or AIDS every day while nothing is said about these silent tragedies.
The media sometimes reports on these, issuing information, but it is then lost because the news items are not dramatized, and public attention wanders.
The fact that there are wars going on, people dead as the result of conflicts in Africa, Asia or the Middle East, is viewed with a certain degree of indifference. It is almost as if we have grown accustomed to the normalcy of these tragedies.
In my opinion, for people to see on the news that 100 people have been assassinated in Baghdad, another 20 in Mogadishu, and 50 refugees have died in a tragedy in Africa, is sometimes not very different from watching an entertainment movie after the news bulletin.
Therefore, it is important for Christians to sensitize people through the network of parishes, groups and movements, about the need for solidarity toward the most disenfranchised, to work together toward peace, for a bit of progress and for a better standard of living for these distant people.
Q: What are your thoughts on multilateral diplomacy versus bilateral dialogue in the international community?
Archbishop Tomasi: I would say, above all, that there is still a strong desire to struggle and negotiate in order to continue on a multilateral level, to seek solutions to current problems, particularly in the field of trade.
For example, the director general of the World Trade Organization insists on the fact that we must definitely continue to grow together in the same direction in order to be truly effective in the long term, even in the case of developed countries.
However, at the moment, there is the temptation in Europe and in other states to try to bypass common action through bilateral negotiations. This tendency can have very dangerous consequences because the stronger party tends to impose its terms on the weaker one, so that the negotiation is not really equitable.
In the long term, this can just lead to the maintenance of the status quo, in other words, the coexistence of rich and poor countries, which, in fact, does not succeed in combating poverty.
Q: As permanent observer of the Holy See in Geneva, do you consider international organizations in the field of economics, especially the World Trade Organization, as directing their course of action toward the sustained development of Third World nations?
Archbishop Tomasi: I attended the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference at the end of 2005, when the WTO tried to evaluate the "Doha Development Round" [from November 2001].
On that occasion, it became clear that, despite the extremely tough bargaining, it is possible to reach agreements that are beneficial to all concerned. Therefore, these international structures, which are necessary to achieve the globalization of the economy, the market, and culture, must be used intelligently.
We have to make an intelligent use of these structures in order to attain objectives that are truly in line with our fundamental values as Christians and as members of the human family.
When an Orthodox Joins the Catholic Church
And More on DeaconsROME, OCT. 16, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university.
Q: What is the procedure for a person who was baptized Macedonian Orthodox and who now wants to be received into the Roman Catholic Church? -- F.F., Toronto
A: In the vast majority of cases Orthodox Christians have been validly baptized, confirmed and received the Eucharist from infancy, and thus do not have to receive any of these sacraments.
Likewise, Catholic canon law allows a Catholic priest to administer the sacraments of Eucharist, reconciliation and anointing to Orthodox Christians if their own minister is unavailable or for other just causes. (Most Orthodox Churches, however, do not approve of their faithful availing of this possibility.)
For this reason Orthodox Christians intending to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church would usually be able to participate in the Church's sacramental life even before their formal incorporation, either in the Latin rite or in an Eastern Catholic rite.
Prior to formal incorporation, they would still require a dispensation from the bishop before entering into marriage and a man could not enter into seminary formation. Nor could they receive any formal ministry.
The specific process for incorporating a baptized Eastern Christian is covered above all in the Code of Canon Law of the Eastern Churches, canons 35 and 896-901.
Canon 896 specifies that for those adult Christians (beyond 14 years) "who ask of their own accord to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church, whether as individuals or as groups, no burden is to be imposed beyond what is necessary."
Canon 897 indicates that the Christian may be received "With only the profession of faith after a doctrinal and spiritual preparation that is suited to the person's condition."
With respect to individual laypersons the right to receive usually pertains to the pastor although in some cases particular law might reserve this admission to a higher authority (cf. Canon 898.3).
Canon 35, however, is important because it specifies that baptized non-Catholics entering into full communion "should retain their own rite and should observe it everywhere in the world as far as humanly possible. Thus they are to be ascribed to the Church 'sui iuris' of the same rite."
When the person wishes not only to become Catholic but to change to the Latin rite, the same canon recognizes the right to approach the Holy See (the Congregation for Eastern Churches) in special cases.
Therefore, in the case at hand, the simplest thing to do is to approach the Eastern eparchy most closely resembling his original rite in order to be admitted into the Catholic Church in accordance with the dispositions of the pastor.
Once admitted, he should continue to practice the faith in the corresponding Eastern rite. But he may also freely practice in the Latin rite for a just cause, for example, if there were no churches of his own rite within a reasonable distance.
In order to formally switch rites, he would need to recur to the Holy See as mentioned above.
* * *
Follow-up: What a Deacon Can Do
Two readers offered friendly criticism of an expression used in my Oct. 2 column on what a deacon can and cannot do.
One wrote: "Father McNamara says that the deacon is of a 'lower grade' of order than a priest. While such a designation might be accurate in terms of reflecting the liturgical faculties associated with the diaconate, it seems to suggest that a deacon is in some way subservient to a priest, which I believe is a trivialization of the ordained ministry of service. Rather than a strict hierarchical construct in which the line might be a straight one from bishop to priest to deacon, my understanding of the diaconate, traditionally and in our contemporary context, is that the ordained deacon is directly accountable to the bishop. That is, of a class of order unique to itself."
Another added: "You state that the deacon is a lower grade than a priest. 'Lumen Gentium,' No. 29, does indeed say 'at a lower level of hierarchy are deacons,' but it does go on to say 'in communion with the Bishop and the presbyterate.' So though there is a hierarchical difference between deacon and priest, and of course bishop and priest, there is also a fundamental unity and communion. Talk of lower grades by itself does not seem to me to do justice to this understanding of Vatican II.
"I do not think priests would welcome being told they are a lower grade than bishops, full stop. That would again not do justice to a proper understanding of priesthood and their share in the high priesthood of Christ to which a bishop is ordained." The writer went on to say that a deacon is an ordained minister, who, like a priest, shares in the apostolic ministry of the Church "but with a distinct, different and differentiated but not lesser ministry than the priest."
While I appreciate both the interest and the sincere friendliness of these observations, I believe that the term is technically accurate from the point of view of the sacrament of orders. Bishop, priest and deacon are not three separate sacraments but different levels (or grades or degrees) of the one sacrament of holy orders.
Each level has its own value and its proper sphere of ministry and specific liturgical functions. Yet, they are not simply three distinct modes of orders but are indeed hierarchically structured. The deacon has many particular functions, but insofar as he is at the service of the Eucharistic mystery his ministry necessarily depends upon and is related to the priestly ministry, not as subservience but as service.
Given that the Eucharist is the center and lifeblood of the Church, all other possible diaconal ministries such as celebrating baptism and matrimony ultimately flow from the priest's Eucharistic ministry.
However, the priest's Eucharistic ministry, and hence the deacon’s relatedness to him, in turn depends on the bishop and finally upon Christ himself as the foundation of all the sacraments.
In this sense of sacramental and hierarchical communion and interdependence, it is no slight to a deacon to state the fact that his is a lower grade of the sacrament of orders, just as the priest's dignity is in no way demeaned by saying that he is at a lower grade of orders compared to the bishop. This is implied in the Latin text of the prayer of priestly ordination which asks that the candidate receive the second grade or degree of priestly ministry.
For this reason I believe that our first correspondent's affirmation regarding the deacon and priest's direct accountability to the bishop confuses two distinct spheres. One thing is that all clerics depend directly upon the bishop with regard to assignments and ministries; another is the specific liturgical functions, which depend on the nature of the sacrament itself.
As stated in the previous article, among the practical consequences of this sacramental reality is that the deacon should not ordinarily preside over the assembly whenever a priest is present and available, just as a priest should not normally preside over the assembly in the presence of a bishop.
There may be some legitimate exceptions to this general rule, but I believe that it is important to recognize that this rule is grounded in the nature of the sacrament and is not a mere question of protocol and human criteria.
* * *
Readers may send questions to liturgy@zenit.org. Please put the word "Liturgy" in the subject field. The text should include your initials, your city and your state, province or country. Father McNamara can only answer a small selection of the great number of questions that arrive.
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