| CONGREGATION FOR CATHOLIC EDUCATION
CONGREGATION FOR THE CLERGY
BASIC NORMS FOR THE FORMATION
OF PERMANENT DEACONS
DIRECTORY FOR THE MINISTRY AND LIFE
OF PERMANENT DEACONS
LIBRERIA EDITRICE VATICANA
VATICAN CITY 1998
CONGREGATION FOR CATHOLIC EDUCATION
CONGREGATION FOR THE CLERGY
JOINT DECLARATION
AND
INTRODUCTION
JOINT DECLARATION
The permanent Diaconate, restored by the Second Vatican Council, in complete continuity
with ancient Tradition and the specific decision of the Council of Trent, has flourished
in these last decades in many parts of the Church — with promising results,
especially for the urgent missionary work of new evangelization. The Holy See and many
Episcopates, in promoting this ecclesial experience, have continually afforded norms and
guidelines for the life and formation of deacons. The growth of the permanent Diaconate,
however, now gives rise to a need for a certain unity of direction and clarification of
concepts, as well as for practical encouragement and more clearly defined pastoral
objectives. The total reality of the Diaconate — embracing its fundamental doctrinal
vision, discernment of vocation, as well as the life, ministry, spirituality and formation
of deacons — calls for a review of the journey thus far made, so as to arrive at a
global vision of this grade of Sacred Orders corresponding to the desire and intention of
the Second Vatican Council.
Following the publication of the Ratio fundamentalis institutionis sacerdotalis
on priestly formation and the Directory on the Ministry and Life of Priests, the
Congregation for Catholic Education and the Congregation for the Clergy, completing the
treatment of what pertains to the Diaconate and the Priesthood, the objects of their
competence, now wish to devote particular consideration to the subject of the permanent
Diaconate. Both Congregations, having consulted the Episcopate throughout the world and
numerous experts, discussed the permanent Diaconate at their Plenary Assemblies in
November 1995. The Cardinal Members together with the Archbishop and Bishop Members
carefully considered the various consultations and numerous submissions made in the
matter. As a result, the final texts of the Ratio fundamentalis institutionis
diaconorum permanentium and the Directory for the Ministry and Life of Permanent
Deacons were drafted by the two Congregations and faithfully reflect points and
proposals from every geographical area represented at the Plenary Assemblies. The work of
both Plenaries illustrated convergence on many points and agreement concerning the clear
need for greater uniformity in training so as to ensure the pastoral effectiveness of the
Sacred Ministry in confronting the challenges which face it on the eve of the Third
Millenium. Therefore, both Dicasteries were requested to undertake the drafting of these
documents which are published simultaneously and prefaced by a single, comprehensive
introduction. The Ratio fundamentalis institutionis diaconorum permanentium,
prepared by the Congregation for Catholic Education, is intended not only as a guideline
for the formation of permanent Deacons but also as a directive of which due account is to
be taken by the Episcopal Conferences when preparing their respective
“Rationes”. As with the Ratio fundamentalis institutionis sacerdotalis,
the Congregation offers this aid to the various Episcopates to facilitate them in
discharging adequately the prescriptions of canon 236 of the Code of Canon Law and to
ensure for the Church, unity, earnestness and completeness in the formation of permanent
Deacons.
The Directory for the Ministry and Life of Permanent Deacons, as in the case of
the Directory on the Ministry and Life of Priests, has, together with its hortative
character, juridically binding force where its norms “recall disciplinary norms of
the Code of Canon Law” or “determine with regard to the manner of applying
universal laws of the Church, explicitate their doctrinal basis and inculcate or solicit
their faithful observance”.(1) In these specific cases, it is to be regarded as a
formal, general, executory Decree (cf. canon 32).
While retaining their proper identity and their own specific juridical quality, both of
these documents, published with the authority of the respective Dicasteries, mutually
reflect and complete each other by virtue of their logical continuity. It is to be hoped
that they will be presented, received and applied everywhere in their entirety. The
introduction, here conjointly published with these documents, is intended as a reference
point and a normative source for both, while remaining an inextricable part of each
document.
The introduction restricts itself to the historical and pastoral aspects of the
permanent Diaconate, with specific reference to the practical dimension of formation and
ministry. The doctrinal reasons for the arguments advanced are drawn from those expressed
in the documents of the Second Vatican Council and subsequent Magisterium.
The documents produced here are intended as a response to a widely felt need to clarify
and regulate the diversity of approaches adopted in experiments conducted up to now,
whether at the level of discernment and training or at that of active ministry and ongoing
formation. In this way it will be possible to ensure a certain stability of approach which
takes account of legitimate plurality and in turn guarantees that indispensable unity,
necessary for the success of the ministry of the permanent Diaconate which has been
fruitful and which, at the threshold of the Third Millennium, promises to make an
important contribution to New Evangelization.
The directives contained in the following documents pertain to permanent deacons of the
secular clergy, although many, with due adaptation, may also to be applied to permanent
deacons who are members of institutes of consecrated life or societies of apostolic life.
INTRODUCTION(2)
I. The Ordained Ministry
1. “In order to shepherd the People of God and to increase its numbers without
cease, Christ the Lord set up in the Church a variety of offices which aim at the good of
the whole body. The holders of office, who are invested with a sacred power, are, in fact,
dedicated to promoting the interests of their brethren, so that all who belong to the
People of God, and are consequently endowed with true Christian dignity, may, through
their free and well-ordered efforts towards a common goal, attain to salvation”.(3)
The Sacrament of Orders “configures the recipient to Christ by a special grace of
the Holy Spirit, so that he may serve as Christ's instrument for his Church. By ordination
he is enabled to act as a representative of Christ, Head of the Church, in his triple
office of priest, prophet and king”.(4)
Through the Sacrament of Orders, the mission entrusted by Christ to his Apostles
continues to be exercised in the Church until the end of time. It is thus the sacrament of
apostolic ministry.(5) The sacramental act of ordination surpasses mere election,
designation or delegation by the community, because it confers a gift of the Holy Spirit
enabling the exercise of sacred power which can only come from Christ himself through his
Church.(6) “The one sent by the Lord does not speak and act of his own authority, but
by virtue of Christ's authority; not as a member of the community but speaking to it in
the name of Christ. No one can bestow grace on himself; it must be given and offered. This
fact presupposes ministers of grace, authorized and empowered by Christ”.(7)
The sacrament of apostolic ministry comprises three degrees. Indeed “the divinely
instituted ecclesiastical ministry is exercised in different degrees by those who even
from ancient times have been called bishops, priests and deacons”.(8)
Together with priests and deacons as their helpers, the bishops have received pastoral
charge of the community, and preside in God's stead over the flock of which they are
shepherds in as much as they are teachers of doctrine, priests of sacred worship and
ministers of pastoral government.(9)
The sacramental nature of ecclesial ministry is such that it has “intrinsically
linked...its character of service. Entirely dependant on Christ who gives mission
and authority, ministers are truly “slaves of Christ” (cf. Rom. 1:11), in
the image of him who freely took “the form of a slave” for us (cf. Phil.
2:7)”.(10)
The sacred ministry also has a collegial form(11) and a personal character(12)
by which “sacramental ministry in the Church...is at once a collegial and a personal
service, exercised in the name of Christ”.(13)
II. The Diaconate
2. The service of deacons in the Church is documented from apostolic times. A strong
tradition, attested already by St. Ireneus and influencing the liturgy of ordination, sees
the origin of the diaconate in the institution of the “seven” mentioned in the
Acts of the Apostles (6:1-6). Thus, at the initial grade of sacred hierarchy are deacons,
whose ministry has always been greatly esteemed in the Church.(14) St. Paul refers to them
and to the bishops in the exordium of his Epistle to the Philippians (cf. Phil 1:1),
while in his first Epistle to Timothy he lists the qualities and virtues which they
should possess so as to exercise their ministry worthily (cf. 1 Tim 3:8-13).(15)
From its outset, patristic literature witnesses to this hierarchical and ministerial
structure in the Church, which includes the diaconate. St Ignatius of Antioch(16)
considers a Church without bishop, priest or deacon, unthinkable. He underlines that the
ministry of deacons is nothing other than “the ministry of Jesus Christ, who was with
the Father before time began and who appeared at the end of time”. They are not
deacons of food and drink but ministers of the Church of God. The Didascalia
Apostolorum,(17) the Fathers of subsequent centuries, the various Councils(18) as well
as ecclesiastical praxis(19) all confirm the continuity and development of this revealed
datum.
Up to the fifth century the Diaconate flourished in the western Church, but after this
period, it experienced, for various reasons, a slow decline which ended in its surviving
only as an intermediate stage for candidates preparing for priestly ordination.
The Council of Trent disposed that the permanent Diaconate, as it existed in ancient
times, should be restored, in accord with its proper nature, to its original function in
the Church.(20) This prescription, however, was not carried into effect.
The second Vatican Council established that “it will be possible for the future to
restore the diaconate as a proper and permanent rank of the hierarchy....(and confer it)
even upon married men, provided they be of more mature age, and also on suitable young men
for whom, however, the law of celibacy must remain in force”,(21) in accordance with
constant tradition. Three reasons lay behind this choice: (i) a desire to enrich the
Church with the functions of the diaconate, which otherwise, in many regions, could only
be exercised with great difficulty; (ii) the intention of strengthening with the grace of
diaconal ordination those who already exercised many of the functions of the Diaconate;
(iii) a concern to provide regions, where there was a shortage of clergy, with sacred
ministers. Such reasons make clear that the restoration of the permanent Diaconate was in
no manner intended to prejudice the meaning, role or flourishing of the ministerial
priesthood, which must always be fostered because of its indispensability.
With the Apostolic Letter Sacrum diaconatus ordinem(22) of 18 June 1967, Pope
Paul VI implemented the recommendations of the Second Vatican Council by determining
general norms governing the restoration of the permanent Diaconate in the Latin Church.
The Apostolic Constitution Pontificalis Romani Recognitio(23) of 18 June 1968
approved the new rite of conferring the Sacred Orders of the Episcopate, the Presbyterate
and the Diaconate and determined the matter and form of these sacramental ordinations.
Finally, the Apostolic Letter Ad pascendum(24) of 15 August 1972 clarified the
conditions for the admission and ordination of candidates to the diaconate. The essential
elements of these norms subsequently passed into the Code of Canon Law promulgated
by Pope John Paul II on 25 January 1983.(25)
In the wake of this universal legislation, several Episcopal Conferences, with the
prior approbation of the Holy See, have restored the permanent Diaconate in their
territories and have drawn up complementary norms for its regulation.
III. The Permanent Diaconate
3. The experience of the Church over several centuries has generated the norm of
conferring the priesthood only on those who have already received the Diaconate and
exercised it appropriately.(26) The Order of deacons, however, “should not be
considered merely a step towards the Priesthood”.(27)
“One of the fruits of the Second Vatican Council was the desire to restore the
diaconate as a proper and stable rank of the hierarchy”.(28) On the basis of the
“historical circumstances and pastoral purposes noted by the Council Fathers, the
Holy Spirit, protagonist of the Church's life, worked mysteriously to bring about a new
and more complete actualization of the hierarchy which traditionally consists of bishops,
priests and deacons. In this manner the Christian community was revitalized, configured
more closely to that of the Apostles which, under the influence of the Paraclete,
flourished as the Acts of the Apostles(29) testifies.
The permanent Diaconate is an important enrichment for the mission of the Church.(30)
Since the munera proper to deacons are necessary to the Church's life,(31) it is
both convenient and useful, especially in mission territories,(32) that men who are called
to a truly diaconal ministry in the Church, whether liturgical or pastoral, charitable or
social, “be strengthened by the imposition of hands, which has come down from the
Apostles, and more closely united to the altar so as to exercise their ministry more
fruitfully through the sacramental grace of the diaconate”.(33)
Vatican City, 22 February 1998, Feast of the Chair of Peter.
Congregation for Catholic Education
Pio Card. Laghi
Prefect
+ José Saraiva Martins
Titular Archbishop of Tuburnica
Secretary
Congregation for the Clergy
Darío Card. Castrillón Hoyos
Prefect
+ Csaba Ternyák
Titular Archbishop of Eminenziana
Secretary
****
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CONGREGATION FOR CATHOLIC EDUCATION
RATIO FUNDAMENTALIS
INSTITUTIONIS
DIACONORUM PERMANENTIUM
BASIC NORMS
FOR THE FORMATION
OF PERMANENT DEACONS
INTRODUCTION
1. The paths of formation
1. The first indications about the formation of permanent deacons were given by the
Apostolic Letter Sacrum diaconatus ordinem.(1)
These indications were then taken up and further refined in the Circular Letter of the
Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education of 16 July 1969, Come č a conoscenza,
in which were foreseen “different types of formation” according to the
“different types of diaconate” (for celibates, married people, “those
destined for mission territories or for countries which were still developing”, those
called “to carry out their function in countries with a certain level of civilization
and a fairly developed culture”). Regarding doctrinal formation, it was specified
that it must be above that required for a simple catechist and, in some way, analogous to
that of the priest. The material which had to be taken into consideration when drawing up
the program of studies was then listed.(2)
The subsequent Apostolic Letter Ad pascendum specified that “in regard to
the course of theological studies that are to precede the ordination of permanent deacons,
the Episcopal Conferences, according to the local situation, are competent to issue the
appropriate norms and submit them to the Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education for
approval”.(3)
The new Code of Canon Law brought together the essential elements of this norm
into canon 236.
2. After about thirty years from the first directives, and with the contribution of
subsequent experiences, it has been thought opportune now to draw up the present Ratio
fundamentalis institutionis diaconorum permanentium. Its purpose is that of providing
an instrument for guiding and harmonizing, while respecting legitimate diversity, the
educational projects drawn up by the Episcopal Conferences and dioceses, which at times
vary greatly from one to another.
2. Reference to a sure theology of the diaconate
3. The effectiveness of the formation of permanent deacons depends to a great extent on
the theological understanding of the diaconate that underlies it. In fact it offers the
co-ordinates for establishing and guiding the formation process and, at the same time,
lays down the end to be attained.
The almost total disappearance of the permanent diaconate from the Church of the West
for more than a millennium has certainly made it more difficult to understand the profound
reality of this ministry. However, it cannot be said for that reason that the theology of
the diaconate has no authoritative points of reference, completely at the mercy of
different theological opinions. There are points of reference, and they are very clear,
even if they need to be developed and deepened. Some of the most important of these will
now follow, without, however, any claim to completeness.
4. First of all we must consider the diaconate, like every other Christian identity,
from within the Church which is understood as a mystery of Trinitarian communion in
missionary tension. This is a necessary, even if not the first, reference in the
definition of the identity of every ordained minister insofar as its full truth consists
in being a specific participation in and representation of the ministry of Christ.(4) This
is why the deacon receives the laying on of hands and is sustained by a specific
sacramental grace which inserts him into the sacrament of Orders.(5)
5. The diaconate is conferred through a special outpouring of the Spirit (ordination),
which brings about in the one who receives it a specific conformation to Christ, Lord and
servant of all. Quoting a text of the Constitutiones Ecclesiae Aegypticae, Lumen
gentium (n. 29) defines the laying on of hands on the deacon as being not “ad
sacerdotium sed ad ministerium”,(6) that is, not for the celebration of the
eucharist, but for service. This indication, together with the admonition of Saint
Polycarp, also taken up again by Lumen gentium, n. 29,(7) outlines the specific
theological identity of the deacon: as a participation in the one ecclesiastical ministry,
he is a specific sacramental sign, in the Church, of Christ the servant. His role is to
“express the needs and desires of the Christian communities” and to be “a
driving force for service, or diakonia”,(8) which is an essential part of the
mission of the Church.
6. The matter of diaconal ordination is the laying on of the hands of the
Bishop; the form is constituted by the words of the prayer of ordination, which is
expressed in the three moments of anamnesis, epiclesis and intercession.(9) The anamnesis
(which recounts the history of salvation centered in Christ) goes back to the
“levites”, recalling worship, and to the “seven” of the Acts of the
Apostles, recalling charity. The epiclesis invokes the power of the seven gifts of the
Spirit so that the ordinand may imitate Christ as “deacon”. The intercession is
an exhortation to a generous and chaste life.
The essential form of the sacrament is the epiclesis, which consists of the
words: “Lord, send forth upon them the Holy Spirit, that they may be strengthened by
the gift of your sevenfold grace to carry out faithfully the work of the ministry”.
The seven gifts originate in a passage of Isaiah 11:2, from the fuller version
given by the Septuagint. These are the gifts of the Spirit given to the Messiah,
which are granted to the newly ordained.
7. Insofar as it is a grade of holy orders, the diaconate imprints a character and
communicates a specific sacramental grace. The diaconal character is the configurative and
distinguishing sign indelibly impressed in the soul, which configures the one ordained to
Christ, who made himself the deacon or servant of all.(10) It brings with it a specific
sacramental grace, which is strength, vigor specialis, a gift for living the new
reality wrought by the sacrament. “With regard to deacons, 'strengthened by
sacramental grace they are dedicated to the People of God, in conjunction with the bishop
and his body of priests, in the service (diakonia) of the liturgy, of the Gospel
and of works of charity'”.(11) Just as in all sacraments which imprint character,
grace has a permanent virtuality. It flowers again and again in the same measure in which
it is received and accepted again and again in faith.
8. In the exercise of their power, deacons, since they share in a lower grade of
ecclesiastical ministry, necessarily depend on the Bishops, who have the fullness of the
sacrament of orders. In addition, they are placed in a special relationship with the
priests, in communion with whom they are called to serve the People of God.(12)
From the point of view of discipline, with diaconal ordination, the deacon is
incardinated into a particular Church or personal prelature to whose service he has been
admitted, or else, as a cleric, into a religious institute of consecrated life or a
clerical society of apostolic life.(13) Incardination does not represent something which
is more or less accidental, but is characteristically a constant bond of service to a
concrete portion of the People of God. This entails ecclesial membership at the juridical,
affective and spiritual level and the obligation of ministerial service.
3. The ministry of the deacon in different pastoral contexts
9. The ministry of the deacon is characterized by the exercise of the three munera
proper to the ordained ministry, according to the specific perspective of diakonia.
In reference to the munus docendi the deacon is called to proclaim the
Scriptures and instruct and exhort the people.(14) This finds expression in the
presentation of the Book of the Gospels, foreseen in the rite of ordination itself.(15)
The munus sanctificandi of the deacon is expressed in prayer, in the solemn
administration of baptism, in the custody and distribution of the Eucharist, in assisting
at and blessing marriages, in presiding at the rites of funeral and burial and in the
administration of sacramentals.(16) This brings out how the diaconal ministry has its
point of departure and arrival in the Eucharist, and cannot be reduced to simple social
service.
Finally, the munus regendi is exercised in dedication to works of charity and
assistance (17) and in the direction of communities or sectors of church life, especially
as regards charitable activities. This is the ministry most characteristic of the deacon.
10. As can be seen from original diaconal practice and from conciliar indications, the
outlines of the ministerial service inherent in the diaconate are very well defined.
However, even if this inherent ministerial service is one and the same in every case,
nevertheless the concrete ways of carrying it out are diverse; these must be suggested, in
each case, by the different pastoral situations of the single Churches. In preparing the
formation to be imparted, these should obviously be taken into account.
4. Diaconal spirituality
11. The outlines of the specific spirituality of the deacon flow clearly from his
theological identity; this spirituality is one of service.
The model “par excellence” is Christ the servant, who lived totally at the
service of God, for the good of men. He recognized himself as the one announced in the
servant of the first song of the Book of Isaiah (cf Lk 4:18-19), he
explicitly qualified his action as diakonia (cf Mt 20:28; Lk 22:27; Jn
13:1-17; Phil 2:7-8; 1 Pet 2:21-25) and he entrusted his disciples to do the
same (cf Jn 13:34-35; Lk 12:37).
The spirituality of service is a spirituality of the whole Church, insofar as the whole
Church, in the same way as Mary, is the “handmaid of the Lord” (Lk 1:28),
at the service of the salvation of the world. And so that the whole Church may better live
out this spirituality of service, the Lord gives her a living and personal sign of his
very being as servant. In a specific way, this is the spirituality of the deacon. In fact,
with sacred ordination, he is constituted a living icon of Christ the servant within the
Church. The Leitmotiv of his spiritual life will therefore be service; his
sanctification will consist in making himself a generous and faithful servant of God and
men, especially the poorest and most suffering; his ascetic commitment will be directed
towards acquiring those virtues necessary for the exercise of his ministry.
12. Obviously such a spirituality must integrate itself harmoniously, in each case,
with the spirituality related to the state of life. Accordingly, the same diaconal
spirituality acquires diverse connotations according to whether it be lived by a married
man, a widower, a single man, a religious, a consecrated person in the world. Formation
must take account of these variations and offer differentiated spiritual paths according
to the types of candidates.
5. The role of Episcopal Conferences
13. “It is the competence of legitimate assemblies of Bishops or Episcopal
Conferences to decide, with the consent of the Supreme Pontiff, whether and where the
diaconate is to be established as a permanent rank in the hierarchy for the good of
souls”.(18)
The Code of Canon Law likewise attributes to the Episcopal Conferences the
competence to specify, by means of complementary dispositions, the discipline regarding
the recitation of the liturgy of the hours,(19) the required age for admission (20) and
the formation given; can. 236 is dedicated to this. The canon lays down that it is the
Episcopal Conferences, on the basis of local circumstances, which issue the appropriate
norms to ensure that candidates for the permanent diaconate, whether young or of a more
mature age, whether single or married are “...formed in the spiritual life and
appropriately instructed in the fulfillment of the duties proper to that order...”.
14. To assist the Episcopal Conferences in preparing a formation which, as well as
being attentive to diverse particular situations, will still be in harmony with the
universal direction of the Church, the Congregation for Catholic Education has prepared
the present Ratio fundamentalis institutionis diaconorum permanentium, which is
intended as a point of reference for defining the criteria of vocational discernment and
the various aspects of formation. This document—by its very nature—establishes
only some basic guidelines of a general character, which constitute the norm to which the
Episcopal Conferences must make reference for the preparation or eventual perfecting of
their respective national rationes. In this way the principles and criteria on the
basis of which the formation of permanent deacons can be programmed with surety and in
harmony with the other Churches shall be illustrated, without stifling the creativity or
originality of the particular Churches.
15. In the same way that the Second Vatican Council established for the rationes
institutionis sacerdotalis,(21) with this document, the Episcopal Conferences which
have restored the permanent diaconate are requested to submit their respective rationes
institutionis diaconorum permanentium for examination and approval by the Holy See.
The same will approve them, firstly, ad experimentum, and, then for a specified
number of years, so as to guarantee periodic revisions.
6. Responsibility of Bishops
16. The restoration of the permanent diaconate in a nation does not imply the
obligation of restoring it in all its dioceses. The diocesan Bishop will proceed or not in
this regard, after having prudently heard the recommendation of the Council of Priests
and, if it exists, the Pastoral Council, and taking account of concrete needs and the
specific situation of his particular Church.
If he opts for the restoration of the permanent diaconate, he will take care to promote
a suitable catechesis on the subject, both among laity and priests and religious, in such
a way that the diaconal ministry may be fully understood. In addition, he will provide for
the setting up of the structures necessary for the work of formation and for nominating
suitable associates to assist him by being directly responsible for formation, or,
according to circumstances, he will commit himself to employing the formation structures
of other dioceses, or those of the region or nation.
The Bishop will then take care that, on the basis of the national ratio and
actual experience, an appropriate rule be drafted and periodically revised.
7. The permanent diaconate in institutes of consecrated life and in societies of
apostolic life
17. The institution of the permanent diaconate among the members of institutes of
consecrated life and societies of apostolic life is regulated by the norms of the
Apostolic Letter Sacrum diaconatus ordinem. It establishes that “Institution
of the permanent diaconate among religious is a right reserved to the Holy See, which
alone is competent to examine and approve the votes of general chapters in the
matter”.(22) The document continues: “Whatever is said...is to be understood as
applying to the members of other institutes professing the evangelical counsels”.(23)
Each institute or society which has obtained the right to re-establish the permanent
diaconate assumes the responsibility of guaranteeing the human, spiritual, intellectual
and pastoral formation of its candidates. Such an institute or society must commit itself
therefore to preparing its own formation program which incorporates the specific charism
and spirituality of the institute or society and, at the same time, is in harmony with the
present Ratio fundamentalis, especially as regards intellectual and pastoral
formation.
The program of each institute or society should be submitted for examination and
approval to the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic
Life or the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Congregation for the
Oriental Churches for territories where they are competent. The competent Congregation,
having obtained the opinion of the Congregation for Catholic Education as regards
intellectual formation, will approve it, firstly ad experimentum, and then for a
specific number of years, so as to guarantee periodic revisions.
I
THOSE INVOLVED IN THE FORMATION
OF PERMANENT DEACONS
1. The Church and the Bishop
18. The formation of deacons, like that of other ministers and all the baptized, is a
duty which involves the whole Church. Hailed by the Apostle Paul as “the heavenly
Jerusalem” and like Mary “our mother” (Gal 4:26), “by preaching
and baptism she brings forth sons, who are conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of God,
to a new and immortal life”.(24) And not only this: imitating the motherhood of Mary,
she accompanies her children with maternal love and cares for them so that they all may
come to the fullness of their vocation.
The Church's care for her children is expressed in the offering of the Word and
sacraments, in love and solidarity, in prayer and in the solicitude of the various
ministries. However, in this care, which is, so to speak, visible, the care of the Holy
Spirit is made present. In fact “the social structure of the Church serves the Spirit
of Christ who vivifies it, in the building up of the body”,(25) both in its
universality and in the singularity of its members.
In the Church's care for her children, the first figure, therefore, is the Spirit of
Christ. It is He who calls them, accompanies them and moulds their hearts so that they can
recognize his grace and respond generously to it. The Church must be well aware of this sacramental
relevance of its educational work.
19. In the formation of permanent deacons, the first sign and instrument of the
Spirit of Christ is the proper Bishop (or the competent Major Superior).(26) He is the one
ultimately responsible for their discernment and formation.(27) While ordinarily
exercising this duty through the assistants who have been chosen, nevertheless he will he
commit himself, as far as is possible, to knowing personally those who are preparing for
diaconate.
2. Those responsible for formation
20. Those persons who, in dependence upon the Bishop (or competent Major Superior) and
in strict collaboration with the diaconal community, have a special responsibility in the
formation of candidates for the permanent diaconate are: the director of formation, the
tutor (where the number requires it), the spiritual director and the pastor (or the
minister to whom the candidate is entrusted for the diaconal placement).
21. The director of formation, nominated by the Bishop (or the competent Major
Superior) has the task of co-ordinating the different people involved in the formation, of
supervising and inspiring the whole work of education in its various dimensions, and of
maintaining contacts with the families of married aspirants and candidates and with their
communities of origin. In addition, he has the responsibility of presenting to the Bishop
(or to the competent Major Superior) the judgement of suitability on aspirants for their
admission among the candidates, and on candidates for their promotion to the order of
diaconate after having heard the opinion of the other formators,(28) excepting the
spiritual director.
Because of his decisive and delicate duties, the director of formation must be chosen
with great care. He must be a man of lively faith and a strong ecclesial sense, have had a
wide pastoral experience and have given proof of wisdom, balance and capacity for
communion; in addition he must have acquired a solid theological and pedagogical
competence.
He could be a priest or a deacon and, preferably, not be at the same time also
responsible for ordained deacons. In fact, it would be better for this responsibility to
remain distinct from that of forming aspirants and candidates.
22. The tutor, designated by the director of formation from among the deacons or
priests of proven experience and nominated by the Bishop (or the competent Major
Superior), is the direct companion of each aspirant and of each candidate. He is charged
with closely following the formation of each one, offering his support and advice for the
resolution of any problems which may arise and for helping to make personal the various
moments of formation. He is also called to collaborate with the director of formation in
the programming of the different formational activities and in the preparation of the
judgement of suitability to be presented to the Bishop (or the competent Major Superior).
According to circumstances, the tutor will be responsible for only one person or for a
small group.
23. The spiritual director is chosen by each aspirant or candidate and must be approved
by the Bishop or Major Superior. His task is that of discerning the workings of the Spirit
in the soul of those called and, at the same time, of accompanying and supporting their
ongoing conversion; he must also give concrete suggestions to help bring about an
authentic diaconal spirituality and offer effective incentives for acquiring the
associated virtues. Because of all this, aspirants and candidates are invited to entrust
themselves for spiritual direction only to priests of proven virtue, equipped with a good
theological culture, of profound spiritual experience, of marked pedagogical sense, of
strong and refined ministerial sensibility.
24. The pastor (or other minister) is chosen by the director of formation in agreement
with the other members of the formation team and taking account of the different
situations of the candidates. He is called to offer to the one who has been entrusted to
him a lively ministerial communion and to introduce him to and accompany him in those
pastoral activities which he considers most suitable; he will also be careful to make a
periodic check on the work done with the candidate himself and to communicate the progress
of the placement to the director of formation.
3. Professors
25. The professors contribute in a relevant way to the formation of the future deacons.
In fact by teaching the sacrum depositum held by the Church, they nourish the faith
of the candidates and qualify them to be teachers of the People of God. For that reason
they must occupy themselves not only with acquiring the necessary scientific competence
and an adequate pedagogical ability, but also with witnessing with their lives to the
Truth which they teach.
In order to harmonize their specific contribution with the other dimensions of
formation, it is important that they be willing, depending on circumstances, to
collaborate and be open to discussion with the others involved in formation. In this way
they will contribute to providing the candidates with a unified formation and help them in
the necessary work of synthesis.
4. The formation community of permanent deacons
26. Aspirants and candidates for the permanent diaconate, naturally constitute a unique
context, a distinct ecclesial community which strongly influences the formation process.
Those entrusted with the formation must take care that this community be characterized
by a profound spirituality, a sense of belonging, a spirit of service and missionary
thrust, and have a definite rhythm of meetings and prayer.
The formation community of permanent deacons can thus be for aspirants and candidates
for the diaconate a precious support in the discernment of their vocation, in human
growth, in the initiation to the spiritual life, in theological study and pastoral
experience.
5. Communities of origin
27. The communities of origin of aspirants and candidates for the diaconate can
exercise some influence on their formation.
For younger aspirants and candidates, the family can be an extraordinary help. It must
be invited to “...accompany the formative journey with prayer, respect, the good
example of the domestic virtues and spiritual and material help, especially in difficult
moments... Even in the case of parents or relatives who are indifferent or opposed to the
choice of a vocation, a clear and calm facing of the situation and the encouragement which
derives from it can be a great help to the deeper and more determined maturing of
a...vocation”.(29) As far as married aspirants and candidates are concerned, their
commitment must be such that their married communion might contribute in a real way to
inspiring their formation journey towards the goal of the diaconate.
The parish community is called to accompany the path of its member towards the
diaconate with the support of prayer and an appropriate catechesis which, while it makes
the faithful aware of this ministry, gives to the candidate a strong aid to his vocational
discernment.
Those other ecclesial groupings from which aspirants and candidates for the diaconate
come can also continue to be for them a source of help and support, of light and warmth.
However, they must show, at the same time, respect for the ministerial call of their
members, not obstructing them, but rather promoting in them the maturing of an authentic
diaconal spirituality and readiness.
6. Aspirant and candidate
28. Finally, the man preparing for diaconate “...is a necessary and irreplaceable
agent in his own formation: all formation...is ultimately a self-formation”.(30)
Self-formation does not imply isolation, closure to or independence from formators, but
responsibility and dynamism in responding with generosity to God's call, valuing to the
highest the people and tools which Providence puts at one's disposition.
Self-formation has its root in a firm determination to grow in life according to the
Spirit and in conformity with the vocation received, and it is nourished in being humbly
open to recognizing one's own limitations and one's own gifts.
II
CHARACTERISTICS OF CANDIDATES
FOR THE PERMANENT DIACONATE
29. “The history of every priestly vocation, as indeed of every Christian
vocation, is the history of an inexpressible dialogue between God and human beings,
between the love of God who calls and the freedom of individuals who respond lovingly to
him”.(31) However, alongside God's call and the response of individuals, there is
another element constitutive to a vocation, particularly a ministerial vocation: the
public call of the Church. “Vocari a Deo dicuntur qui a legitimis Ecclesiae ministris
vocantur”.(32) The expression should not be understood in a predominantly juridical
sense, as if it were the authority that calls which determines the vocation, but in a sacramental
sense, that considers the authority that calls as the sign and instrument for the personal
intervention of God, which is realized with the laying on of hands. In this perspective,
every proper election expresses an inspiration and represents a choice of
God. The Church's discernment is therefore decisive for the choice of a vocation; how much
more so, due to its ecclesial significance, is this true for the choice of a vocation to
the ordained ministry.
This discernment must be conducted on the basis of objective criteria, which treasure
the ancient tradition of the Church and take account of present day pastoral needs. For
the discernment of vocations to the permanent diaconate, some requirements of a general
nature and others responding to the particular state of life of those called should be
taken into account.
1. General requirements
30. The first diaconal profile was outlined in the First Letter of Saint Paul to
Timothy: “Deacons likewise must be serious, not double-tongued, not addicted to
much wine, not greedy for gain; they must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear
conscience. And let them also be tested first; then if they prove themselves blameless let
them serve as deacons...Let deacons be the husband of one wife, and let them manage their
children and their households well; for those who serve well as deacons gain a good
standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith which is in Jesus
Christ” (1 Tim 3:8-10.12-13).
The qualities listed by Paul are prevalently human, almost as if to say that deacons
could carry out their ministry only if they were acceptable models of humanity. We find
echoes of Paul's exhortation in texts of the Apostolic Fathers, especially in the Didachč
and Saint Polycarp. The Didachč urges: “Elect for yourselves therefore
bishops and deacons worthy of the Lord, meek men, not lovers of money, honest and
proven”,(33) and Saint Polycarp counsels: “In like manner should the deacons be
blameless before the face of his righteousness, as being the servants of God and Christ,
and not of men. They must not be slanderers, double-tongued, or lovers of money, but
temperate in all things, compassionate, industrious, walking according to the truth of the
Lord, who was the servant of all”.(34)
31. The Church's tradition subsequently finalized and refined the requirements which
support the authenticity of a call to the diaconate. These are firstly those which are
valid for orders in general: “Only those are to be promoted to orders who...have
sound faith, are motivated by the right intention, are endowed with the requisite
knowledge, enjoy a good reputation, and have moral probity, proven virtue and the other
physical and psychological qualities appropriate to the order to be received”.(35)
32. The profile of candidates is then completed with certain specific human qualities
and evangelical virtues necessary for diakonia. Among the human qualities which
should be highlighted are: psychological maturity, capacity for dialogue and
communication, sense of responsibility, industriousness, equilibrium and prudence.
Particularly important among the evangelical virtues: prayer, Eucharistic and Marian
devotion, a humble and strong sense of the Church, love for the Church and her
mission, spirit of poverty, capacity for obedience and fraternal communion, apostolic
zeal, openness to service,(36) charity towards the brothers and sisters.
33. In addition, candidates for the diaconate must be active members of a Christian
community and already have exercised praiseworthy commitment to the apostolate.
34. They may come from every social grouping and carry out any work or professional
activity, providing that it is not, according to the norms of the Church and the prudent
judgement of the Bishop, inconsistent with the diaconal state.(37) Furthermore, such
activity must be compatible in practice with commitments of formation and the effective
exercise of the ministry.
35. Regarding the minimum age, the Code of Canon Law prescribes that: “the
candidate for the permanent diaconate who is not married may be admitted to the diaconate
only when he has completed at least his twenty-fifth year; if he is married, not until he
has completed at least his thirty-fifth year”.(38)
Lastly, candidates must be free of irregularities and impediments.(39)
2. Requirements related to the candidate's state of life
a) Unmarried
36. “On the basis of Church law, confirmed by the same Ecumenical Council, young
men called to the diaconate are obliged to observe the law of celibacy”.(40) This is
a particularly appropriate law for the sacred ministry, to which those who have received
the charism freely submit.
The permanent diaconate, lived in celibacy, gives to the ministry a certain unique
emphasis. In fact, the sacramental identification with Christ is placed in the context of
the undivided heart, that is within the context of a nuptial, exclusive, permanent
and total choice of the unique and greatest Love; service of the Church can count on a
total availability; the proclamation of the Kingdom is supported by the courageous witness
of those who have left even those things most dear to them for the sake of the Kingdom.
b) Married
37. “In the case of married men, care should be taken that only those are promoted
to the diaconate who have lived as married men for a number of years and have shown
themselves to be capable of running their own homes, and whose wives and children lead a
truly Christian life and have good reputations”.(41)
Moreover. In addition to stability of family life, married candidates cannot be
admitted unless “their wives not only consent, but also have the Christian moral
character and attributes which will neither hinder their husbands' ministry nor be out of
keeping with it”.(42)
c) Widowers
38. “Those who have received the order of deacon, even those who are older, may
not, in accordance with traditional Church discipline, enter into marriage”.(43) The
same principle applies to deacons who have been widowed.(44) They are called to give proof
of human and spiritual soundness in their state of life.
Moreover, a precondition for accepting widowed candidates is that they have already
provided, or have shown that they are capable of providing adequately for, the human and
Christian upbringing of their children.
d) Members of institutes of consecrated life and of societies of apostolic life
39. Permanent deacons belonging to institutes of consecrated life or to societies of
apostolic life (45) are called to enrich their ministry with the particular charism which
they have received. In fact, their pastoral activity, while being under the jurisdiction
of the local Ordinary,(46) is nevertheless characterized by particular traits of their
religious or consecrated state of life. They will therefore commit themselves to
integrating their religious or consecrated vocation with the ministerial vocation and to
offering their special contribution to the mission of the Church.
III
THE PATH OF FORMATION
TOWARDS THE PERMANENT DIACONATE
1. The presentation of aspirants
40. The decision to undertake the path of diaconal formation can come about either upon
the initiative of the aspirant himself or by means of an explicit proposal of the
community to which the aspirant belongs. In each case, the decision must be accepted and
shared by the community.
On behalf of the community, it is the pastor (or the superior in religious houses) who
must present to the Bishop (or competent Major Superior) the aspirant to the diaconate. He
will do so accompanying the candidacy with an illustration of the motivations which
support it and with a curriculum vitae and pastoral history of the aspirant.
The Bishop (or competent Major Superior), after having consulted the director of
formation and the formation team, will decide whether or not to admit the aspirant to the
propaedeutic period.
2. The propaedeutic period
41. With admission among the aspirants to diaconate there begins a propaedeutic period,
which must be of an appropriate length. During this period the aspirants will be
introduced to a deeper knowledge of theology, of spirituality and of the ministry of
deacon and they will be led to a more attentive discernment of their call.
42. The director of formation is responsible for the propaedeutic period; depending on
the cases, he may entrust the aspirants to one or more tutors. It is to be hoped that,
where circumstances permit, the aspirants may form their own community, with its own cycle
of meetings and prayer which also foresees times in common with the community of
candidates.
The director of formation will ensure that each aspirant is accompanied by an approved
spiritual director and will make contact with the pastor of each one (or another priest)
in order to program the pastoral placement. In addition, he will make contact with the
families of married aspirants to make sure of their openness to accepting, sharing and
accompanying the vocation of their relative.
43. The program of the propaedeutic period, usually, should not provide school lessons,
but rather meetings for prayer, instructions, moments of reflection and comparison
directed towards ensuring the objective nature of the vocational discernment, according to
a well structured plan.
Even during this period, care should be taken, wherever possible, to involve the wives
of the aspirants.
44. The aspirants are invited to carry out a free and self conscious discernment,
basing it on the requirements necessary for the diaconal ministry, without allowing
themselves to be conditioned by personal interests or external pressures of any sort.(47)
At the end of the propaedeutic period, the director of formation, after having
consulted the formation team and taking account of all the elements in his possession,
will present to the proper Bishop (or competent Major Superior) a declaration which
outlines the profile of the aspirants' personalities and also, on request, a judgement of
suitability.
For his part, the Bishop (or the competent Major Superior) will enlist among the
candidates for the diaconate only those about whom he will have reached a moral certainty
of suitability, whether because of personal knowledge or because of information received
from the formators.
3. The liturgical rite of admission to candidacy for ordination as deacon
45. Admission to candidacy for ordination as deacon comes about by means of a special
liturgical rite, “by which one who aspires to the diaconate or priesthood publicly
manifests his will to offer himself to God and the Church, so that he may exercise sacred
orders. The Church, accepting this offering, chooses and calls him to prepare himself to
receive a sacred order, and in this way he is rightly numbered among candidates for the
diaconate”.(48)
46. The competent superior for this acceptance is the Bishop himself or, for members of
a clerical religious institute of pontifical rite or of a clerical society of apostolic
life of pontifical right, the Major Superior.(49)
47. By reason of its public character and its ecclesial significance, the rite is to be
held in proper esteem and celebrated preferably on a feast day. The aspirant is to prepare
himself for it by a spiritual retreat.
48. The liturgical rite of admission must be preceded by a request for enrolment among
the candidates, which must be prepared and personally signed by the aspirant himself and
accepted in writing by the proper Bishop or Major Superior to whom it is addressed.(50)
Enrolment among the candidates for the diaconate does not constitute any right
necessarily to receive diaconal ordination. It is a first official recognition of the
positive signs of the vocation to the diaconate, which must be confirmed in the subsequent
years of formation.
4. Time of formation
49. The formation program must last at least three years, in addition to the
propaedeutic period, for all candidates.(51)
50. The Code of Canon Law prescribes that young candidates receive their
formation residing “for at least three years in a special house, unless the diocesan
Bishop for grave reasons decides otherwise”.(52) “The Bishops of a
region—or, where it would be useful, those of several regions in the same
country—should join in establishing a college of this kind, depending on local
circumstances. They should choose particularly well-fitted men to be in charge of it and
should make clear rules regarding discipline and studies”.(53) Care should be taken
that these candidates have good relationships with the deacons of the diocese to which
they belong.
51. For those more mature candidates, whether single or married, the Code of Canon
Law prescribes that they “prepare for three years in a manner determined by the
Episcopal Conference”.(54) Where circumstances permit, this preparation must be
undertaken in the context of a full participation in the community of candidates, which
will have its own calendar of meetings for prayer and formation and will also foresee
meetings in common with the community of aspirants.
Different ways of organizing the formation are possible for these candidates. Due to
work and family commitments, the most common models foresee formational and scholastic
meetings in the evenings, during weekends, at holiday time or with a combination of the
various possibilities. Where geographical factors might present particular difficulties it
will be necessary to consider other models, extending over a longer time period or making
use of modern means of communication.
52. For candidates belonging to institutes of consecrated life or societies of
apostolic life, formation will be carried out according to the directives of the eventual ratio
of the person's institute or society, or by using the structures of the diocese in which
the candidates are to be found.
53. In the cases in which the above-mentioned ways of formation might not be set up or
be impracticable, “then the candidate should be entrusted to some priest of
outstanding judgement who will take a special interest in him and teach him, and who will
be able to testify to his maturity and prudence. Great care must always be taken that only
those who have enough learning and are suitable are enrolled in the sacred
order”.(55)
54. In all cases the director of formation (or the priest responsible) will check that
during the whole time of formation every candidate will maintain his commitment to
spiritual direction with his own approved spiritual director. In addition, he will ensure
the accompaniment, evaluation and eventual modification of each one's pastoral internship.
55. The formation program, which will be outlined in general in the next chapter, must
integrate in a harmonious manner the different areas of formation (human, spiritual,
theological and pastoral), it must be theologically well founded, have a specific pastoral
finality and be adapted to local needs and pastoral programs.
56. The wives and children of married candidates and the communities to which they
belong should also be involved in appropriate ways. In particular, there should be also a
specific program of formation for the wives of candidates, to prepare them for their
future mission of accompanying and supporting their husband's ministry.
5. Conferral of the ministries of lectorate and acolytate
57. “Before anyone may be promoted to the diaconate, whether permanent or
transitory, he must have received the ministries of lector and acolyte, and have exercised
them for an appropriate time”,(56) so that he may “be better disposed for the
future service of the word and the altar”.(57) In fact the Church “considers it
to be very opportune that both by study and by gradual exercise of the ministry of the
word and of the altar, candidates for sacred orders should through intimate contact
understand and reflect upon the double aspect of the priestly office. Thus it comes about
that the authenticity of the ministry shines out with the greatest effectiveness. In this
way the candidates come to sacred orders fully aware of their vocation, 'fervent in
spirit, serving the Lord, constant in prayer and aware of the needs of the faithful' (Rm
12:11-13)”.(58)
The identity of these ministries and their pastoral relevance are illustrated in the
Apostolic Letter Ministeria quaedam, to which reference should be made.
58. Aspirants to lectorate and acolytate, on the invitation of the director of
formation, will make a request for admission, which has been compiled and signed freely,
and present it to the Ordinary (the Bishop or Major Superior) who has the authority to
accept it.(59) Having accepted the request, the Bishop or Major Superior will proceed to
the conferral of the ministries, according to the rite of the Roman Pontifical.(60)
59. It is appropriate that a certain period of time elapse between the conferring of
lectorate and acolytate in such a way that the candidate may exercise the ministry he has
received.(61) “Between the conferring of the ministry of acolyte and the diaconate
there is to be an interval of at least six months”.(62)
6. Diaconate ordination
60. At the conclusion of the formation journey, the candidate who, in agreement with
the director of formation, considers himself to have the necessary pre-requisites for
ordination, may address to the proper Bishop or competent Major Superior “a
declaration written in his own hand and signed by him, in which he attests that he is
about to receive the sacred order freely and of his own accord and will devote himself
permanently to the ecclesiastical ministry, asking at the same time that he be admitted to
receive the order”.(63)
61. With this request the candidate must enclose the certificate of baptism, of
confirmation and of the ministries mentioned in can. 1035, and the certificate of studies
duly completed in accordance with can. 1032.(64) If the ordinand to be promoted is
married, he must present his marriage certificate and the written consent of his wife.(65)
62. Having received the request of the ordinand, the Bishop (or competent Major
Superior) will evaluate his suitability by means of a diligent scrutiny. First of all he
will examine the certificate which the director of formation is obliged to present to him
“concerning the qualities required in the candidate for the reception of the order,
namely sound doctrine, genuine piety, good moral behavior, fitness for the exercise of the
ministry; likewise, after proper investigation, a certificate of the candidate's state of
physical and psychological health”.(66) “The diocesan Bishop or Major Superior
may, in order properly to complete the investigation, use other means which, taking into
account the circumstances of time and place, may seem useful, such as testimonial letters,
public notices or other sources of information”.(67)
After having verified the suitability of a candidate and having been assured that he is
aware of the new obligations which he is assuming,(68) the Bishop or competent Major
Superior will promote him to the order of the diaconate.
63. Before ordination, unmarried candidates must assume publicly, in the prescribed
rite, the obligation of celibacy; (69) candidates belonging to an institute of consecrated
life or a society of apostolic life who have taken perpetual vows or other form of
definitive commitment in the institute or society are also obliged to this.(70) All
candidates are bound personally, before ordination, to make a profession of faith and an
oath of fidelity, according to the formulae approved by the Apostolic See, in the presence
of the Ordinary of the place or his delegate.(71)
64. “Each candidate is to be ordained...to the diaconate by his proper Bishop, or
with lawful dimissorial letters granted by that Bishop”.(72) If the candidate belongs
to a clerical religious institute of pontifical right or to a clerical society of
apostolic life of pontifical right it belongs to the Major Superior to grant him
dimissorial letters.(73)
65. The ordination, carried out according to the rite of the Roman Pontifical,(74)
is to be celebrated during solemn Mass, preferably on a Sunday or holyday of obligation,
and generally in the Cathedral Church.(75) The ordinands prepare themselves for it by
making “a retreat for at least five days, in a place and in the manner prescribed by
the Ordinary”.(76) During the rite special attention should be given to the
participation of the wives and children of the married ordinands.
IV
THE DIMENSIONS OF THE FORMATION
OF PERMANENT DEACONS
1. Human formation
66. The scope of human formation is that of molding the personality of the sacred
ministers in such a way that they become “a bridge and not an obstacle for others in
their meeting with Jesus Christ the Redeemer of man”.(77) Accordingly they must be
educated to acquire and perfect a series of human qualities which will permit them to
enjoy the trust of the community, to commit themselves with serenity to the pastoral
ministry, to facilitate encounter and dialogue.
Similar to the indications of Pastores dabo vobis for the formation of priests,
candidates for the diaconate, too, must be educated “to love the truth, to be loyal,
to respect every person, to have a sense of justice, to be true to their word, to be
genuinely compassionate, to be men of integrity and, especially, to be balanced in
judgement and behavior”.(78)
67. Of particular importance for deacons, called to be men of communion and service, is
the capacity to relate to others. This requires that they be affable, hospitable, sincere
in their words and heart, prudent and discreet, generous and ready to serve, capable of
opening themselves to clear and brotherly relationships, and quick to understand, forgive
and console.(79) A candidate who was excessively closed in on himself, cantankerous and
incapable of establishing meaningful and serene relationships with others must undergo a
profound conversion before setting off with conviction on the path of ministerial service.
68. At the root of the capacity to relate to others is affective maturity, which must
be attained with a wide margin of certainty in both celibate and married candidates. Such
a maturity presupposes in both types of candidate the discovery of the centrality of love
in their own lives and the victorious struggle against their own selfishness. In reality,
as Pope John Paul II wrote in the Encyclical Redemptor hominis, “man cannot
live without love. He remains a being that is incomprehensible for himself, his life is
senseless, if love is not revealed to him, if he does not encounter love, if he does not
experience it and make it his own, if he does not participate intimately in it”.(80)
As the Pope explains in Pastores dabo vobis, this is a love which involves all the
aspects of the person, physical, psychological and spiritual and which therefore demands
full dominion over his sexuality, which must become truly and fully personal.(81)
For celibate candidates, to live love means offering the totality of one's being, of
one's energies and readiness, to Christ and the Church. It is a demanding vocation, which
must take into account the inclinations of affectivity and the pressures of instinct and
which therefore requires renunciation, vigilance, prayer and fidelity to a precise rule of
life. A decisive assistance can come from the presence of true friends, who represent a
precious help and a providential support in living out one's own vocation.(82)
For married candidates, to live love means offering themselves to their spouses in a
reciprocal belonging, in a total, faithful and indissoluble union, in the likeness of
Christ's love for his Church; at the same time it means welcoming children, loving them,
educating them and showing forth to the whole Church and society the communion of the
family. Today, this vocation is being hard tested by the worrying degradation of certain
fundamental values and the exaltation of hedonism and a false conception of liberty. To be
lived out in all its fullness, the vocation to family must be nourished by prayer, the
liturgy and a daily offering of self.(83)
69. A pre-condition for an authentic human maturity is training in freedom, which is
expressed in obedience to the truth of one's own being. “Thus understood, freedom
requires the person to be truly master of himself, determined to fight and overcome the
different forms of selfishness and individualism which threaten the life of each one,
ready to open out to others, generous in dedication and service to one's
neighbor”.(84) Training in freedom also includes the education of the moral
conscience, which prepares one to listen to the voice of God in the depths of one's heart
and to adhere closely to it.
70. These many aspects of human maturity—human qualities, ability to relate,
affective maturity, training in freedom and education of the moral conscience—must be
considered, taking into account the age and previous formation of the candidates, when
planning programs tailored to the individual. The director of formation and the tutor will
contribute in the area of their competence; the spiritual director will take these aspects
into consideration and check them during spiritual direction. Encounters and conferences
which encourage development and give some incentive to maturity are also of use. Community
life—in the various forms in which it can be programmed—will constitute a
privileged forum for fraternal checks and correction. In those cases where it may be
necessary, in the judgement of the formators, and with the consent of the individual
concerned, recourse may be made to a psychological consultation.
2. Spiritual formation
71. Human formation leads to and finds its completion in spiritual formation, which
constitutes the heart and unifying center of every Christian formation. Its aim is to tend
to the development of the new life received in Baptism.
When a candidate begins the path of formation for the diaconate, generally he has
already had a certain experience of the spiritual life, such as, recognition of the action
of the Spirit, listening to and meditating upon the Word of God, the thirst for prayer,
commitment to service of the brothers and sisters, willingness to make sacrifices, the
sense of the Church, apostolic zeal. Also, according to his state of life, he will already
have matured a certain defined spirituality: of the family, of consecration in the world
or of consecration in the religious life. The spiritual formation of the future deacon,
therefore, cannot ignore this experience which he has already had, but must seek to affirm
and strengthen it, so as to impress upon it the specific traits of diaconal spirituality.
72. The element which most characterizes diaconal spirituality is the discovery of and
sharing in the love of Christ the servant, who came not to be served but to serve. The
candidate must therefore be helped progressively to acquire those attitudes which are
specifically diaconal, though not exclusively so, such as simplicity of heart, total
giving of self and disinterest for self, humble and helpful love for the brothers and
sisters, especially the poorest, the suffering and the most needy, the choice of a
life-style of sharing and poverty. Let Mary, the handmaid of the Lord, be present on this
journey and be invoked as mother and auxiliatrix in the daily recitation of the Rosary.
73. The source of this new capacity to love is the Eucharist, which, not by chance,
characterizes the ministry of the deacon. In fact, service of the poor is the logical
consequence of service of the altar. Therefore the candidate will be invited to
participate every day, or at least frequently, within the limits of his family and
professional commitments, in the celebration of the Eucharist and will be helped to
penetrate ever deeper into its mystery. Within the context of this Eucharistic
spirituality, care will be taken to give adequate appreciation to the sacrament of
Penance.
74. Another characteristic element of diaconal spirituality is the Word of God, of
which the deacon is called to be an authoritative preacher, believing what he proclaims,
teaching what he believes, living what he teaches.(85) The candidate must therefore learn
to know the Word of God ever more deeply and to seek in it constant nourishment for his
spiritual life by means of its loving and thorough study and the daily exercise of lectio
divina.
75. There should also be an introduction to the meaning of the Prayer of the Church.
Indeed praying in the name of the Church and for the Church is part of the ministry of the
deacon. This requires a reflection on the uniqueness of Christian prayer and the meaning
of the Liturgy of the Hours, but especially a practical initiation into it. To this end,
it is important that time be dedicated to this prayer during all meetings of the future
deacons.
76. Finally, the deacon incarnates the charism of service as a participation in the
ministry of the Church. This has important repercussions on his spiritual life, which must
be characterized by obedience and fraternal communion. A genuine education in obedience,
instead of stifling the gifts received with the grace of ordination, will ensure ecclesial
authenticity in the apostolate. Communion with his ordained confreres is also a balm for
supporting and encouraging generosity in the ministry. The candidate must therefore be
educated to a sense of belonging to the body of ordained ministers, to fraternal
collaboration with them and to spiritual sharing.
77. The means for this formation are monthly retreats and annual spiritual exercises;
instructions, to be programmed according to an organic and progressive plan, which takes
account of the various stages of the formation; and spiritual accompaniment, which must be
constant. It is a particular task of the spiritual director to assist the candidate to
discern the signs of his vocation, to place himself in an attitude of ongoing conversion,
to bring to maturity the traits proper to the spirituality of the deacon, drawing on the
writings of classical spirituality and the example of the saints, and to bring about a
balanced synthesis of his state of life, his profession and the ministry.
78. Moreover, provision should be made that wives of married candidates may grow in
awareness of their husbands' vocation and their own mission at his side. They are to be
invited, therefore, to participate regularly in the spiritual formation meetings.
Appropriate efforts should also be directed towards educating children about the
ministry of the deacon.
3. Doctrinal formation
79. Intellectual formation is a necessary dimension of diaconal formation insofar as it
offers the deacon a substantial nourishment for his spiritual life and a precious
instrument for his ministry. It is particularly urgent today, in the face of the challenge
of the new evangelization to which the Church is called at this difficult juncture of the
millennium. Religious indifference, obscuring of values, loss of ethical convergence, and
cultural pluralism demand that those involved in the ordained ministry have an
intellectual formation which is complete and serious.
In the Circular Letter of 1969, Come č a conoscenza, the Congregation for
Catholic Education invited Episcopal Conferences to prepare a doctrinal formation for
candidates to the diaconate which would take account of the different situations, personal
and ecclesial, yet at the same time would absolutely exclude “a hurried or
superficial preparation, because the duties of the Deacon, as laid down in the
Constitution Lumen gentium (n. 29) and in the Motu Proprio (n. 22),(86) are of such
importance as to demand a formation which is solid and effective”.
80. The criteria which must be followed in preparing this formation are:
a) necessity for the deacon to be able to explain his faith and bring to
maturity a lively ecclesial conscience;
b) attention to his formation for the specific duties of his ministry;
c) importance of acquiring the capacity to read a situation and an adequate
inculturation of the Gospel;
d) usefulness of knowing communication techniques and group dynamics, the
ability to speak in public, and to be able to give guidance and counsel.
81. Taking account of these criteria, the following contents must be taken into
consideration: (87)
a) introduction to Sacred Scripture and its right interpretation; the theology
of the Old and New Testament; the interrelation between Scripture and Tradition; the use
of Scripture in preaching, catechesis and pastoral activity in general;
b) introduction to the study of the Fathers of the Church and an elementary
knowledge of the history of the Church;
c) fundamental theology, with illustration of the sources, topics and methods of
theology, presentation of the questions relating to Revelation and the formulation of the
relationship between faith and reason, which will enable the future deacons to explain the
reasonableness of the faith;
d) dogmatic theology, with its various treatises: Trinity, creation,
Christology, ecclesiology and ecumenism, mariology, Christian anthropology, sacraments
(especially theology of the ordained ministry), eschatology;
e) Christian morality, in its personal and social dimensions and, in particular,
the social doctrine of the Church;
f) spiritual theology;
g) liturgy;
h) canon law.
According to particular situations and needs, the program of studies will be integrated
with other disciplines such as the study of other religions, philosophical questions, a
deepening of certain economic and political problems.(88)
82. For theological formation, use may be made, where possible, of institutes of
religious sciences which already exist or of other institutes of theological formation.
Where special schools for the theological formation of deacons must be instituted, this
should be done in such a way that the number of hours of lectures and seminars be not less
than a thousand in the space of the three years. The fundamental courses at least are to
conclude with an examination and, at the end of the three years there is to be a final
comprehensive examination.
83. For admission to this program of formation, a previous basic formation is required;
this is to be determined according to the cultural situation of the country.
84. Candidates should be predisposed to continuing their formation after ordination. To
this end, they are encouraged to establish a small personal library with a
theological-pastoral emphasis and to be open to programs of ongoing formation.
4. Pastoral formation
85. In the wide sense, pastoral formation coincides with spiritual formation: it is
formation for an ever greater identification with the diakonia of Christ. This attitude
must guide the articulation of the various aspects of formation, integrating them within
the unitary perspective of the diaconal vocation, which consists in being a sacrament of
Christ, servant of the Father.
In the strict sense, pastoral formation develops by means of a specific theological
discipline and a practical internship.
86. This theological discipline is called pastoral theology. It is “a
scientific reflection on the Church as she is built up daily, by the power of the Spirit,
in history; on the Church as the 'universal sacrament of salvation', as a living sign and
instrument of the salvation wrought by Christ through the word, the sacraments and the
service of charity”.(89) The scope of this discipline, therefore, is the presentation
of the principles, the criteria and the methods which guide the apostolic-missionary work
of the Church in history.
The pastoral theology programmed for the deacons will pay particular attention
to those fields which are eminently diaconal, such as:
a) liturgical praxis: administration of the sacraments and sacramentals, service
at the altar;
b) proclamation of the Word in the varied contexts of ministerial service:
kerygma, catechesis, preparation for the sacraments, homily;
c) the Church's commitment to social justice and charity;
d) the life of the community, in particular the guidance of family teams, small
communities, groups and movements, etc.
Certain technical subjects, which prepare the candidates for specific ministerial
activities, can also be useful, such as psychology, catechetical pedagogy, homiletics,
sacred music, ecclesiastical administration, information technology, etc.(90)
87. At the same time as (and possibly in relationship with) the teaching of pastoral
theology a practical internship should be provided for each candidate, to permit him to
meet in the field what he has learned in his study. It must be gradual, tailored to the
individual and under continual supervision. For the choice of activities, account should
be taken of the instituted ministries received, and their exercise should be evaluated.
Care is to be taken that the candidates be actively introduced into the pastoral
activity of the diocese and that they have periodic sharing of experiences with deacons
already involved in the ministry.
88. In addition, care should be taken that the future deacons develop a strong
missionary sensitivity. In fact, they too, in an analogous way to priests, receive with
sacred ordination a spiritual gift which prepares them for a universal mission, to the
ends of the earth (cf Acts 1:8).(91) They are to be helped, therefore, to be
strongly aware of their missionary identity and prepared to undertake the proclamation of
the truth also to non-Christians, particularly those belonging to their own people.
However, neither should the prospect of the mission ad gentes be lacking, wherever
circumstances require and permit it.
CONCLUSION
89. The Didascalia Apostolorum recommends to the deacons of the first century:
“As our Savior and Master said in the Gospel: let he who wishes to be great among
you, make himself your servant, in the same way as the Son of Man came not to be served
but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many, you deacons must do the same,
even if that means giving your life for your brothers and sisters, because of the service
which you are bound to fulfil”.(92) This invitation is most appropriate also for
those who are called today to the diaconate, and urges them to prepare themselves with
great dedication for their future ministry.
90. May the Episcopal Conferences and Ordinaries of the whole world, to whom the
present document is given, ensure that it becomes an object of attentive reflection in
communion with their priests and communities. It will be an important point of reference
for those Churches in which the permanent diaconate is a living and active reality; for
the others, it will be an effective invitation to appreciate the value of that precious
gift of the Spirit which is diaconal service.
The Supreme Pontiff John Paul II has approved this “Ratio fundamentalis
institutionis diaconorum permanentium”, and ordered it to be published.
Rome, given at the Offices of the Congregations, 22 February 1998, Feast of the
Chair of Peter.
Pio Card. Laghi
Prefect
+ José Saraiva Martins
Titular Archbishop of Tuburnica
Secretary
CONGREGATION FOR THE CLERGY
DIRECTORIUM PRO MINISTERIO ET VITA
DIACONORUM PERMANENTIUM
DIRECTORY
FOR THE MINISTRY AND LIFE
OF PERMANENT DEACONS
1
THE JURIDICAL STATUS OF THE DEACON
Sacred Minister
1. The origin of the diaconate is the consecration and mission of Christ, in which the
deacon is called to share.(34) Through the imposition of hands and the prayer of
consecration, he is constituted a sacred minister and a member of the hierarchy. This
condition determines his theological and juridical status in the Church.
Incardination
2. At the time of admission to the diaconate, all candidates shall be required to
express clearly in writing their intention to serve the Church(35) for the rest of their
lives in a specific territorial or personal circumscription, in an institute of
consecrated life or in a society of apostolic life which has the faculty to
incardinate.(36) Written acceptance of a request for incardination is reserved to him who
has authority to incardinate and determines the candidate's Ordinary.(37)
Incardination is a juridical bond. It has ecclesiological and spiritual significance in
as much as it expresses the ministerial dedication of the deacon to the Church.
3. A deacon already incardinated into one ecclesiastical circumscription may be
incardinated into another in accordance with the norm of law.(38) Written authorization
must be obtained from both the bishop a quo and the bishop ad quem in the
case of deacons who, for just reasons, wish to exercise their ministry in a diocese other
than that into which they were incardinated. Bishops should encourage deacons of their own
dioceses who wish to place themselves either permanently or for a specified time period at
the service of other particular Churches with a shortage of clergy. They should also
support in a particular way those who, after specific and careful preparation, seek to
dedicate themselves to the missio ad gentes. The terms on which deacons afford such
service should be duly regulated by contract and agreed upon by the bishops concerned.(39)
It is a duty incumbent on the bishop to care for the deacons of his diocese with
particular solicitude.(40) This is to be discharged either personally or through a priest
acting as his delegate. Special pastoral care should always be shown to those in
particular difficulties because of personal circumstances.
4. The deacon incardinated into an institute of consecrated life or society of
apostolic life shall exercise ministry under the jurisdiction of the bishop in all that
pertains to the pastoral ministry, acts of public worship and the apostolate. He is,
however, also subject to his own superiors' competence and to the discipline of his
community.(41) When a deacon is transferred to a community in another diocese, the
superior shall be obliged to present him to the local Ordinary and obtain permission for
him to exercise his ministry in accordance with the procedures agreed upon, between the
bishop and the superior.
5. The specific vocation to the permanent Diaconate presupposes the stability of this
Order. Hence ordination to the Priesthood of non-married or widowed deacons must always be
a very rare exception, and only for special and grave reasons. The decision of admission
to the Order of Presbyters rests with the diocesan bishop, unless impediments exist which
are reserved to the Holy See.(42) Given the exceptional nature of such cases, the diocesan
bishop should consult the Congregation for Catholic Education with regard to the
intellectual and theological preparation of the candidate, and also the Congregation for
the Clergy concerning the program of priestly formation and the aptitude of the candidate
to the priestly ministry.
6. By virtue of their ordination, deacons are united to each other by a sacramental
fraternity. They are all dedicated to the same purpose — building up the Body of
Christ — in union with the Supreme Pontiff(43) and subject to the authority of the
bishop. Each deacon should have a sense of being joined with his fellow deacons in a bond
of charity, prayer, obedience to their bishops, ministerial zeal and collaboration.
With the permission of the bishop and in his presence or that of his delegate, it would
be opportune for deacons periodically to meet to discuss their ministry, exchange
experiences, advance formation and encourage each other in fidelity. Such encounters might
also be of interest to candidates to the permanent Diaconate. The local Ordinary should
foster a “spirit of communion” among deacons ministering in his diocese and
avoid any form of “corporatism” which was a factor in the decline and eventual
extinction of the permanent Diaconate in earlier centuries.
7. The Diaconate brings with it a series of rights and duties as foreseen by canons
273-283 of the Code of Canon Law with regard to clerics in general and deacons in
particular.
8. The rite of ordination includes a promise of obedience to the bishops: “Do you
promise respect and obedience to me and to my successors?”.(44) In making this
promise to his bishop the deacon takes Christ, obedient par excellence (cf. Phil 2:
5-11), as his model. He shall conform his own obedience in listening (Hb 10, 5ff; John
4:34) and in radical availability (cf. Lk 9:54ff and 10:1ff) to the obedience of
Christ. He shall therefore dedicate himself to working in complete conformity with the
will of the Father and devote himself to the Church by means of complete availability.(45)
In a spirit of prayer, with which he should be permeated, the deacon, following the
example of the Lord who gave himself “unto death, death on a cross” (Phil 2:8),
should deepen every day his total gift of self. This vision of obedience also predisposes
acceptance of a more concrete detailing of the obligation assumed by the deacon at
ordination, in accordance with the provisions of law: “Unless excused by a lawful
impediment, clerics are obliged to accept and faithfully fulfil the office committed to
them by their Ordinary”.(46) This obligation is based on participation in the
bishop's ministry conferred by the Sacrament of Holy Orders and by canonical mission. The
extent of obedience and availability is determined by the diaconal ministry itself and by
all that is objectively, immediately and directly in relation to it.
The Deacon receives office by a decree of the bishop. In his decree of appointment, the
bishop shall ascribe duties to the deacon which are congruent with his personal abilities,
his celibate or married state, his formation, age, and with his spiritually valid
aspirations. The territory in which his ministry is to be exercised or those to whom he is
to minister should be clearly specified. The decree must also indicate whether the office
conferred is to be discharged on a partial or full-time basis and the priest who has the
“cura animarum” where the deacon's ministry is exercised, must be named.
9. Clerics are obliged to live in the bond of fraternity and of prayer, collaborate
with each other and with the bishop to recognize and foster the mission of the faithful in
the Church and in the world(47) and live in a simple, sober manner which is open to
fraternal giving and sharing.(48)
10. Unlike deacons to be ordained to the priesthood,(49) who are bound by the same
norms as priests in the matter,(50) permanent deacons are not obliged to wear clerical
garb. Deacons who are members of institutes of consecrated life or societies of apostolic
life shall adhere to the norms prescribed for them by the Code of Canon Law.(51)
11. In its canonical discipline, the Church recognizes the right of deacons to form
associations among themselves to promote their spiritual life, to carry out charitable and
pious works and pursue other objectives which are consonant with their sacramental
consecration and mission.(52) As with other clerics, deacons are not permitted to found,
participate in or be members of any association or group, even of a civil nature, which is
incompatible with the clerical state or which impedes the diligent execution of their
ministerial duties. They shall also avoid all associations whose nature, objectives and
methods are insidious to the full hierarchical communion of the Church. Likewise,
associations which are injurious to the identity of the diaconate and to the discharge of
its duties for the Church's service, as well as those groups or associations which plot
against the Church, are to be avoided.(53)
Associations too which, under the guise of representation, organize deacons into a form
of trade(s) unions or pressure groups, thus reducing the sacred ministry to a
secular profession or trade, are completely irreconcilable with the clerical state. The
same is true of any form of association which would prejudice the direct and immediate
relationship between every deacon and his bishop.
All such associations are forbidden because they are injurious to the exercise of the
sacred ministry, which, in this context, is considered as no more than a subordinate
activity, and because they promote conflict with the bishops who are similarly regarded
purely as employers.(54)
It should be recalled that no private association may be considered an ecclesial
association unless it shall have obtained prior recognitio of its statutes by the
competent ecclesiastical authority.(55) Such authority has the right and duty to be
vigilant concerning associations and the fulfillment of their statutory ends.(56)
Deacons who come from ecclesial associations or movements may continue to enjoy the
spiritual benefits of such communities and may continue to draw help and support from them
in their service of a particular Church.
12. The professional activity of deacons assumes a significance which distinguishes it
from that of the lay faithful.(57) Thus the secular work of permanent deacons is in some
sense linked with their ministry. They should be mindful that the lay members of the
faithful, in virtue of their own specific mission, are “particularly called to make
the Church present and fruitful in those places and circumstances where it is only through
them that she can become the salt of the earth”.(58)
Derogating from what is prescribed for other clerics,(59) the present discipline of the
Church does not prohibit to permanent deacons professions which involve the exercise of
civil authority or the administration of temporal goods or accountable secular offices.
Particular law, however, may determine otherwise, should such derogation prove
inopportune.
In those commercial and business activities(60) permitted under particular law, deacons
should exhibit honesty and ethical rectitude. They should be careful to fulfil their
obligations to civil law where it is not contrary to the natural law, to the Magisterium
or to the canons of the Church and to her freedom.(61)
The aforementioned derogation is not applicable to permanent deacons who are
incardinated into institutes of consecrated life or societies of apostolic life.(62)
Permanent deacons must make prudent judgements and they should seek the advice of their
bishops in more complex instances. Some professions, while of undoubted benefit to the
community, can, when exercised by a permanent deacon, in certain circumstances, become
incompatible with the pastoral responsibilities of his ministry. The competent authority,
bearing in mind the requirements of ecclesial communion and of the fruitfulness of
pastoral ministry, shall evaluate individual cases as they arise, including a change of
profession after ordination to the permanent Diaconate.
Where there is conflict of conscience, deacons must act in conformity with the doctrine
and discipline of the Church, even if this should require of them great sacrifices.
13. As sacred ministers, deacons are required to give complete priority to their
ministry and to pastoral charity and “do their utmost to foster among people peace
and harmony based on justice”.(63) Active involvement in political parties or trades
unions, in accordance with the dispositions of the Episcopal Conference,(64) may be
permitted in particular circumstances “for the defense of the rights of the Church or
to promote the common good”.(65) Deacons are strictly prohibited from all involvement
with political parties or trade(s) union movements which are founded on ideologies,
policies or associations incompatible with Church doctrine.
14. Should a deacon wish to absent himself from his diocese for “a considerable
period of time”, he should normally obtain the permission of his Ordinary or Major
Superior in accordance with the provisions of particular law.(66)
15. Deacons who are professionally employed are required to provide for their own
upkeep from the ensuing emoluments.(67)
It is entirely legitimate that those who devote themselves fully to the service of God
in the discharge of ecclesiastical office,(68) be equitably remunerated, since “the
laborer is deserving of his wage”(Lk 10:7) and the Lord has disposed that
those who proclaim the Gospel should live by the Gospel (cf. 1 Cor 9:14). This does
not however exclude the possibility that a cleric might wish to renounce this right, as
the Apostle himself did (1 Cor 9:12), and otherwise make provision for himself.
It is not easy to draw up general norms concerning the upkeep of deacons which are
binding in all circumstances, given the great diversity of situations in which deacons
work, in various particular Churches and countries. In this matter, due attention must
also be given to possible stipulations made in agreements between the Holy See or
Episcopal Conferences and governments. In such circumstances, particular law should
determine appropriately in the matter.
16. Since clerics dedicate themselves in an active and concrete way to the
ecclesiastical ministry, they have a right to sustenance which includes “a
remuneration that befits their condition”(69) and to social security.(70)
With regard to married deacons the Code of Canon Law provides that:
“married deacons who dedicate themselves full-time to the ecclesiastical ministry
deserve remuneration sufficient to provide for themselves and their families. Those,
however, who receive remuneration by reason of a secular profession which they exercise or
have exercised are to see to their own and to their families' needs from that
income”.(71) In prescribing “adequate” remuneration, parameters of
evaluation are also: personal condition, the nature of the office exercised, circumstances
of time and place, material needs of the minister (including those of the families of
married deacons), just recompense of those in his service — the same general
criteria, in fact, which apply to all clerics.
In order to provide for the sustenance of clerics ministering in dioceses, every
particular Church is obliged to constitute a special fund which “collects offerings
and temporal goods for the support of the clergy”.(72)
Social security for clerics is to be provided by another fund, unless other provision
has been made.(73)
17. Celibate deacons who minister full-time in a diocese, have a right to be
remunerated according to the general principle of law(74) should they have no other source
of income.
18. Married deacons who minister full-time and who do not receive income from any other
source are to be remunerated, in accordance with the aforementioned general principle, so
that they may be able to provide for themselves and for their families.(75)
19. Married deacons who minister full-time or part-time and who receive income from a
secular profession which they exercise or have exercised are obliged to provide for
themselves and for their families from such income.(76)
20. It is for particular law to provide opportune norms in the complex matter of
reimbursing expenses, including, for example, that those entities and parishes which
benefit from the ministry of a deacon have an obligation to reimburse him those expenses
incurred in the exercise of his ministry.
Particular law may also determine the obligations devolving on the diocese when a
deacon, through no fault of his own, becomes unemployed. Likewise, it will be opportune to
define the extent of diocesan liability with regard to the widows and orphans of deceased
deacons. Where possible, deacons, before ordination, should subscribe to a mutual
assurance (insurance) policy which affords cover for these eventualities.
21. Trusting to the perennial fidelity of God, the deacon is called to live his Order
with generous dedication and ever renewed perseverance. Sacred ordination, once validly
received, can never be rendered null. Nevertheless, loss of the clerical state may occur
in conformity with the canonical norms.(77)
2
THE DIACONAL MINISTRY
Diaconal functions
22. The Second Vatican Council synthesized the ministry of deacons in the threefold
“diaconia of the liturgy, the word and of charity”.(78) In this way diaconal
participation through the ordained ministry in the one and triple munus of Christ
is expressed. The deacon “is teacher in so far as he preaches and bears
witness to the word of God; he sanctifies when he administers the Sacrament of
Baptism, the Holy Eucharist and the sacramentals, he participates at the celebration of
Holy Mass as a “minister of the Blood”, and conserves and distributes the
Blessed Eucharist; he is a guide in as much as he animates the community or a
section of ecclesial life.(79) Thus deacons assist and serve the bishops and priests who
preside at every liturgy, are watchful of doctrine and guide the people of God.
The ministry of deacons, in the service of the community of the faithful, should
“collaborate in building up the unity of Christians without prejudice and without
inopportune initiatives”.(80) It should cultivate those “human qualities which
make a person acceptable to others, credible, vigilant about his language and his capacity
to dialogue, so as to acquire a truly ecumenical attitude”.(81)
Diaconia of the word
23. The bishop, during the rite of ordination, gives the book of the Gospels to the
deacon saying: “Receive the Gospel of Christ whose herald you have become”.(82)
Like priests, deacons are commended to all by their conduct, their preaching of the
mystery of Christ, by transmitting Christian doctrine and by devoting attention to the
problems of our time. The principal function of the deacon, therefore, is to collaborate
with the bishop and the priests in the exercise of a ministry(83) which is not of their
own wisdom but of the word of God, calling all to conversion and holiness.(84) He prepares
for such a ministry by careful study of Sacred Scripture, of Tradition, of the liturgy and
of the life of the Church.(85) Moreover, in interpreting and applying the sacred deposit,
the deacon is obliged to be directed by the Magisterium of those who are “witnesses
of divine and Catholic truth”,(86) the Roman Pontiff and the bishops in communion
with him,(87) so as to teach and propose the mystery of Christ fully and faithfully.(88)
It is also necessary that he learn the art of communicating the faith effectively and
integrally to contemporary man, in diverse cultural circumstances and stages of life.(89)
24. It is for the deacon to proclaim the Gospel and preach the word of God.(90) Deacons
have the faculty to preach everywhere, in accordance with the conditions established by
law.(91) This faculty is founded on the Sacrament of Ordination and should be exercised
with at least the tacit consent of the rector of the churches concerned and with that
humility proper to one who is servant and not master of the word of God. In this respect
the warning of the Apostle is always relevant: “Since we have this ministry through
the mercy shown to us, we are not discouraged. Rather we have renounced shameful, hidden
things; not acting deceitfully or falsifying the word of God, but by the open declaration
of the truth we commend ourselves to everybody's conscience in the sight God” (2
Cor 4: 1-2).(92)
25. When the deacon presides at a liturgical celebration, in accordance with the
relevant norms,(93) he shall give due importance to the homily, since it “proclaims
the marvels worked by God in the mystery of Christ, present and effective in the
liturgical celebrations”.(94) Deacons should be trained carefully to prepare their
homilies in prayer, in study of the sacred texts, in perfect harmony with the Magisterium
and in keeping with the situation of those to whom they preach.
In order to assist the Christian faithful to grow in knowledge of their faith in
Christ, to strengthen it by reception of the sacraments and to express it in their family,
professional and social lives,(95) much attention must be given to catechesis of the
faithful of all stages of Christian living. With growing secularization and the ever
greater challenges posed for man and for the Gospel by contemporary society, the need for
complete, faithful and lucid catechesis becomes all the more pressing.
26. Contemporary society requires a new evangelization which demands a greater and more
generous effort on the part of ordained ministers. Deacons, “nourished by prayer and
above all by love of the Eucharist”,(96) in addition to their involvement in diocesan
and parochial programs of catechesis, of evangelization and of preparation for the
reception of the Sacraments, should strive to transmit the word in their professional
lives, either explicitly or merely by their active presence in places where public opinion
is formed and ethical norms are applied — such as the social services or
organizations promoting the rights of the family or life. They should also be aware of the
great possibilities for the ministry of the word in the area of religious and moral
instruction in schools,(97) in Catholic and civil universities(98) and by adequate use of
modern means of social communication.(99)
In addition to indispensable orthodoxy of doctrine, these new fields demand
specialized training, but they are very effective means of bringing the Gospel to
contemporary man and society. (100)
Finally, deacons are reminded that they are obliged to submit, before its publication,
written material concerning faith or morals, (101) to the judgement of their Ordinaries.
It is also necessary to obtain the permission of the Ordinary before writing in
publications which habitually attack the Catholic religion or good morals. They are also
bound to adhere to the norms established by the Episcopal Conference (102) when involved
in radio or television broadcasts.
In every case, the deacon should hold before him the primary and indefeasible necessity
of always presenting the truth without compromise.
27. The deacon will be aware that the Church is missionary (103) by her very nature,
both because her origin is in the missions of the Son and the Holy Spirit, according to
the eternal plan of the Father and because she has received an explicit mandate from the
risen Lord to preach the Gospel to all creation and to baptize those who believe (cf. Mk
16, 15-16; Mt 28:19). Deacons are ministers of the Church and thus, although
incardinated into a particular Church, they are not exempt from the missionary obligation
of the universal Church. Hence they should always remain open to the missio ad gentes
to the extent that their professional or — if married — family obligations
permit. (104)
The deacon's ministry of service is linked with the missionary dimension of the Church:
the missionary efforts of the deacon will embrace the ministry of the word, the liturgy,
and works of charity which, in their turn, are carried into daily life. Mission includes
witness to Christ in a secular profession or occupation.
Diaconia of the liturgy
28. The rite of ordination emphasizes another aspect of the diaconal ministry —
ministry at the altar. (105)
Deacons receive the Sacrament of Orders, so as to serve as a vested minister in the
sanctification of the Christian community, in hierarchical communion with the bishop and
priests. They provide a sacramental assistance to the ministry of the bishop and,
subordinately, to that of the priests which is intrinsic, fundamental and distinct.
Clearly, this diaconia at the altar, since founded on the Sacrament of Orders, differs
in essence from any liturgical ministry entrusted to the lay faithful. The liturgical
ministry of the deacon is also distinct from that of the ordained priestly ministry. (106)
Thus, in the Eucharistic Sacrifice, the deacon does not celebrate the mystery: rather,
he effectively represents on the one hand, the people of God and, specifically, helps them
to unite their lives to the offering of Christ; while on the other, in the name of Christ
himself, he helps the Church to participate in the fruits of that sacrifice.
Since “the liturgy is the summit towards which the activity of the Church is
directed and the font from which all her power flows”, (107) this prerogative of
diaconal ordination is also the font of sacramental grace which nourishes the entire
ministry. Careful and profound theological and liturgical preparation must precede
reception of that grace to enable the deacon to participate worthily in the celebration of
the sacraments and sacramentals.
29. While exercising his ministry, the deacon should maintain a lively awareness that
“every liturgical celebration, because it is an action of Christ the Priest and of
his Body which is the Church, is a sacred action surpassing all others. No other action of
the Church can equal its efficacy by the same title and to the same degree”. (108)
The liturgy is the source of grace and sanctification. Its efficacy derives from Christ
the Redeemer and does not depend on the holiness of the minister. This certainty should
cause the deacon to grow in humility since he can never compromise the salvific work of
Christ. At the same time it should inspire him to holiness of life so that he may be a
worthy minister of the liturgy. Liturgical actions cannot be reduced to mere private or
social actions which can be celebrated by anybody since they belong to the Body of the
universal Church. (109) Deacons shall observe devoutly the liturgical norms proper to the
sacred mysteries so as to bring the faithful to a conscious participation in the liturgy,
to fortify their faith, give worship to God and sanctify the Church. (110)
30. According to the tradition of the Church and the provisions of law, (111) deacons
“assist the bishop and priests in the celebration of the divine mysteries”.
(112) They should therefore work to promote liturgical celebrations which involve the
whole assembly, fostering the interior participation of the faithful in the liturgy and
the exercise of the various ministries. (113)
They should be mindful of the importance of the esthetical dimension which conveys to
the whole person the beauty of what is being celebrated. Music and song, even in its
simplest form, the preached word and the communion of the faithful who live the peace and
forgiveness of Christ, form a precious heritage which the deacon should foster.
The deacon is to observe faithfully the rubrics of the liturgical books without adding,
omitting or changing of his own volition (114) what they require. Manipulation of the
liturgy is tantamount to depriving it of the riches of the mystery of Christ, whom it
contains, and may well signify presumption toward what has been established by the
Church's wisdom. Deacons, therefore, should confine themselves to those things, and only
to those things, in which they are properly competent. (115) For the Sacred Liturgy they
should vest worthily and with dignity, in accordance with the prescribed liturgical norms.
(116) The dalmatic, in its appropriate liturgical colors, together with the alb, cincture
and stole, “constitutes the liturgical dress proper to deacons”. (117)
The ministry of deacons also includes preparation of the faithful for reception of the
sacraments and their pastoral care after having received them.
31. The deacon, together with the bishop and priest, is the ordinary minister of
Baptism. (118) The exercise of this power requires either the permission of the parish
priest, since he enjoys the particular right of baptizing those entrusted to his pastoral
care, (119) or the presence of necessity. (120) In preparing for the reception of this
sacrament, the ministry of the deacon is especially important.
Holy Eucharist
32. At the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, the deacon assists those who preside at
the assembly and consecrate the Body and Blood of the Lord — that is the bishop and
his priests (121) — according to the norms established by the Institutio Generalis
of the Roman Missal, (122) and thus manifests Christ, the Servant. He is close to the
priest during the celebration of the Mass (123) and helps him, especially if the priest is
blind, infirm or feeble. At the altar he serves the chalice and the book. He proposes the
intentions of the bidding prayers to the faithful and invites them to exchange the sign of
peace. In the absence of other ministers, he discharges, when necessary, their office too.
The deacon may not pronounce the words of the eucharistic prayer, nor those of the
collects nor may he use the gestures which are proper to those who consecrate the Body and
Blood of the Lord. (124)
The deacon properly proclaims from the books of Sacred Scripture. (125)
As an ordinary minister of Holy Communion, (126) the deacon distributes the Body of
Christ to the faithful during the celebration of the Mass and, outside of it, administers
Viaticum (127) to the sick. He is equally an ordinary minister of exposition of the Most
Blessed Sacrament and of eucharistic benediction. (128) It falls to the deacon to preside
at Sunday celebrations in the absence of a priest. (129)
33. The pastoral care of families, for which the bishop is primarily responsible, may
be entrusted to deacons. In supporting families in their difficulties and sufferings,
(130) this responsibility will extend from moral and liturgical questions to difficulties
of a social and personal nature, and can be exercised at diocesan or, subject to the
authority of the parish priest, local level in promoting the catechesis of Christian
marriage, the personal preparation of future spouses, the fruitful celebration of marriage
and help offered to couples after marriage. (131)
Married deacons can be of much assistance in promoting the Gospel value of conjugal
love, the virtues which protect it and the practice of parenthood which can truly be
regarded as responsible, from a human and Christian point of view.
Where deacons have been duly delegated by the parish priest or the local Ordinary, they
may assist at the celebration of marriages extra Missam and pronounce the nuptial
blessing in the name of the Church. (132) They may also be given general delegation, in
accordance with the prescribed conditions, (133) which may only be subdelegated, however,
in the manner specified by the Code of Canon Law. (134)
34. It is defined doctrine, (135) that the administration of the Sacrament of the
Anointing of the Sick is reserved to bishops and priests since this sacrament involves the
forgiveness of sins and the worthy reception of the Holy Eucharist, but, the pastoral care
of the sick may be entrusted to deacons. Active service to alleviate the suffering of the
sick, catechesis in preparation for the reception of the Sacrament of Anointing of the
Sick, preparing the faithful for death in the absence of a priest, and the administration
of Viaticum according to the prescribed rites, are means by which deacons may bring the
love of the Church to the suffering faithful. (136)
35. Deacons have an obligation, established by the Church, to celebrate the Liturgy of
the Hours with which the entire Mystical Body is united to the prayer Christ the Head
offers to the Father. Mindful of this obligation, they shall celebrate the Liturgy of the
Hours every day according to the approved liturgical books and in the manner determined by
the respective Episcopal Conference. (137) Furthermore, they should strive to promote
participation by the greater Christian community in this Liturgy, which is never private,
but an action proper to the entire Church, (138) even when celebrated individually.
36. The deacon is the minister of sacramentals, that is of “sacred signs which
bear a resemblance to the sacraments (and) signify effects, particularly of a spiritual
nature, which are obtained through the Church's intercession”. (139)
The deacon may therefore impart those blessings most closely linked to ecclesial and
sacramental life which are expressly permitted to him by law. (140) It is for the deacon
to conduct exequies celebrated outside of Holy Mass, as well as the rite of Christian
burial. (141)
When a priest is present or available, however, such tasks must be given to him. (142)
The Diaconia of Charity
37. In virtue of the Sacrament of Orders, deacons, in communion with the bishop and the
diocesan presbyterate, participate in the same pastoral functions, (143) but exercise them
differently in serving and assisting the bishop and his priests. Since this participation
is brought about by the sacrament, they serve God's people in the name of Christ. For this
reason, they exercise it in humility and charity, and, according to the words of St
Polycarp, they must always be “merciful, zealous and let them walk according to the
truth of the Lord who became servant of all”. (144) Their authority, therefore,
exercised in hierarchical communion with the bishop and his priests, and required by the
same unity of consecration and mission, (145) is a service of charity which seeks to help
and foster all members of a particular Church, so that they may participate, in a spirit
of communion and according to their proper charisms, in the life and mission of the
Church.
38. In the ministry of charity, deacons should conform themselves in the likeness of
Christ the Servant, whom they represent and, above all, they should be “dedicated to
works of charity and to administration”. (146) Thus, in the prayer of ordination, the
bishop implores God the Father that they may be “full of all the virtues, sincere in
charity, solicitous towards the weak and the poor, humble in their service... may they be
the image of your Son who did not come to be served but to serve”. (147) By word and
example they should work so that all the faithful, in imitation of Christ, may place
themselves at the constant service of their brothers and sisters.
Diocesan and parochial works of charity, which are among the primary duties of bishops
and priests are entrusted by them, as attested by Tradition, to servants in the
ecclesiastical ministry, that is, to deacons. (148) So too is the service of charity in
Christian education; in training preachers, youth groups, and lay groups; in promoting
life in all its phases and transforming the world according to the Christian order. (149)
In all of these areas the ministry of deacons is particularly valuable, since today the
spiritual and material needs of man, to which the Church is called to respond, are greatly
diversified. They should, therefore, strive to serve all the faithful without
discrimination, while devoting particular care to the suffering and the sinful. As
ministers of Christ and of his Church, they must be able to transcend all ideologies and
narrow party interests, lest they deprive the Church's mission of its strength which is
the love of Christ. Diaconia should bring man to an experience of God's love and move him
to conversion by opening his heart to the work of grace.
The charitable function of deacons “also involves appropriate service in the
administration of goods and in the Church's charitable activities. In this regard, deacons
“discharge the duties of charity and administration in the name of the hierarchy and
also provide social services”. (150) Hence, deacons may be appointed to the office of
diocesan oeconomus (151) and likewise nominated to the diocesan finance council. (152)
The canonical mission of permanent deacons
39. The three contexts of the diaconal ministry, depending on circumstances, may
absorb, to varying degrees, a large proportion of every deacon's activity. Together,
however, they represent a unity in service at the level of divine Revelation: the ministry
of the word leads to ministry at the altar, which in turn prompts the transformation of
life by the liturgy, resulting in charity. “If we consider the deep spiritual nature
of this diaconia, then we shall better appreciate the inter-relationship between the three
areas of ministry traditionally associated with the diaconate, that is, the ministry of
the word, the ministry of the altar and the ministry of charity. Depending on the
circumstances, one or other of these may take on special importance in the individual work
of a deacon, but these three ministries are inseparably joined in God's plan for
redemption”. (153)
40. Throughout history the service of deacons has taken on various forms so as to
satisfy the diverse needs of the Christian community and to enable that community to
exercise its mission of charity. It is for the bishops alone, (154) since they rule and
have charge of the particular Churches “as Vicars and legates of Christ”, (155)
to confer ecclesiastical office on each deacon according to the norm of law. In conferring
such office, careful attention should be given to both the pastoral needs and the
personal, family (in the case of married deacons), and professional situation of permanent
deacons. In every case it is important, however, that deacons fully exercise their
ministry, in preaching, in the liturgy and in charity to the extent that circumstances
permit. They should not be relegated to marginal duties, be made merely to act as
substitutes, nor discharge duties normally entrusted to non-ordained members of the
faithful. Only in this way will the true identity of permanent deacons as ministers of
Christ become apparent and the impression avoided that deacons are simply lay people
particularly involved in the life of the Church.
For the good of the deacon and to prevent improvisation, ordination should be
accompanied by a clear investiture of pastoral responsibility.
Parish
41. While assuming different forms, the diaconal ministry, ordinarily finds proper
scope for its exercise in the various sectors of diocesan and parochial pastoral action.
The bishop may give deacons the task of co-operating with a parish priest in the parish
(156) entrusted to him or in the pastoral care of several parishes entrusted in solidum
to one or more priests. (157)
Where permanent deacons participate in the pastoral care of parishes which do not,
because of a shortage, have the immediate benefit of a parish priest, (158) they always
have precedence over the non-ordained faithful. In such cases, it is necessary to specify
that the moderator of the parish is a priest and that he is its proper pastor. To him
alone has been entrusted the cura animarum, in which he is assisted by the deacon.
Deacons may also be called to guide dispersed Christian communities in the name of the
bishop or the parish priest. (159) “This is a missionary function to be carried out
in those territories, environments, social strata and groups where priests are lacking or
cannot be easily found. In particular, in those areas where no priest is available to
celebrate the Eucharist, the deacon brings together and guides the community in a
celebration of the word with the distribution of Holy Communion which has been duly
reserved. (160) When deacons supply in places where there is a shortage of priests, they
do so by ecclesial mandate”. (161) At such celebrations, prayers will always be
offered for an increase of vocations to the priesthood whose indispensable nature shall be
clearly emphasized. Where deacons are available, participation in the pastoral care of the
faithful may not be entrusted to a lay person or to a community of lay persons. Similarly
where deacons are available, it is they who preside at such Sunday celebrations.
The competence of deacons should always be clearly specified in writing when they are
assigned office.
Those means which encourage constructive and patient collaboration between deacons and
others involved in the pastoral ministry should be promoted with generosity and
conviction. While it is a duty of deacons to respect the office of parish priest and to
work in communion with all who share in his pastoral care, they also have the right to be
accepted and fully recognized by all. Where the bishop has deemed it opportune to
institute parish pastoral councils, deacons appointed to participate in the pastoral care
of such parishes are members of these councils by right. (162) Above all else, a true
charity should prevail which recognizes in every ministry a gift of the Spirit destined to
build up the Body of Christ.
42. Numerous opportunities for the fruitful exercise of the ministry of deacons arise
at diocesan level. Indeed, when they possess the necessary requirements, deacons may act
as members of diocesan bodies, in particular diocesan pastoral councils (163) and diocesan
finance councils, and take part in diocesan synods. (164)
They may not, however, act as members of the council of priests, since this body
exclusively represents the presbyterate. (165)
In the diocesan curia deacons in possession of the necessary requirements, may exercise
the office of chancellor, (166) judge, (167) assessor, (168) auditor, (169) promotor
iustitiae, defensor vinculi (170) and notary. (171)
Deacons may not, however, be constituted judicial vicars, adjunct judicial vicars or
vicars forane, since these offices are reserved for priests. (172)
Other areas in which deacons may exercise their ministry include diocesan commissions,
pastoral work in specific social contexts — especially the pastoral care of the
family — or among particular groups with special pastoral needs, such as ethnic
minorities.
In the exercise of the above offices, the deacon should recall that every action in the
Church should be informed by charity and service to all. In judicial, administrative and
organizational matters, deacons should always strive to avoid unnecessary forms of
bureaucracy, lest they deprive their ministry of pastoral meaning and value. Those deacons
who are called to exercise such offices should be placed so as to discharge duties which
are proper to the diaconate, in order to preserve the integrity of the diaconal ministry.
3
THE SPIRITUALITY OF THE DEACON
Contemporary context
43. The Church, gathered together by Christ and guided by the Holy Spirit according to
the providence of God the Father, lives and proclaims the Gospel in concrete historical
circumstances. While present in the world, she is nonetheless a pilgrim (173) on the way
to the fullness of the Kingdom. (174) “The world which she has in mind is the whole
human family seen in the context of everything which envelopes it: it is the world as the
theatre of human history, bearing the marks of its travail, its triumphs and failures, the
world, which in the Christian vision has been created and is sustained by its Maker, which
has been freed from the slavery of sin by Christ, who was crucified and rose again in
order to break the stranglehold of the evil one, so that it might be fashioned anew
according to God's design and brought to its fulfillment”. (175)
The deacon, as a member and minister of the Church, should be mindful of this reality
in his life and ministry. He should be conversant with contemporary cultures and with the
aspirations and problems of his times. In this context, indeed, he is called to be a
living sign of Christ the Servant and to assume the Church's responsibility of
“reading the signs of the time and of interpreting them in the light of the Gospel,
so that, in language intelligible to every generation, she may be able to answer the
ever-recurring questions which men ask about this present life and of the life to come and
how one is related to the other”. (176)
Vocation to holiness
44. The universal call to holiness has its origin in the “baptism of faith”
by which all are “truly made sons of God and sharers in the divine nature and thus
are made holy”. (177)
By the Sacrament of Holy Orders, deacons receive a “a new consecration to
God” through which they are “anointed by the Holy Spirit and sent by
Christ” (178) to serve God's people and “build up the Body of Christ” (Eph
4:12).
From this stems the diaconal spirituality with its source in what the Second
Vatican Council calls “the sacramental grace of the diaconate”. (179) In
addition to helping the deacon to fulfil his functions this also affects his deepest
being, imbuing it with a willingness to give his entire self over to the service of the
Kingdom of God in the Church. As is indicated by the term “diaconate” itself,
what characterizes the inner feelings and desire of those who receive the sacrament, is
the spirit of service. Through the diaconate, what Jesus said of his mission is
continually realized: “The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to
give his life as a ransom for many” (Mt 20:28). (180) Thus, through his
ministry, the deacon lives the virtue of obedience: in faithfully carrying out those
duties assigned to him, the deacon serves the episcopate and the presbyterate in the munera
of Christ's mission and what he does is truly pastoral ministry, for the good of the
faithful.
45. Hence, the deacon should accept with gratitude the invitation to follow Christ the
Servant and devote himself to it throughout the diverse circumstances of life. The
character received in ordination conforms to Christ to whom the deacon should adhere ever
more closely.
Sanctification is a duty binding all the faithful. (181) For the deacon it has a
further basis in the special consecration received. (182) It includes the practice of the
Christian virtues and the various evangelical precepts and counsels according to one's own
state of life. The deacon is called to live a holy life because he has been sanctified by
the Holy Spirit in the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Orders and has been constituted by
the same Spirit a minister of Christ's Church to serve and sanctify mankind. (183)
For deacons the call to holiness means “following Jesus by an attitude of humble
service which finds expression not only in works of charity but also in imbuing and
forming thoughts and actions”. (184) When “their ministry is consistent with
this spirit (deacons) clearly highlight that quality which best shows the face of Christ:
service (185) which makes one not only 'servants of God' but also servants of God in our
own brethren”. (186)
The Relations of Holy Order
46. By a special sacramental gift, Holy Order confers on the deacon a particular
participation in the consecration and mission of Him who became servant of the Father for
the redemption of mankind, and inserts him in a new and specific way in the mystery of
Christ, of his Church and the salvation of all mankind. Hence the spiritual life of the
deacon should deepen this threefold relationship by developing a community spirituality
which bears witness to that communion essential to the nature of the Church.
47. The primary and most fundamental relationship must be with Christ, who assumed the
condition of a slave for love of the Father and mankind. (187) In virtue of ordination the
deacon is truly called to act in conformity with Christ the Servant.
The eternal Son of the Father “emptied himself assuming the form of a slave”
(Phil 2:7) and lived this condition in obedience to the Father (John 4:34)
and in humble service to the brethren (John 13:4-15). As servant of the Father in
the work of salvation Christ constitutes the way, the truth and the life for every deacon
in the Church.
All ministerial activity is meaningful when it leads to knowing, loving and following
Christ in his diaconia. Thus deacons should strive to model their lives on Christ, who
redeemed mankind by his obedience to the Father, an obedience “unto death, death on a
cross” (Phil 2:8).
48. Indissolubly associated with this fundamental relationship with Christ is the
Church (188) which Christ loves, purifies, nourishes and cares for (cf. Eph 5,
25:29). The deacon cannot live his configuration to Christ faithfully without sharing His
love for the Church “for which he cannot but have a deep attachment because of her
mission and her divine institution”. (189)
The Rite of Ordination illustrates the connection which comes about between the bishop
and the deacon: the bishop alone imposes hands on the candidate and invokes the outpouring
of the Holy Spirit on him. Every deacon, therefore, finds the point of reference for his
own ministry in hierarchical communion with the bishop. (190)
Diaconal ordination also underlines another ecclesial aspect: it communicates a
ministerial sharing in Christ's diaconia with which God's people, governed by the
Successor of Peter and those Bishops in communion with him, and in co-operation with the
presbyterate, continues to serve the work of redemption. Deacons, therefore, are called to
nourish themselves and their ministry with an ardent love for the Church, and a sincere
desire for communion with the Holy Father, their own bishops and the priests of their
dioceses.
49. It must not be forgotten that the object of Christ's diaconia is mankind. (191)
Every human being carries the traces of sin but is called to communion with God. “God
so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that all who believe in Him might not die
but have eternal life” (John 3:16). It was for this plan of love, that Christ
became a slave and took human flesh. The Church continues to be the sign and instrument of
that diaconia in history.
In virtue of the Sacrament of Orders deacons are at the service of their brothers and
sisters needing of salvation. As mankind can see the fullness of the Father's love by
which they are saved in the words and deeds of Christ the Servant, so too this same
charity must be apparent in the life of the deacon. Growth in imitation of Christ's love
for mankind — which surpasses all ideologies — is thus an essential component of
the spiritual life of every deacon.
A “natural inclination of service to the sacred hierarchy and to the Christian
community” (192) is required of those who seek admission to the diaconate. This
should not be understood “in the sense of a simple spontaneity of natural
disposition...it is rather an inclination of nature inspired by grace, with a spirit of
service that conforms human behavior to Christ's. The sacrament of the diaconate develops
this inclination: it makes the subject to share more closely in Christ's spirit of service
and imbues the will with a special grace so that in all his actions he will be motivated
by a new inclination to serve his brothers and sisters”. (193)
Aids to the Spiritual Life
50. The aforementioned points of reference emphasize the primacy of the spiritual life.
The deacon, mindful that the diaconia of Christ surpasses all natural capacities, should
continually commit himself in conscience and in freedom to His invitation: “Remain in
me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit unless it remain in the vine, so also
with you unless you remain in me” (John 15:4).
Following Christ in the diaconate is an attractive but difficult undertaking. While it
brings satisfaction and rewards, it can also be open to the difficulties and trials
experienced by the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. In order to live this ministry to
the full, deacons must know Christ intimately so that He may shoulder the burdens of their
ministry. They must give priority to the spiritual life and live their diaconia with
generosity. They should organize their ministry and their professional and, when married,
family obligations, so as to grow in their commitment to the person and mission of Christ
the Servant.
51. Progress in the spiritual life is achieved primarily by faithful and tireless
exercise of the ministry in integrity of life. (194) Such ministry not only develops the
spiritual life but promotes the theological virtues, a disposition to selflessness,
service to the brethren and hierarchical communion. What has been said of priests, mutatis
mutandis, also applies to deacons: “Through the sacred actions they perform every
day....they are set on the right course to perfection of life. The very holiness of
priests is of the greatest benefit for the fruitful fulfillment of their ministry”.
(195)
52. The deacon should always be mindful of the exhortation made to him in the Rite of
Ordination: “Receive the Gospel of Christ of which you are the herald; believe what
you preach, teach what you believe and put into practice what you teach”. (196) For a
worthy and fruitful proclamation of the word of God, deacons should “immerse
themselves in the Scriptures by constant sacred reading and diligent study. For it must
not happen that anybody becomes 'an empty preacher of the word of God to others, not being
a hearer of the word in his own heart' (197) when he should be sharing the boundless
riches of the divine word with the faithful committed to his care, especially in the
sacred Liturgy”. (198)
Moreover, deacons, under the guidance of those in the Church who are true teachers of
divine and Catholic truth, (199) should strive to deepen their knowledge of the word, so
as to hear its call and experience its saving power (cf. Rom 1:16). Their
sanctification is based on their consecration and on their mission. This is true also with
regard to the word and they should be conscious that they are its ministers. As members of
the hierarchy, the actions and public pronouncements of deacons involve the Church.
Consequently, it is essential for pastoral charity that deacons should ensure the
authenticity of their own teaching. Likewise, in the spirit of the profession of faith and
the oath of fidelity, (200) taken prior to ordination, they should preserve their own
clear and effective communion with the Holy Father, the episcopal order and with their own
bishops, not only with regard to the articles of the Creed, but also with regard to the
teaching of ordinary Magisterium and the Church's discipline. Indeed, “such is the
force and power of the word of God that it can serve the Church as her support and vigor,
and the children of God for their strength, food for the soul, and for a pure and lasting
fount of spiritual life”. (201) The closer deacons come to the word of God,
therefore, the greater will be their desire to communicate it to their brothers and
sisters. God speaks to man in Sacred Scripture: (202) by his preaching, the sacred
minister fosters this salvific encounter. Then, lest the faithful be deprived of the word
of God through the ignorance or indolence of its ministers, deacons should devote
themselves to preach the word tirelessly and yet be mindful that the exercise of the
ministry of the word is not confined to preaching alone.
53. Likewise, when the deacon baptizes or distributes the Body and Blood of Christ or
serves at the celebration of the other sacraments and sacramentals, he confirms his
identity in the Church: he is a minister of the Body of Christ, both mystical and
ecclesial. Let him remember that, when lived with faith and reverence, these actions of
the Church contribute much to growth in the spiritual life and to the increase of the
Christian community. (203)
54. With regard to the spiritual life, deacons should devote particular importance to
the sacraments of grace whose purpose “is to sanctify men, to build up the Body of
Christ, and finally to give worship to God”. (204)
Above all, they should participate with particular faith at the daily celebration of
the eucharistic sacrifice, (205) possibly exercising their own proper liturgical munus,
and adore the Lord, present in the Sacrament, (206) because in the Blessed Eucharist,
source and summit of all evangelization, “the whole spiritual good of the Church is
contained”. (207) In the Blessed Eucharist they truly encounter Christ who, for love
of man, became an expiatory victim, the food of life eternal and friend of all who suffer.
Conscious of his own weakness and trusting the mercy of God the deacon should regularly
approach the Sacrament of Penance, (208) in which sinful man encounters Christ the
Redeemer, receives forgiveness of sin and is impelled towards the fullness of charity.
55. In performing the works of charity entrusted to them by their bishops, deacons
should always be guided by the love of Christ for all men instead of personal interests
and ideologies which are injurious to the universality of salvation or deny the
transcendent vocation of man. They should be ever conscious that the diaconia of charity
necessarily leads to a growth of communion within the particular Churches since charity is
the very soul of ecclesial communion. Deacons are thus obliged to foster fraternity and
co-operation with the priests of their dioceses and sincere communion with their bishops.
Prayer life
56. The deacon shall always remain faithful to the Lord's command: “But watch at
all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that will take
place, and to stand before the Son of man” (Lk 21:36 cf. Phil 4:6-7).
Prayer, which is a personal dialogue with God, confers the strength needed to follow
Christ and serve the brethren. In the light of this certainty, deacons should form
themselves according to the various types of prayer: the celebration of the Liturgy of the
Hours, as prescribed by the various Episcopal Conferences, (209) should inform their whole
prayer life since deacons, as ministers, intercede for the entire Church. Such prayer is
carried over into the lectio divina, arduous mental prayer and the spiritual
retreat prescribed by particular law. (210)
The habit of penance should also be taken to heart together with other means of
sanctification which foster personal encounter with God. (211)
57. Participation in the mystery of Christ the Servant necessarily directs the deacon's
heart to the Church and her most holy Mother. Christ indeed cannot be separated from the
Church which is his Body. True union with Christ the Head cannot but foster true love for
His body which is the Church. This love will commit the deacon to work diligently to build
up the Church by faithful discharge of his ministerial duties, through fraternity and
hierarchical communion with his own bishop and with the presbyterate. The deacon should be
concerned for the entire Church: the universal Church, the principle and perpetually
visible foundation of whose unity is the Roman Pontiff, the Successor of St Peter, (212)
as well as the particular Church which “adhering to its pastor and united by him in
the Holy Spirit through the Gospel and the Eucharist.... in which the one, holy, Catholic
and apostolic Church of Christ is present. (213)
Love for Christ and for His Church is profoundly linked to love of the Blessed Virgin
Mary, handmaid of the Lord. With her unique title of Mother, she was the selfless helper
of her divine Son's diaconia (cf. John 19:25-27). Love of the Mother of God, based
on faith and expressed in daily recitation of the Rosary, imitation of her virtues and
trust in her, are indeed signs of authentic filial devotion. (214)
With deep veneration and affection Mary looks on every deacon. Indeed, “the
creature who more than any other who has lived the full truth of vocation is Mary the
Virgin Mother, and she did so in intimate communion with Christ: no one has responded with
a love greater than hers to the immense love of God”. (215) This love of the Virgin
Mary, handmaid of the Lord, which is born and rooted in the word, will cause deacons to
imitate her life. In this way a Marian dimension is introduced into the Church which is
very close to the vocation of the deacon. (216)
58. Regular spiritual direction is truly of the greatest assistance to deacons.
Experience clearly shows how much can be gained in sincere and humble dialogue with a wise
spiritual director, not only in the resolution of doubts and problems which inevitably
arise throughout life, but also in employing the necessary discernment to arrive at better
self-knowledge and to grow in faithful fellowship of Christ.
Spirituality of deacons and states of life
59. In contrast with the requirement for the priesthood, not only celibate men, in the
first place and widowers, may be admitted to the permanent Diaconate but also men who live
in the Sacrament of Matrimony. (217)
60. With gratitude, the Church recognizes the gift of celibacy which God gives to some
of her members and, in different ways, both in the East and West, she has linked it to the
ordained ministry with which it is always particularly consonant. (218) The Church is
conscious that this gift, accepted and lived for the sake of the Kingdom of God (cf. Mt
19:12), directs the whole person of the deacon towards Christ who devoted Himself in
chastity to the service of the Father so as to bring man to the fullness of the Kingdom.
Loving God and serving the brethren by this complete choice, so far from impeding the
personal development of deacons, fosters man's true perfection which is found in charity.
In celibate life, indeed, love becomes a sign of total and undivided consecration to
Christ and of greater freedom to serve God and man. (219) The choice of celibacy is not an
expression of contempt for marriage nor of flight from reality but a special way of
serving man and the world.
Contemporary man, very often submerged in the ephemeral, is particularly sensitive to
those who are a living witness of the eternal. Hence, deacons should be especially careful
to give witness to their brothers and sisters by their fidelity to the celibate life the
better to move them to seek those values consonant with man's transcendent vocation.
“Celibacy 'for the sake of the Kingdom' is not only an eschatological sign. It also
has a great social significance in contemporary life for service to the People of
God”. (220)
In order to conserve this special gift of God throughout life for the benefit of the
entire Church, deacons should not depend excessively on their own resources, but should be
faithful to the spiritual life and the duties of their ministry in a spirit of prudence
and vigilance, remembering that “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak” (Mt
26:41).
They should be particularly careful in their relationships with others lest familiarity
create difficulties for continence or give rise to scandal. (221)
They must finally be aware that in contemporary society, it is necessary to exercise
careful discernment when using the means of social communications.
61. The Sacrament of Matrimony sanctifies conjugal love and constitutes it a sign of
the love with which Christ gives himself to the Church (cf. Eph. 5:25). It is a gift from
God and should be a source of nourishment for the spiritual life of those deacons who are
married. Since family life and professional responsibilities must necessarily reduce the
amount of time which married deacons can dedicate to the ministry, it will be necessary to
integrate these various elements in a unitary fashion, especially by means of shared
prayer. In marriage, love becomes an interpersonal giving of self, a mutual fidelity, a
source of new life, a support in times of joy and sorrow: in short, love becomes service.
When lived in faith, this family service is for the rest of the faithful an example
of the love of Christ. The married deacon must use it as a stimulus of his diaconia in the
Church.
Married deacons should feel especially obliged to give clear witness to the sanctity of
marriage and the family. The more they grow in mutual love, the greater their dedication
to their children and the more significant their example for the Christian community.
“The nurturing and deepening of mutual, sacrificial love between husband and wife
constitutes perhaps the most significant involvement of a deacon's wife in her husband's
public ministry in the Church”. (222) This love grows thanks to chastity which
flourishes, even in the exercise of paternal responsibilities, by respect for spouses and
the practice of a certain continence. This virtue fosters a mutual self-giving which soon
becomes evident in ministry. It eschews possessive behavior, undue pursuit of professional
success and the incapacity to program time. Instead, it promotes authentic interpersonal
relationships, OIC, and the capacity to see everything in its proper perspective.
Special care should be taken to ensure that the families of deacons be made aware of
the demands of the diaconal ministry. The spouses of married deacons, who must give their
consent to their husband's decision to seek ordination to the diaconate, (223) should be
assisted to play their role with joy and discretion. They should esteem all that concerns
the Church, especially the duties assigned to their husbands. For this reason it is
opportune that they should be kept duly informed of their husbands' activities in order to
arrive at an harmonious balance between family, professional and ecclesial
responsibilities. In the children of married deacons, where such is possible, an
appreciation of their father's ministry can also be fostered. They in turn should be
involved in the apostolate and give coherent witness in their lives.
In conclusion, the families of married deacons, as with all Christian families, are
called to participate actively and responsibly in the Church's mission in the contemporary
world. “In particular the deacon and his wife must be a living example of fidelity
and indissolubility in Christian marriage before a world which is in dire need of such
signs. By facing in a spirit of faith the challenges of married life and the
demands of daily living, they strengthen the family life not only of the Church community
but of the whole of society. They also show how the obligations of family life, work and
ministry can be harmonized in the service of the Church's mission. Deacons and
their wives and children can be a great encouragement to others who are working to promote
family life”. (224)
62. It is necessary to reflect on the situation of the deacon following the death of
his wife. This is a particular moment in life which calls for faith and Christian hope.
The loss of a spouse should not destroy dedication to the rearing of children nor lead to
hopelessness. While this period of life is difficult, it is also an opportunity for
interior purification and an impetus for growth in charity and service to one's children
and to all the members of the Church. It is a call to grow in hope since faithful
discharge of the ministry is a way of reaching Christ and those in the Father's glory who
are dear to us.
It must be recognized, however, that the loss of a spouse gives rise to a new situation
in a family which profoundly influences personal relationships and in many instances can
give rise to economic difficulties. With great charity, therefore, widowed deacons should
be helped to discern and accept their new personal circumstances and to persevere in
providing for their children and the new needs of their families.
In particular, the widowed deacon should be supported in living perfect and perpetual
continence. (225) He should be helped to understand the profound ecclesial reasons which
preclude his remarriage (cf. 1 Tim 3:12), in accordance with the constant
discipline of the Church in the East and West. (226) This can be achieved through an
intensification of one's dedication to others for the love of God in the ministry. In such
cases the fraternal assistance of other ministers, of the faithful and of the bishop can
be most comforting to widowed deacons.
With regard to the widows of deacons, care should be taken, where possible, by the
clergy and the faithful to ensure that they are never neglected and that their needs are
provided for.
4
CONTINUING FORMATION OF DEACONS
Characteristics
63. The continuing formation of deacons is a human necessity which must be seen in
continuity with the divine call to serve the Church in the ministry and with the initial
formation given to deacons, to the extent that these are considered two initial moments in
a single, living, process of Christian and diaconal life. (227) Indeed, “those who
are ordained to the diaconate are obliged to ongoing doctrinal formation which perfects
and completes what they received prior to ordination”, (228) so that, by a periodic
renewal of the “I am” pronounced by deacons at their ordination, the vocation
“to” the diaconate continues and finds expression as vocation “in” the
diaconate. On the part of both the Church which provides ongoing formation and of deacons
who are its recipients, such formation should be regarded as a mutual obligation and duty
arising from the nature of the vocational commitment which has been assumed.
The continuing need to provide and receive adequate, integral formation is an
indispensable obligation for both bishops and deacons.
Ecclesiastical norms regarding ongoing formation (229) have constantly emphasized the
obligatory nature of such formation for the apostolic life and stressed the need for it to
be global, interdisciplinary, profound, scientific and propedeutic. Application of these
norms is all the more necessary in those instances where initial formation did not adhere
to the ordinary model.
Continuing formation should be informed with the characteristics of fidelity to Christ,
to the Church and to “continuing conversion” which is a fruit of sacramental
grace articulated in the pastoral charity proper to every moment of ordained ministry.
This formation is similar to the fundamental choice, which must be reaffirmed and renewed
throughout the permanent diaconate by a long series of coherent responses which are based
on and animated by the initial acceptance of the ministry. (230)
Motivation
64. Inspired by the prayer of ordination, ongoing formation is based on the need of
every deacon to love Christ in such manner as to imitate him (“may they be images of
your Son”). It seeks to confirm him in uncompromising fidelity to a personal vocation
to ministry (“may they fulfil faithfully the works of the ministry”) and
proposes a radical, sincere following of Christ the Servant (“may the example of
their lives be a constant reminder of the Gospel... may they be sincere...solicitous...and
vigilant”).
The basis and motivation of this formation, therefore, “is the dynamism of the
order itself”, (231) while its nourishment is the Holy Eucharist, compendium of the
entire Christian ministry and endless source of every spiritual energy. St Paul's
exhortation to Timothy can also be applied, in a certain sense, to deacons: “I remind
you to fan into a flame the gift of God that you have” (2 Tim 1:6; cf. 1
Tim 4:14-16). The theological demands of their call to a singular ministry of
ecclesial service requires of them a growing love for the Church, shown forth by their
faithful carrying out of their proper functions and responsibilities. Chosen by God to be
holy, serving the Church and all mankind, the deacon should continually grow in awareness
of his own ministerial character in a manner that is balanced, responsible, solicitous and
always joyful.
Subjects
65. From the perspective of the deacon, primary protagonist and primary subject of the
obligation, ongoing formation is first and foremost a process of continual conversion. It
embraces every aspect of his person as deacon, that is to say, consecrated by the
Sacrament of Order and placed at the service of the Church, and seeks to develop all of
his potential. This enables him to live to the full the ministerial gifts that he has
received in diverse circumstances of time and place and in the tasks assigned to him by
the bishop. (232) The solicitude of the Church for the permanent formation of deacons
would, however, be ineffective without their co-operation and commitment. Thus formation
cannot be reduced merely to participating at courses or study days or other such
activities: it calls for every deacon to be aware of the need for ongoing formation and to
cultivate it with interest and in a spirit of healthy initiative. Books approved by
ecclesiastical authority should be chosen as material for reading; periodicals known for
their fidelity to the Magisterium should be followed; time should be set aside for daily
meditation. Constant self-formation which helps him to serve the Church ever better is an
important part of the service asked of every deacon.
Formators
66. From the perspective of the bishops (233) (and their fellow workers in the
presbyterate), who bear responsibility for formation, ongoing formation consists in
helping the deacon to overcome any dualism that might exist between spirituality and
ministry and, more fundamentally, any dichotomy between their civil profession and
diaconal spirituality and “respond generously to the commitment demanded by the
dignity and the responsibility which God conferred upon them through the sacrament of
Orders; in guarding, defending, and developing their specific identity and vocation; and
in sanctifying themselves and others through the exercise of their ministry”. (234)
Both dimensions are complementary and reciprocal since they are founded, with the help
of supernatural gifts, in the interior unity of the person.
The assistance which formators are called to offer deacons will be successful in as
much as it responds to the personal needs of each deacon, since every deacon lives his
ministry in the Church as a unique person placed in particular circumstances.
Personalized assistance to deacons also assures them of that love with which mother
Church is close to them as they strive to live faithfully the sacramental grace of their
calling. It is thus of supreme importance that each deacon be able to choose a spiritual
director, approved by the bishop, with whom he can have regular and frequent contact.
The entire diocesan community is also, in some sense, involved in the formation of
deacons. (235) This is particularly true of the parish priest or other priests charged
with formation who should personally support them with fraternal solicitude.
Specificity
67. Personal concern and commitment in ongoing formation are unequivocal signs of a
coherent response to divine vocation, of sincere love for the Church and of authentic
pastoral zeal for the Christian faithful and all men. What has been said of priests can
also be applied to deacons: “ongoing formation is a necessary means of reaching the
object of one's vocation which is service of God and one's people”. (236)
It must be seen in continuity with initial formation since it pursues the same ends as
initial formation and seeks to integrate, conserve and deepen what was begun in initial
formation.
The essential availability of the deacon to others is a practical expression of
sacramental configuration to Christ the Servant, received through ordination and indelibly
impressed upon the soul. It is a permanent reminder to the deacon in his life and
ministry. Hence permanent formation cannot be reduced merely to complementary education or
to a form of training in better techniques. Ongoing formation cannot be confined
simply to updating, but should seek to facilitate a practical configuration of the
deacon's entire life to Christ who loves all and serves all.
Dimensions
68. Ongoing formation must include and harmonize all dimensions of the life and
ministry of the deacon. Thus, as with the permanent formation of priests, it should be
complete, systematic and personalized in its diverse aspects whether human, spiritual,
intellectual or pastoral. (237)
69. As in the past, attention to the various aspects of the human formation of deacons
is an important task for Pastors. The deacon, aware that he is chosen as a man among men
to be at the service of the salvation of all, should be open to being helped in developing
his human qualities as valuable instruments for ministry. He should strive to perfect all
those aspects of his personality which might render his ministry more effective.
To fulfil successfully his vocation to holiness and his particular ecclesial mission,
he should, above all, fix his gaze on Him who is true God and true man and practice the
natural and supernatural virtues which conform him more closely to the image of Christ and
make him worthy of the respect of the faithful. (238) In their ministry and daily life
particularly, deacons should foster in themselves kind-heartedness, patience, affability,
strength of character, zeal for justice, fidelity to promises given, a spirit of sacrifice
and consistency with tasks freely undertaken. The practice of these virtues will assist in
arriving at a balanced personality, maturity and discernment.
Conscious of the example of integrity in his social activity, the deacon should reflect
on his ability to dialogue, on correctness in human relationships and on cultural
discernment. He should also give careful consideration to the value of friendship and to
his treatment of others. (239)
70. Ongoing spiritual formation is closely connected with diaconal spirituality, which
it must nourish and develop, and with the ministry, which is sustained by “a truly
personal encounter with Jesus, a relationship with the Father and a profound experience of
the Spirit”. (240) Hence, deacons should be encouraged by the Pastors of the Church
to cultivate their spiritual lives in a responsible manner, for it is from this life that
springs up that love which sustains their ministry and makes it fruitful, and prevents its
reduction to mere “functionalism” or bureaucracy.
In particular, the spiritual formation of deacons should inculcate those attitudes
related to the triple diaconia of word, liturgy and charity.
Assiduous meditation on Sacred Scripture will achieve familiarity and worshipful
dialogue with the living God and thus an assimilation of the revealed word.
A profound knowledge of Tradition and of the liturgical books will help the deacon to
discover continually the riches of the divine mysteries and thus become their worthy
minister. A solicitude for fraternal charity will impel him to practice the spiritual and
corporal works of mercy, and provide living signs of the Church's love.
All of this requires careful planning and organization of time and resources.
Improvisation should be avoided. In addition to spiritual direction, deacons should try to
pursue study courses on the great themes of the theological tradition of Christian
spirituality, intensive sessions in spirituality and pilgrimages to places of spiritual
interest.
While on retreat, which should be at least every other year, (241) deacons should work
out a spiritual program which they should periodically share with their spiritual
directors. This program should include a period of daily eucharistic adoration and provide
for exercises of Marian devotion, liturgical prayer, personal meditation and the habitual
ascetical practices.
The center of this spiritual itinerary must be the Holy Eucharist since it is the
touchstone of the deacon's life and activity, the indispensable means of perseverance, the
criterion of authentic renewal and of a balanced synthesis of life. In this way, the
spiritual formation of the deacon will reveal the Holy Eucharist as Passover, in its
annual articulation in Holy Week, in its weekly articulation on Sunday and in its constant
articulation at daily Mass.
71. The insertion of deacons into the mystery of the Church, in virtue of Baptism and
their reception of the first grade of the Sacrament of Orders, requires that ongoing
formation strengthen in them the consciousness and willingness to live in intelligent,
active and mature communion with their bishops and the priests of their dioceses, and with
the Supreme Pontiff who is the visible foundation of the entire Church's unity.
When formed in this way, they can become in their ministry effective promoters of
communion. In situations of conflict they, in particular, should make every effort to
restore peace for the good of the Church.
72. The doctrine of the faith should be deepened by suitable initiatives such as study
days, renewal courses and the frequentation of academic institutions. For the same reason,
it would be particularly useful to promote careful, in-depth and systematic study of the Catechism
of the Catholic Church.
It is necessary that deacons have an accurate knowledge of the Sacraments of Holy
Orders, the Holy Eucharist, Baptism and Matrimony. They must develop a knowledge of those
aspects of philosophy, ecclesiology, dogmatic Theology, Sacred Scripture, and Canon Law
which most assist them in their ministry.
Such courses, while aimed at theological renewal, should also lead to prayer, ecclesial
communion and greater pastoral efforts in response to the urgent need for new
evangelization.
Under sure guidance, the documents of the Magisterium should be studied in common, and
in relation to the needs of the pastoral ministry, especially those documents in which the
Church responds to the more pressing moral and doctrinal questions. Thus, with a sense of
communion, deacons will be enabled to achieve and express due obedience to the Pastor of
the universal Church and to diocesan bishops, as well as to promote fidelity to the
doctrine and discipline of the Church.
In addition, it is of the greatest use and relevance to study, appropriate and diffuse
the social doctrine of the Church. A good knowledge of that teaching will permit many
deacons to mediate it in their different professions, at work and in their families. The
diocesan bishop may also invite those who are capable to specialize in a theological
discipline and obtain the necessary academic qualifications at those pontifical academies
or institutes recognized by the Apostolic See which guarantee doctrinally correct
formation.
Deacons should pursue systematic study not only to perfect their theological knowledge
but also to revitalize constantly their ministry in view of the changing needs of the
ecclesial community.
73. Together with study of the sacred sciences, appropriate measures should be taken to
ensure that deacons acquire a pastoral methodology (242) for an effective ministry.
Permanent pastoral formation consists, in the first place, in constantly encouraging the
deacon to perfect the effectiveness of his ministry of making the love and service of
Christ present in the Church and in society without distinction, especially to the poor
and to those most in need. Indeed it is from the pastoral love of Christ that the ministry
of deacons draws its model and inspiration. This same love urges the deacon, in
collaboration with his bishop and the priests of his diocese, to promote the mission of
the laity in the world. He will thus be a stimulus “to become ever better acquainted
with the real situation of the men and women to whom he is sent, to discern the call of
the Spirit in the historical circumstances in which he finds himself, and to seek the most
suitable methods and the most useful forms for carrying out his ministry today”,
(243) in loyal and convinced communion with the Supreme Pontiff and with his own bishop.
The effectiveness of the apostolate sometimes calls also for group work requiring a
knowledge and respect of the diversity and complementarity of the gifts and respective
functions of priests, deacons and the lay faithful, within the organic nature of ecclesial
communion.
Organization and means
74. The diversity of circumstances in the particular Churches makes it difficult to
give an exhaustive account of how best to organize the suitable ongoing formation of
permanent deacons. Yet it is necessary that all such formation be accomplished by means
which accord with theological and pastoral clarity.
A few general criteria, easily applicable to diverse concrete circumstances, may be
mentioned in this respect.
75. The primary locus of ongoing formation for deacons is the ministry itself. The
deacon matures in its exercise and by focusing his own call to holiness on the fulfillment
of his social and ecclesial duties, in particular, of his ministerial functions and
responsibilities. The formation of deacons should, therefore, concentrate in a special way
on awareness of their ministerial character.
76. Permanent formation must follow a well planned program drawn up and approved by
competent authority. It must be unitary, divided into progressive stages, and at the same
time, in perfect harmony with the Magisterium of the Church. It is better that the program
should insist on a basic minimum to be followed by all deacons and which should be
distinct from later specialization courses.
Programs such as this should take into consideration two distinct but closely related
levels of formation: the diocesan level, in reference to the bishop or his delegate, and
the community level in which the deacon exercises his own ministry, in reference to the
parish priest or some other priest.
77. The first appointment of a deacon to a parish or a pastoral area is a very
sensitive moment. Introducing the deacon to those in charge of the community (the parish
priest, priests), and the community to the deacon, helps them not only to come to know
each other but contributes to a collaboration based on mutual respect and dialogue, in a
spirit of faith and fraternal charity. The community into which a deacon comes can have a
highly important formative effect, especially when he realizes the importance of respect
for well proven traditions and knows how to listen, discern, serve and love as Jesus
Christ did.
Deacons in their initial pastoral assignments should be carefully supervised by an
exemplary priest especially appointed to this task by the bishop.
78. Periodic meetings should be arranged for deacons which treat of liturgical and
spiritual matters, of continuous theological renewal and study, either at diocesan or
supra-diocesan level.
Under the bishop's authority and without multiplying existent structures, periodic
meeting should be arranged between priests, deacons, religious and laity involved in
pastoral work both to avoid compartmentalization or the development of isolated groups and
to guarantee co-ordinated unity for different pastoral activities.
The bishop should show particular solicitude for deacons since they are his
collaborators. When possible he should attend their meetings and always ensure the
presence of his representative.
79. With the approval of the diocesan bishop, a realistic program of ongoing formation
should be drawn up in accordance with the present dispositions, taking due account of
factors such as the age and circumstances of deacons, together with the demands made on
them by their pastoral ministry.
To accomplish this task, the bishop might constitute a group of suitable formators or
seek the assistance of neighboring dioceses.
80. It is desirable that the bishop set up a diocesan organization for the
co-ordination of deacons, to plan, co-ordinate and supervise the diaconal ministry
from the discernment of vocation, (244) to the exercise of ministry and formation —
including ongoing formation. This organization should be composed of the Bishop as its
president, or a priest delegated by him for this task, and a proportionate number of
deacons. This organization should not be remiss in maintaining the necessary links with
the other diocesan organizations.
The Bishops should regulate the life and activity of this organization by the issuance
of appropriate norms.
81. In addition to the usual permanent formation offered to deacons, special courses
and initiatives should be arranged for those deacons who are married. These courses should
involve, where opportune, their wives and families. However, they must always be careful
to maintain the essential distinction of roles and the clear independence of the ministry.
82. Deacons should always be appreciative of all those initiatives for the ongoing
formation of the clergy promoted by Conferences of bishops or various dioceses —
spiritual retreats, conferences, study days, conventions, theological and pastoral
courses. They should avail themselves of such initiatives especially when they concern
their own ministry of evangelization, worship and loving service.
The Sovereign Pontiff, Pope John Paul II, has approved this present Directory and
ordered its publication.
Rome, at the Office of the Congregations, 22 February 1998, Feast of the Chair of
Peter.
Darío Card. Castrillón Hoyos
Prefect
+ Csaba Ternyák
Titular Archbishop of Eminenziana
Secretary
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PRAYER
TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
MARY,
Who as teacher of faith, by your obedience to the word of God, has co-operated in a
remarkable way with the work of redemption, make the ministry of deacons effective by
teaching them to hear the Word and to proclaim it faithfully.
MARY,
Teacher of charity, who by your total openness to God's call, has co-operated in
bringing to birth all the Church's faithful, make the ministry and the life of deacons
fruitful by teaching them to give themselves totally to the service of the People of God.
MARY,
Teacher of prayer, who through your maternal intercession has supported and helped the
Church from her beginnings, make deacons always attentive to the needs of the faithful by
teaching them to come to know the value of prayer.
MARY,
Teacher of humility, by constantly knowing yourself to be the servant of the Lord you
were filled with the Holy Spirit, make deacons docile instruments in Christ's work of
redemption by teaching them the greatness of being the least of all.
MARY,
Teacher of that service which is hidden, who by your everyday and ordinary life filled
with love, knew how to co-operate with the salvific plan of God in an exemplary fashion,
make deacons good and faithful servants, by teaching them the joy of serving the Church
with an ardent love.
Amen
INDEX
JOINT DECLARATION AND INTRODUCTION
Joint declaration
Introduction
I. The Ordained Ministry
II. The Diaconate
III. The Permanent Diaconate
BASIC NORMS FOR THE FORMATION OF PERMANENT DEACONS
Introduction
1. The paths of formation
2. Reference to a sure theology of the diaconate
3. The ministry of the deacon in different pastoral contexts
4. Diaconal spirituality
5. The role of Episcopal Conferences
6. Responsibility of Bishops
7. The permanent diaconate in institutes of consecrated life and in societies of
apostolic life
I. Those involved in the formation of permanent deacons
1. The Church and the Bishop
2. Those responsible for formation
3. Professors
4. The formation community of permanent deacons
5. Communities of origin
6. Aspirant and candidate
II. Characteristics of candidates for the permanent diaconate
1. General requirements
2. Requirements related to the candidate's state of life
a) Unmarried
b) Married
c) Widowers
d) Members of institutes of consecrated life and of societies of apostolic life
III. The path of formation towards the permanent diaconate
1. The presentation of aspirants
2. The propaedeutic period
3. The liturgical rite of admission to candidacy for ordination as deacon
4. Time of formation
5. Conferral of the ministries of lector and acolyte
6. Diaconate ordination
IV. The dimensions of the formation of permanent deacons
1. Human formation
2. Spiritual formation
3. Doctrinal formation
4. Pastoral formation
Conclusion
DIRECTORY FOR THE MINISTRY AND LIFE OF PERMANENT DEACONS
1. The Juridical Status of Deacons
Sacred minister
Incardination
2. The Diaconal Ministry
Diaconal functions
Diaconia of the word
Diaconia of the liturgy
The diaconia of charity
The canonical mission of permanent deacons
3. The Spirituality of the Deacon
Contemporary context
Vocation to holiness 0
The relations of Holy Order
Aids to the spiritual life
Spirituality of deacons and states of life
4. Continuing Formation of Deacons
Characteristics
Motivation
Subjects
Specificity
Dimensions
Organization and means
Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary
(1) Cf. Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts, Chiarimenti
circa il valore vincolante dell'art. 66 del Direttorio per il Ministero e la Vita dei
Presbiteri (22 October 1994), in “Sacrum Ministerium” 2 (1995), p. 263.
(2) This introduction is common both to the “Ratio” and to the
“Directory”. It should always be included in both documents in the event of
their being printed separately. (3) Second Vatican Council, Lumen gentium, 18.
(4) Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1581.
(5) Cf. ibidem, n. 1536.
(6) Cf. ibidem, n. 1538.
(7) Ibidem, n. 875.
(8) Second Vatican Council, Lumen gentium, 28.
(9) Cf. ibidem, n. 20; CIC, canon 375, § 1.
(10) Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 876.
(11) Cf. ibidem, n. 877.
(12) Cf. ibidem, n. 878.
(13) Ibidem, n. 879.
(14) Cf. Second Vatican Council, Lumen gentium, 29; Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Ad
pascendum (15 August 1972), AAS 64 (1972), p. 534.
(15) Moreover, he also describes several of the sixty who collaborated with him as
deacons: Timothy (1 Thes 3:2), Epophros (Col 1:7), Tychicus (Col 3:7;
Eph 6:2).
(16) Cf. Epistula ad Philadelphenses, 4; Epistula ad Smyrnaeos, 12, 2: Epistula
ad Magnesios, 6, 1; F. X. Funk (ed.) Patres Apostolici, Tubingae 1901; pp.
266-267; 286-287; 234-235; 244-245.
(17) Cf. Didascalia Apostolorum (Syriac), capp. III, XI: A. Vööbus (ed.) The
Didascalia Apostolorum (Syriac with English translation), CSCO, vol. I, n. 402 (t.
176), pp. 29-30; vol. II, n. 408 (t. 180), pp. 120-129; Didascalia Apostolorum,
III, 13 (19), 1-7: F. X. Funk (ed.), Didascalia et Constitutiones Apostolorum,
Paderborn 1906, I, pp. 212-216.
(18) Cf. canons 32 and 33 of the Council of Elvira (300303): PL 84, 305; canons
16 (15), 18, 21 of the first Council of Arles. CCL, 148, pp. 12-13; canons 15, 16, and 18
of the Council of Nicea: Conciliorum Oecumenicorum Decreta, bilingual edition of G.
Alberigo, G.L. Dossetti, Cl. Leonardi, P. Prodi, cons. of H. Jedin, ed. Dehoniane, Bologna
1991, pp. 13-15.
(19) In the first period of Christianity, every local Church needed a number of deacons
proportionate to her numbers so that they might be known and helped (cf. Didascalia
Apostolorum, III, 12 (16): F. X. Funk, ed. cit., I, p. 208). In Rome Pope St Fabian
(236-250) divided the City into seven zones (or “regiones”, later called
“diaconiae”) in charge of each of which was placed a deacon
(“regionarius”) for the promotion of charity and assistance to the poor.
Analogous diaconal structures were to be found in many cities of the east and west during
the third and fourth centuries.
(20) Cf. Council of Trent, Session XXIII, Decreta de Reformatione, canon 17: Conciliorum
Oecumenicorum Decreta, ed. cit., p. 750.
(21) Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution, Lumen gentium, 29.
(22) AAS 59 (1967), pp. 697-704.
(23) AAS 60 (1968), pp. 369-373.
(24) AAS 64 (1972), pp. 534-540.
(25) Ten canons speak explicitly of permanent deacons: 236; 276, § 2, 3o; 288; 1031,
§§ 2-3; 1032, § 3; 1035, § 1; 1037; 1042, 1o; 1050, 3o.
(26) Cf. CIC, canon 1031, § 1.
(27) Paul VI, Apostolic Letter, Sacrum diaconatus ordinem (18 June 1968): AAS
59 (1967), p. 698.
(28) Cf. Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 29; Decree
Ad gentes, 16; Decree Orientalium Ecclesiarum, 17; Allocution of John Paul
II of 16 March 1985, n. 1: Insegnamenti, VIII, 2 (1985), p. 648.
(29) Catechesis of John Paul II at the General Audience of 6 October 1993, n. 5, Insegnamenti,
XVI, 2 (1993), p. 954.
(30) “A particularly felt need behind the decision to restore the permanent
diaconate was that of a greater and more direct presence of sacred ministers in areas such
as the family, work, schools etc. as well as in the various ecclesial structures”.
Catechesis of John Paul II at the General Audience of 6 October 1993 n. 6, Insegnamenti,
XVI, 2 (1993), p. 954.
(31) Cf. Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 29b.
(32) Cf. ibidem, Decree Ad gentes, 16.
(33) Ibidem, Decree Ad gentes, 16. Cf. Catechism of the Catholic
Church, n. 1571.
***
(1) Cf Paul VI, Ap. Lett. Sacrum diaconatus ordinem (18 June 1967): AAS
59 (1967), pp. 697-704. The Apostolic Letter, at Ch. II, which is dedicated to younger
candidates, prescribes: “6. Young men who are to be trained for the office of deacon
should go to a special institution where they can be tested, trained to live a truly
evangelical life, and instructed on how to perform usefully the duties of their future
state. 9. The period of preparation for the diaconate as such should run for a period of
at least three years. The course of studies should be arranged in such a way that the
candidates make orderly and gradual progress toward gaining an understanding of the
various duties of the diaconate and toward being able to carry them out effectively. The
whole course of studies might well be so planned that in the last year special training
will be given in the principal functions to be carried out by the deacon. 10. In addition,
there should be practice in teaching the fundamentals of the Christian religion to
children and others of the faithful, in teaching people to sing sacred music and lead them
in it, in reading the books of Scripture at gatherings of the faithful, in giving talks to
the people, in administering those sacraments which deacons may administer, in visiting
the sick and, in general, in carrying out the ministries which may be required of
them”. The same Apostolic Letter, at Chapter III, which is dedicated to older
candidates, prescribes: “14. It is desirable for these deacons, too, to acquire a
good deal of doctrine, as was said in nos. 8, 9 and 10 above, or at least for them to have
the knowledge which the episcopal conference may judge they will need to fulfil their
functions properly. They should therefore be admitted to a special institution for a
certain length of time in order to learn all they will have to know to carry out worthily
the office of deacon. 15. But if for some reason this cannot be done, then the candidate
should be entrusted to some priest of outstanding virtue who will take a special interest
in him and teach him, and who will be able to testify to his maturity and prudence”.
(2) The Circular Letter of the Congregation indicated that courses must take into
consideration the study of sacred scripture, dogma, moral, canon law, liturgy,
“technical training, in order to prepare the candidates for certain activities of the
ministry, such as psychology, catechetical pedagogy, public speaking, sacred song,
organisation of Catholic groups, ecclesiastical administration, keeping up to date the
registers of baptism, confirmation, marriage, deaths, etc.”.
(3) Paul VI, Ap. Lett. Ad pascendum (15 August 1972), VII b): AAS 64
(1972), p. 540.
(4) Cf John Paul II, Post-synodal Ap. Exhort. Pastores dabo vobis (25 March
1992), 12: AAS 84 (1992), pp. 675-676.
(5) Cf Ecum. Council Vat. II, Dogm. Const. Lumen gentium, 28; 29.
(6) The Pontificale Romanum – De Ordinatione Episcopi, Presbyterorum et
Diaconorum, Editio typica altera, Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis 1990, p. 101, cites at
n. 179 of the “Praenotanda”, relative to the ordination of deacons, the
expression “in ministerio Episcopi ordinantur” taken from the Traditio
apostolica, 8 (SCh, 11bis, pp. 58-59), as taken from the Constitutiones
Ecclesiae Aegypticae III, 2: F. X. Funk (ed.), Didascalia et Constitutiones
Apostolorum, II, Paderbornae 1905, p. 103.
(7) “(They should be) compassionate, industrious, walking according to the truth
of the Lord, who was the servant of all” (St Polycarp, Epist. ad Philippenses,
5, 2: F. X. Funk [ed.], Patres Apostolici, I, Tubingae 1901, pp. 300-302).
(8) Paul VI, Ap. Lett. Ad pascendum, Introduction: l.c., pp.
534-538.
(9) Cf Pontificale Romanum – De Ordinatione Episcopi, Presbyterorum et
Diaconorum, n. 207: ed. cit., pp. 115-122.
(10) Cf Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1570.
(11) Ibidem, n. 1588.
(12) Cf Ecum. Council Vat. II, Decr. Christus Dominus, 15.
(13) Cf C.I.C., can. 266.
(14) Cf Ecum. Council Vat. II, Dogm. Const. Lumen gentium, 29.
(15) Cf Pontificale Romanum – De Ordinatione Episcopi, Presbyterorum et
Diaconorum, n. 210: ed. cit., p. 125.
(16) Cf Ecum. Council Vat. II, Dogm. Const. Lumen gentium, 29.
(17) Cf ibidem.
(18) Paul VI, Ap. Lett. Sacrum diaconatus ordinem, I, 1: l.c., p. 699.
(19) Cf C.I.C., can. 276, § 2, 3o.
(20) Cf ibidem, can. 1031, § 3.
(21) Ecum. Council Vat. II, Decr. Optatam totius, 1.
(22) Paul VI, Ap. Lett. Sacrum diaconatus ordinem, VII, 32: l.c., p. 703.
(23) Ibidem, VII, 35: l.c., p. 704.
(24) Ecum. Council Vat. II, Dogm. Const. Lumen gentium, 64.
(25) Ibidem, 8.
(26) Equivalent to the Diocesan Bishop in this regard are those to whom the following
have been entrusted: territorial prelature, territorial abbey, apostolic vicariate,
apostolic prefecture and a stably erected apostolic administration (cf C.I.C.,
cans. 368; 381, § 2) as well as the personal prelature (cf C.I.C., cans. 266, §
1; 295) and the military ordinariate (cf John Paul II, Apost. Const. Spirituali militum
curae [21 April 1986], art. I, § 1; art. II, § 1: AAS 78 [1986], pp. 482;
483).
(27) Cf C.I.C., cans. 1025; 1029.
(28) This also includes the director of the specific house of formation, wherever it
exists (cf C.I.C., can. 236, 1o).
(29) John Paul II, Post-synodal Ap. Exhort. Pastores dabo vobis, 68: l.c.,
pp. 775-776.
(30) Ibidem, 69: l.c., p. 778.
(31) Ibidem, 36: l.c., pp. 715-716.
(32) Catechismus ex decreto Concilii Tridentini ad Parochos, pars II, c. 7, n.
3, Turin 1914, p. 288.
(33) Didachč, 15, 1: F. X. Funk (ed.), Patres Apostolici, I, o.c.,
pp. 32-35.
(34) St Polycarp, Epist. ad Philippenses, 5, 1-2: F. X. Funk (ed.), Patres
Apostolici, I, o.c., pp. 300-302.
(35) C.I.C., can. 1029. Cf can. 1051, 1o.
(36) Cf Paul VI, Ap. Lett. Sacrum diaconatus ordinem, II, 8: l.c., p.
700.
(37) Cf C.I.C., cans. 285, §§ 1-2; 289; Paul VI, Ap. Lett. Sacrum
diaconatus ordinem, III, 17: l.c., p. 701.
(38) C.I.C., can. 1031, § 2. Cf Paul VI, Ap. Lett. Sacrum diaconatus ordinem,
II, 5; III, 12: l.c., pp. 699; 700. Can. 1031, § 3 prescribes that “Bishops'
Conferences may issue a regulation which requires a later age”.
(39) Cf C.I.C., cans. 1040-1042. The irregularities (perpetual impediments)
listed by can. 1041 are: 1) any form of insanity or other psychological
infirmity, because of which he is, after experts have been consulted, judged incapable
of properly fulfilling the ministry; 2) the offences of apostasy, heresy or schism;
3) attempted marriage, even a civil marriage; 4) wilful homicide or actually
procured abortion; 5) grave mutilation of self or others, and attempted
suicide; 6) illicit completion of acts of order. The simple impediments, listed
by can. 1042, are: 1) the exercise of an office or administration forbidden to, or
inappropriate to, the clerical state; 2) the state of being a neophyte (except
when the Ordinary decides otherwise).
(40) Paul VI, Ap. Lett. Sacrum diaconatus ordinem, II, 4: l.c., p. 699.
Cf Ecum. Council Vat. II, Dogm. Const. Lumen gentium, 29.
(41) Paul VI, Ap. Lett. Sacrum diaconatus ordinem, III, 13: l.c., p. 700.
(42) Ibidem, III, 11: l.c., p. 700. Cf C.I.C., cans. 1031, § 2;
1050, 3o.
(43) Paul VI, Ap. Lett. Sacrum diaconatus ordinem, III, 16: l.c., p. 701;
Ap. Lett. Ad pascendum, VI: l.c., p. 539; C.I.C., can. 1087.
(44) The Circular Letter, Prot. n. 26397 of 6 June 1997, of the Congregation for Divine
Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments envisages that one only of the following
conditions be sufficient for obtaining dispensation from the impediment found in can.
1087: the great and proven usefulness of the ministry of the deacon to the diocese to
which he belongs; that he has children of such a tender age as to be in need of motherly
care; that he has parents or parents in law who are elderly and in need of care.
(45) Cf Paul VI, Ap. Lett. Sacrum diaconatus ordinem, VII, 32-35: l.c.,
pp. 703-704.
(46) Cf Idem, Ap. Lett. Ecclesiae sanctae (6 August 1966), I, 25, § 1: AAS
58 (1966), p. 770.
(47) Cf C.I.C., can. 1026.
(48) Paul VI, Ap. Lett. Ad pascendum, Introduction; cf I a): l.c., pp.
537-538. Cf C.I.C., can. 1034, § 1. The rite for admission among the candidates
for Holy Order is found in the Pontificale Romanum – De Ordinatione Episcopi,
Presbyterorum et Diaconorum, Appendix, II: ed. cit., pp. 232ff.
(49) Cf C.I.C., cans. 1016; 1019.
(50) Cf ibidem, can. 1034, § 1; Paul VI, Ap. Lett. Ad pascendum, I a): l.c.,
p. 538.
(51) Cf C.I.C., can. 236 and numbers 41-44 of the present Ratio.
(52) C.I.C., can. 236, 1o. Cf Paul VI, Ap. Lett. Sacrum diaconatus ordinem,
II, 6: l.c., p. 699.
(53) Ibidem, II, 7: l.c., p. 699.
(54) C.I.C., can. 236, 2o.
(55) Paul VI, Ap. Lett. Sacrum diaconatus ordinem, III, 15: l.c., p. 701.
(56) C.I.C., can. 1035, § 1.
(57) Paul VI, Ap. Lett. Ad pascendum, II: l.c., p. 539; Ap. Lett. Ministeria
quaedam (15 August 1972), XI: AAS 64 (1972), p. 533.
(58) Idem, Ap. Lett. Ad pascendum, Introduction: l.c., p. 538.
(59) Cf Idem, Ap. Lett. Ministeria quaedam, VIII a): l.c., p. 533.
(60) Cf Pontificale Romanum – De Institutione Lectorum et Acolythorum,
Editio typica, Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis 1972.
(61) Cf Paul VI, Ap. Lett. Ministeria quaedam, X: l.c., p. 533; Ap. Lett.
Ad pascendum, IV: l.c., p. 539.
(62) C.I.C., can. 1035, § 2.
(63) Ibidem, can. 1036. Cf Paul VI, Ap. Lett. Ad pascendum, V: l.c.,
p. 539.
(64) Cf C.I.C., can. 1050.
(65) Cf ibidem, cans. 1050, 3o; 1031, § 2.
(66) Ibidem, can. 1051, 1o.
(67) Ibidem, can. 1051, 2o.
(68) Cf ibidem, can. 1028. For the obligations which ordinands assume with the
diaconate, see canons 273-289. In addition, for married deacons, there is the impediment
to contracting new marriages (cf can. 1087).
(69) Cf ibidem, can. 1037; Paul VI, Ap. Lett. Ad pascendum, VI: l.c.,
p. 539.
(70) Cf Pontificale Romanum – De Ordinatione Episcopi, Presbyterorum et
Diaconorum, n. 177: ed. cit., p. 101.
(71) Cf C.I.C., can. 833, 6o; Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Professio
fidei et Iusiurandum fidelitatis in suscipiendo officio nomine Ecclesiae exercendo: AAS
81 (1989), pp. 104-106; 1169.
(72) C.I.C., can. 1015, § 1.
(73) Cf ibidem, can. 1019.
(74) Pontificale Romanum – De Ordinatione Episcopi, Presbyterorum et Diaconorum,
cap. III, De Ordinatione diaconorum: ed. cit., pp. 100-142.
(75) Cf C.I.C., cans. 1010-1011.
(76) Ibidem, can. 1039.
(77) John Paul II, Post-synodal Ap. Exhort. Pastores dabo vobis, 43: l.c.,
p. 732.
(78) Ibidem: l.c., pp. 732-733.
(79) Cf ibidem: l.c., p. 733.
(80) Idem, Encycl. Lett. Redemptor hominis (4 March 1979), 10: AAS 71
(1979), p. 274.
(81) Cf Idem, Post-synodal Ap. Exhort. Pastores dabo vobis, 44: l.c., p.
734.
(82) Cf ibidem: l.c., pp. 734-735.
(83) Cf Idem, Ap. Exhort. Familiaris consortio (22 November 1981): AAS 74
(1982), pp. 81-191.
(84) Idem, Post-synodal Ap. Exhort. Pastores dabo vobis, 44: l.c., p.
735.
(85) Cf the presentation of the Book of the Gospels, in Pontificale Romanum –
De Ordinatione Episcopi, Presbyterorum et Diaconorum, n. 210: ed. cit., p. 125.
(86) This refers to the Apostolic Letter of Paul VI, Sacrum diaconatus ordinem,
n. 22: l.c., pp. 701-702.
(87) Cf Congregation for Catholic Education, Circ. Lett. Come č a conoscenza
(16 July 1969), p. 2.
(88) Cf ibidem, p. 3.
(89) John Paul II, Post-synodal Ap. Exhort. Pastores dabo vobis, 57: l.c.,
p. 758.
(90) Cf Congregation for Catholic Education, Circ. Lett. Come č a conoscenza,
p. 3.
(91) Cf Ecum. Council Vat. II, Decr. Presbyterorum ordinis, 10; Decr. Ad
gentes, 20.
(92) Didascalia Apostolorum, III, 13 (19), 3: F. X. Funk (ed.), Didascalia et
Constitutiones Apostolorum, I, o.c., pp. 214-215.
***
(34) Cf. Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 28a.
(35) Cf. CIC, canon 1034, § 1; Paul VI, Ad Pascendum, I, a: l.c.,
538.
(36) Cf. CIC, canons 265-266.
(37) Cf. CIC, canons 1034, § 1, 1016, 1019; Apostolic Constitution Spirituali
Militum Curae, VI, §§ 3-4; CIC, canon 295, § 1.
(38) Cf. CIC, canons 267-268c § 1.
(39) Cf. CIC, canon 271.
(40) Cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem, VI, 30: l.c.,
703.
(41) Cf. CIC, canon 678, §§ 1-3; 715; 738; cf. also Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Sacrum
Diaconatus Ordinem, VII, 33-35: l.c., 704.
(42) Letter of the Secretariat of State to the Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for
Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Prot. N. 122.735, of 3 January 1984.
(43) Cf. Second Vatican Council, Decree Christus Dominus, n. 15; Paul VI
Apostolic Letter Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem, 23; l.c., 702.
(44) Pontificale Romanum, De Ordinatione Episcopi, Presbyterorum et Diaconorum, n.
201, (editio typica altera), Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis, 1990, p. 110; cf. CIC,
canon 273.
(45) “Those dominated by an outlook of contestation or of opposition to authority
cannot adequately fulfil the functions of the diaconate. The diaconate can only be
conferred on those who believe in the value of the pastoral mission of bishops and priests
and in the assistance of the Holy Spirit who helps them in their activities and in the
decisions they take. It should be recalled that the deacon must ?profess respect and
obedience to the bishop'. The service of the deacon is directed to a particular Christian
community for which he should develop a profound attachment both to its mission and divine
institution” (Catechesis of John Paul II at the General Audience of 20 October 1993,
n. 2, Insegnamenti, XVI, 2, [1993], p. 1055).
(46) CIC, canon 274, § 2.
(47) “Among the duties of the deacon there is that of ?promoting and sustaining
the apostolic activities of the laity'. Being more present and active in the secular world
than priests, deacons should strive to promote greater closeness between ordained
ministers and activities of the laity for the common service of the Kingdom of God”
(Catechesis of John Paul II at the General Audience of 13 October 1993, n. 5, Insegnamenti,
XVI, 2 [1993], pp. 1002-1003); cf. CIC, canon 275.
(48) Cf. CIC, canon 282.
(49) Cf. CIC, canon 288 referring to canon 284.
(50) Cf. CIC, canon 284; Directory for the Ministry and Life of Priests
of the Congregation for the Clergy (31 January 1994), pp. 66-67. Clarification of the
Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts on the binding character of
article 66 (22 October 1994) in Sacrum Ministerium, 2 (1995), p. 263.
(51) Cf CIC, canon 669.
(52) Cf. CIC, canon 278, §§ 1-2, explicating canon 215.
(53) Cf. CIC, canon 278, § 3 and canon 1374; also the declaration of the German
Bishops' Conference “The Church and Freemasonry” (28 February 1980).
(54) Congregation for the Clergy, Quidam Episcopi (8 March 1982), IV: AAS 74
(1982), pp. 642-645.
(55) Cf. CIC, canon 299, § 3, and canon 304.
(56) Cf CIC, canon 305.
(57) Cf. Allocution of John Paul II to the Bishops of Zaďre on “Ad Limina”
visit, 30 April 1983, Insegnamenti, VI, 1 (1983), pp. 112-113. Allocution to
Permanent Deacons (16 March 1985), Insegnamenti, VIII, 1 (1985), pp. 648-650. Cf.
also idem. Allocution at the ordination of eight new Bishops in Kinshasa (4 May 1980), 3-5
Insegnamenti, 1 (1980), pp. 1111-1114; Catechesis at the General Audience of 6
October 1983 Insegnamenti, XVI, 2 (1983), pp. 951-955.
(58) Lumen Gentium, 33; cf. CIC, canon 225.
(59) Cf. CIC, canon 288, referring to canon 285, §§ 3-4.
(60) Cf. CIC, canon 288 referring to canon 286.
(61) Cf. CIC, canon 222, § 2, and also canon 225, § 2.
(62) Cf. CIC, canon 672.
(63) Cf. CIC, canon 287, § 1.
(64) Cf. CIC, canon 288.
(65) Cf. CIC, canon 287, § 2.
(66) Cf. CIC, canon 283.
(67) Cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem, 21: l.c.,
701.
(68) Cf. CIC, canon 281.
(69) “Since clerics dedicate themselves to the ecclesiastical ministry, they
deserve the remuneration that befits their condition, taking into account the nature of
their office and the conditions of time and place. It is to be such that it provides for
the necessities of their life and for the just remuneration of those whose services they
need” (CIC, canon 281, § 1).
(70) “Suitable provision is likewise to be made for such social welfare as they
may need in infirmity, sickness or old age” (CIC, canon 281, § 2).
(71) CIC, canon 281, § 3. The canonical term “remuneration” as
distinct from civil law usage, denotes more than a stipend in the technical sense of this
term. It connotes that income, due in justice, which permits a decent upkeep, congruent
with the ministry.
(72) Ibid., canon 1274, § 1.
(73) Ibid., canon 1274, § 2.
(74) Ibid., canon 281, § 1.
(75) Cf. ibidem, canon 281, § 3.
(76) Cf. ibid., canon 281, § 3.
(77) Cf. ibid., canons 290-293.
(78) Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 29.
(79) John Paul II, Allocution to permanent deacons (16 March 1985), n. 2: Insegnamenti,
VIII, 1 (1985), p. 649; cf. Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution. Lumen
Gentium, 29; CIC, canon 1008.
(80) Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity Directory on the
applications of the principles and norms on ecumenism, (25 March 1993), 71: AAS
85 (1993), p. 1069; cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Communionis notio
(28 May 1992), AAS 85 [1993], pp. 838f.
(81) Ibid., 70: l.c., p. 1068.
(82) Pontificale Romanum, n. 210: ed. cit., p. 125: “Accipe Evangelium
Christi, cuius praeco effectus es; et vide, ut quod legeris credas, quod credideris
doceas, quod docueris imiteris”.
(83) Cf. Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 29.
“Deacons are also to serve the People of God in the ministry of the word, in union
with the bishop and his presbyterium” (CIC, canon 757); “By their
preaching, deacons participate in the priestly ministry” (John Paul II, Allocution to
Priests, Deacons, Religious and Seminarians in the Basilica of the Oratory of St. Joseph,
Montreal, Canada (11 September 1984), n. 9: Insegnamenti, VII, 2 (1984), p. 436.
(84) Cf. Second Vatican Council, Decree Presbyterorum Ordinis, 4.
(85) Cf. Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum, 25;
Congregation for Catholic Education, circular letter Come č a conoscenza; CIC, canon
760.
(86) Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 25a; Dogmatic
Constitution Dei Verbum, 10a.
(87) Cf. CIC, canon 753.
(88) Cf. ibid., canon 760.
(89) Cf. ibid., canon 769.
(90) Cf Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani, n. 61: Missale Romanum,
Ordo lectionis Missae, Praenotanda, n. 8, 24 and 50: ed. typica altera, 1981.
(91) Cf. CIC, canon 764.
(92) Congregation for the Clergy, Directory on the Ministry and Life of Priests, Tota
Ecclesia (31 January 1994), nn. 45-47: l.c., 43-48.
(93) Cf. Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani, nn. 42, 61; Congregation for the
Clergy, Pontifical Council for the Laity, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,
Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Congregation for
Bishops, Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Congregation for the Institutes
of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life, Pontifical Council for the
Interpretation of Legislative Texts, Instruction concerning some questions on the
collaboration of the lay faithful in the ministry of priests, Ecclesiae de Mysterio
(15 August 1997), art. 3.
(94) Second Vatican Council, Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, 35; cf. 52; CIC,
canon 767, § 1.
(95) Cf. CIC, canon 779; cf. Congregation for the Clergy, General Directory
for Catechesis, (15 agosto 1997) n. 216.
(96) Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Nuntiandi, 8 December 1975): AAS
68 (1976), pp. 576.
(97) Cf. ibid., canons 804-805.
(98) Cf. ibid., canon 810.
(99) Cf. ibid., canon 761.
(100) Cf. ibid., canon 822.
(101) Cf. ibid., canon 823, § 1.
(102) Ibid., canon 831, §§ 1-2.
(103) Second Vatican Council, Decree Ad Gentes, 2a.
(104) Cf. CIC, canons 784, 786.
(105) Second Vatican Council, Decree Ad Gentes, 16; Pontificale Romanum,
n. 207: ed. cit., p. 122 (Prex Ordinationis).
(106) Cf. Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 29.
(107) Second Vatican Council, Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, 10.
(108) Ibid., 7d.
(109) Cf. ibid., 22, 3; CIC, canons 841, 846.
(110) Cf. CIC, canon 840.
(111) Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1570; cf. Caeremoniale Episcoporum,
nn. 23-26.
(112) “Deacons have a share in the celebration of divine worship in accordance
with the provisions of law” (CIC, canon 835, § 3).
(113) Cf. Second Vatican Council, Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, 26-27.
(114) Cf. CIC, canon 846, § 1.
(115) Cf. Second Vatican Council, Constitutions Sacrosanctum Concilium, 28.
(116) Cf. CIC, canon 929.
(117) Cf. Institutio generalis Missalis Romani, nn, 81b, 300, 302; Institutio
generalis Liturgiae Horarum, n. 255; Pontificale Romanum, nn. 23, 24, 28, 29,
editio typica, Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis 1977, pp. 29 and 90; Rituale Romanum, n.
36, editio typica, Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis 1985, p. 18; Ordo Coronandi Imaginem
Beatae Mariae Virginis, n. 12, editio typica, Typis Polyglottis Vaticanis 1981, p. 10;
Congregation for Divine Worship, Directory for celebrations in the absence of a priest, Christi
Ecclesia, n 38, in “Notitiae” 24 (1988), pp. 388-389; Pontificale Romanum,
nn. 188: (“Immediate post Precem Ordinationis, Ordinati stola diaconali et dalmatica
induuntur quo eorum ministerium abhinc in liturgia peragendum manifestatur”) and 190;
ed. cit., pp. 102, 103; Caeremoniale Episcoporum, n. 67, editio typica, Libreria
Editrice Vaticana 1995, pp. 28-29.
(118) CIC, canon 861, § 1.
(119) Cf. ibid., canon 530, n. 1o.
(120) Cf. ibid., canon 862.
(121) Cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem, V, 22, 1: l.c.,
701.
(122) Cf. Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani, nn. 61; 127-141.
(123) Cf. CIC, canon 930, § 2.
(124) Cf. ibid., canon 907; Congregation for the Clergy etc., Instruction Ecclesiae
de Mysterio (15 August 1997), art. 6.
(125) Cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem, V, 22, 6: l.c.,
702.
(126) Cf. CIC, canon 910, § 1.
(127) Cf. ibid., canon 911, § 2.
(128) Cf. ibid., canon 943 and also Pope Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Sacrum
Diaconatus Ordinem, V, 22, 3: l.c., 702.
(129) Cf. Congregation for Divine Worship, Directory for celebrations in the absence of
a priest, Christi Ecclesia, n. 38: l.c., 388-389; Congregation for the
Clergy etc., Instruction Ecclesiae de Mysterio (15 August 1997), art. 7.
(130) Cf. John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio,
73: AAS 74 (22 November, 1982), pp. 107-171.
(131) Cf. CIC, canon 1063.
(132) Cf. Second Vatican Council, Constitution Lumen Gentium 29; CIC,
canon 1108, §§ 1-2; Ordo Celebrandi Matrimonii, ed. typica altera 1991, 24.
(133) Cf. CIC, canon 1111, §§ 1-2.
(134) Cf. ibidem, canon 137, §§ 3-4.
(135) Exultate Deo of the Council of Florence (DS 1325); Doctrina de
sacramento extremae unctionis of the Council of Trent, cap. 3 (DS 1697) and cap. 4 de
extrema unctione (DS 1719).
(136) Cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem II, 10: l.c.,699;
Congregation for the Clergy etc., Instruction, Ecclesiae de Mysterio (15 August
1997), art. 9.
(137) Cf. CIC, canon 276, § 2, n. 3o.
(138) Cf. Institutio Generalis Liturgiae Horarum, nn. 20; 255-256.
(139) Cf. Second Vatican Council, Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium 60; CIC,
canon 1166 and canon 1168; Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1667.
(140) Cf. CIC, canon 1169, § 3.
(141) Cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem V, 22, 5: l.c.,
702; also Ordo Exsequiarum, 19; Congregation for the Clergy etc., Instruction Ecclesiae
de Mysterio (15 August 1997), art. 12.
(142) Cf. Rituale Romanum - De Benedictionibus, n. 18 c.: ed. cit, p. 14.
(143) Cf. CIC, canon 129, § 1.
(144) St. Polycarp, Epist. ad Philippenses, 5, 2; F. X. Funk (ed.), I, p. 300;
cited in Lumen Gentium, 29.
(145) Cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem l.c., 698.
(146) Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 29.
(147) Pontificale Romanum - De ordinatione Episcopi, presbyterorum et diaconorum,
n. 207, p. 122 (Prex Ordinationis).
(148) Hippolytus, Traditio Apostolica, 8, 24; S. Ch. 11 bis pp. 58-63,
98-99; Didascalia Apostolorum (Syriac), chapters III and IX; A. Vööbus (ed) The
“Didascalia Apostolorum” in Syriac (original text in Syriac with an English
translation), CSCO vol. I, n. 402 (tome 176), pp. 29-30; vol. II, n. 408 (tome 180), pp.
120-129; Didascalia Apostolorum, III (19), 1-7: F. X. Funk (ed.), Didascalia et
Constitutiones Apostolorum, Paderbornae 1906, I, pp. 212-216; Second Vatican Council,
Decree Christus Dominus, 13.
(149) Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 40-45.
(150) Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem, V, 22, 9; l.c.,
702. Cf. John Paul II, Catechesis at the General Audience of 13 October 1993, n. 5: Insegnamenti
XVI, 2 (1993), pp. 1000-1004.
(151) Cf. CIC, canon 494.
(152) Cf. CIC, canon 493.
(153) Cf. John Paul II, Address to the permanent deacons of the USA, Detroit (19
September 1987), n. 3, Insegnamenti, X, 3 (1987), p. 656.
(154) Cf. CIC, canon 157.
(155) Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 27a.
(156) Cf. CIC, canon 519.
(157) Cf. CIC, canon 517, § 1.
(158) Cf. CIC, canon 517, § 2.
(159) Cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem, V, 22, 10; l.c.,
702.
(160) Cf. CIC, canon 1248 § 2; Congregation for Divine Worship, Directory for
celebrations in the absence of the priest, Christi Ecclesia, 29, l.c., 386.
(161) John Paul II, Catechesis at the General Audience of 13 October 1993, n. 4: Insegnamenti
XVI, 2 (1993), p. 1002.
(162) Cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem, V, 24; l.c.,
702; CIC, canon 536.
(163) Cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem, V, 24; l.c.,
702; CIC, canon 512, § 1.
(164) Cf. CIC, canon 463, § 2.
(165) Cf. Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 28;
Decree Christus Dominus, 27; Decree Presbyterorum Ordinis, 7; CIC, canon
495, § 1.
(166) CIC, canon 482.
(167) CIC, canon 1421, § 1.
(168) CIC, canon 1424.
(169) CIC, canon 1428, § 2.
(170) CIC, canon 1435.
(171) CIC, canon 483, § 1.
(172) CIC, canon 1420, § 4, canon 553 § 1.
(173) Second Vatican Council, Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, 2.
(174) Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 5.
(175) Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 2b.
(176) Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 4a.
(177) Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 40.
(178) Second Vatican Council, Decree Presbyterorum Ordinis, 12a.
(179) Second Vatican Council, Decree Ad Gentes, 16.
(180) John Paul II, Catechesis at the General Audience of 20 October 1993, n. 1: Insegnamenti,
XVI, 2 (1993), p. 1053.
(181) “All of Christ's faithful, each according to his or her own condition, must
make a wholehearted effort to lead a holy life and to promote the growth of the Church and
its continual sanctification” (CIC, canon 210).
(182) These “being at the service of the ministers of Christ and of the Church
must keep themselves from all vice and be pleasing to God and dedicate themselves to those
works considered good in the sight of man” (cf. 1 Tit 3; 8-18 and 12-13):
Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 41; Cf. also Paul VI,
Apostolic Letter Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem, VI, 25: l.c., 702.
(183) “Clerics have a special obligation to seek holiness in their lives because
they are consecrated to God by a new title through the reception of orders, and they are
stewards of the mysteries of God in the service of His people” (CIC, canon
276, § 1).
(184) John Paul II, Catechesis at the General Audience of 20 October 1993, n. 2: Insegnamenti,
XVI, 2 (1993), p. 1054.
(185) John Paul II, Catechesis at the General Audience of 20 October 1993, n. 1. Insegnamenti,
XVI, 2 (1993), p. 1054.
(186) John Paul II, Catechesis at the General Audience of 20 October 1993, n. 1: Insegnamenti,
XVI, 2 (1993), p. 1054.
(187) John Paul II allocution of 6 March 1985, n. 2: Insegnamenti, VIII, 1
(1985), p. 649. Post Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis, 3, 21: l.c.,
661, 688.
(188) Cf. John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis,
16: l.c., 681.
(189) John Paul II, Catechesis at the General Audience of 20 October 1993, n. 2: Insegnamenti,
XVI, 2 (1993), p. 1055.
(190) Cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem, V, 23: l.c.,
702.
(191) Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Redemptor Hominis (4 March 1979), nn
13-17: AAS 71 (1979), pp. 282-300.
(192) Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem, II, 8: l.c.,
700.
(193) John Paul II, Catechesis at the General Audience of 20 October 1993, n. 2: Insegnamenti,
XVI, 2 (1993), p. 1054.
(194) Cf. Second Vatican Council, Decree Presbyterorum Ordinis, nn. 14 & 15:
CIC, canon 276, § 2, n. 1o.
(195) Second Vatican Council, Decree Presbyterorum Ordinis, 12.
(196) Pontificale Romanum - De Ordinatione Episcopi, presbyterorum et diaconorum,
n. 210; ed. cit., p. 125.
(197) St Augustine, Sermones, 179, 1: PL 38, 966.
(198) Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum 25; cf. Paul VI,
Apostolic Letter Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem, VI, 26, 1; l.c., 703; CIC, canon
276, § 2, n. 2o.
(199) Cf. Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 25a.
(200) Cf. CIC, canon 833; Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Professio
fidei et iusiurandum fidelitatis in suscipiendo officio nomine Ecclesiae exercendo: AAS
81 (1989), pp. 104-106 and 1169.
(201) Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum, 21.
(202) Cf. Second Vatican Council, Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, 7.
(203) Cf. Second Vatican Council, Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, 7.
(204) Second Vatican Council, Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, 59a.
(205) Cf. CIC, canon 276, § 2, n. 2; Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Sacrum
Diaconatus Ordinem, VI, 26, 2: l.c., 703.
(206) Cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem, VI, 26, 2: l.c.,
703.
(207) Second Vatican Council, Decree Presbyterorum Ordinis, 5b.
(208) Cf. canon 276, § 2, n. 5o; Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Sacrum Diaconatus
Ordinem, VI, 26, 3: l.c., 703.
(209) Cf. CIC, canon 276, § 2, n. 3o.
(210) Cf. CIC, canon 276, § 2, n. 4o.
(211) Cf. CIC, canon 276, § 2, n. 5o.
(212) Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 23a.
(213) Second Vatican Council, Decree Christus Dominus, 11; CIC, canon
369.
(214) Cf. CIC, canon 276, § 2, n. 5o; Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Sacrum
Diaconatus Ordinem, VI, 26, 4: l.c., 703.
(215) John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis, 36,
quoting Propositio 5 of the Synodal fathers: l.c., 718.
(216) Cf. John Paul II, Allocution to the Roman Curia, 22 December 1987: AAS 80
(1988), pp. 1025-1034; Apostolic Letter Mulieris Dignitatem, 27: AAS 80
(1988), p. 1718.
(217) Cf. Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 29b.
(218) His rationibus in mysteriis Christi Eiusque missione fundatis, coelibatus
...omnibus ad Ordinem sacrum promovendis lege impositum est”: Second Vatican Council,
Decree Presbyterorum Ordinis, 16; cf. CIC, canon 247, § 1; canon 277, § 1,
canon 1037.
(219) Cf. CIC, canon 277, § 1; Second Vatican Council, Decree Optatam Totius,
10.
(220) John Paul II, Letter to Priests on Holy Thursday, 8 April 1979, 8: AAS 71
(1979), p. 408.
(221) Cf. canon 277, § 2.
(222) John Paul II, Allocution to the permanent deacons of the U.S.A. in Detroit (19
September 1987), n. 5: Insegnamenti, X, 3 (1987), p. 658.
(223) Cf. CIC, canon 1031, § 2.
(224) John Paul II, Allocution to the permanent deacons of the USA in Detroit, 19
September 1987, n. 5; Insegnamenti, X, 3 (1987), pp. 658-659.
(225) Cf. CIC, canon 277, § 1.
(226) Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem, III, 16: l.c.,
701: Apostolic Letter Ad Pascendum, VI: l.c., 539; CIC, canon 1087.
Provision is made for possible exceptions to this discipline in the circular letter of the
Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, N. 26397, of 6 June
1997, n. 8.
(227) John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Pastores Dabo Vobis, n.
42.
(228) John Paul II, Catechesis at the General Audience of 20 October 1993, n. 4: Insegnamenti,
XVI, 2 (1993), p. 1056.
(229) Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem, II, 8-10; III, 14-15:
l.c., 699-701; Apostolic Letter Ad Pascendum, VII: l.c., 540; CIC,
canons 236, 1027, 1032 § 3.
(230) Cf. John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis,
70: l.c., 780.
(231) John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis, 70: l.c.,
779.
(232) John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis, 76;
79: l.c., 793; 796.
(233) Cf. Second Vatican Council, Decree Christus Dominus, 15; John Paul II,
Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis, 79: l.c., 797.
(234) Congregation for the Clergy, Tota Ecclesia, Directory for the ministry and
life of priests (31 January 1994), n. 71: p. 76.
(235) Cf. John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis,
78: l.c., 795.
(236) Congregation for the Clergy, Directory for the ministry and life of priests Tota
Ecclesia, 71: p. 76.
(237) Cf. John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Pastores Dabo Vobis, 71:
l.c., 783; Congregation for the Clergy, Directory for the ministry and life of
priests, Tota Ecclesia, n. 74, p. 78.
(238) Cf. St Ignatius of Antioch: “Deacons, who are ministers of Christ Jesus,
must be acceptable to all in every respect. They are not servants of food and drink. They
are ministers of the Church of God” (Epist. ad Trallianos, 2, 3: F. X. Funk, o.c.,
I, pp. 244-245).
(239) Cf. John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Pastores Dabo Vobis,
72: l.c., 783; Congregation for the Clergy, Directory for the ministry and life of
priestly, Tota Ecclesia, 75, ed. cit., pp. 75-76.
(240) John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Pastores Dabo Vobis, 72:
l.c., 785.
(241) Cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem, VI, 28: l.c.,
703; CIC, canon 276, § 4.
(242) Cf. CIC, canon 279.
(243) John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Pastores Dabo Vobis, 72:
l.c., 783.
(244) Cf. CIC, canon 1029.
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