Who Are These People Wearing The Funny Outfits?

If you Google “Catholic Church” or “Catholicism”, you’ll find many photos of people that make up the body of the Church. Some wear these interesting white collars. Others wear these little red hats. One wears a little white hat (and sometimes a huge, decorative hat). Most are wearing normal, every day clothes. But, who are these people and how do they make up the body of the Church? I learned all about who shepherds the Church in my last OCIA meeting.

Let’s get to it…

The largest group, and the foundation, of the Church is the laity. Laity simply means, “the general population of the Church.” The laity comprises all the faithful who are not part of a holy order, like the priesthood. That’s me, and likely, you who is watching this. This quote is pulled from the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Second Vatican Council, #31:

      “What specifically characterizes the laity is their secular [“of the world”] nature…the laity, by their very vocation, seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs by ordering them according to God’s plan. They live in the world, that is, in each and in all of the secular professions and occupations. They live in the ordinary circumstances of family and social life, from which the very web of their existence is woven. They are called there by God [so] that, by exercising their proper function and led by the spirit of the Gospel, they may work for the sanctification of the world from within as a leaven. In this way they make Christ known to others…”

        Isn’t that cool? That although we are not ordained, we play a huge role in the spreading of the Church. How can we do that? Well, I say it’s by living out our Catholic faith in every aspect of our lives. Marriage, parenthood, work, community, etc. Be joyful and devoted examples for those who around us.

         Moving on from the laity, we have the clergy. Cool thing I learned is that the clergy act “in persona Christi” or in the “person of Christ.” One of the team leads stated that when you go to Confession, you might be confessing to the priest but it is really Jesus that you are confessing your sins too. As if Confession could not get any more uncomfortable.

         First of the clergy, we have the deacons. You can find them assisting the priests during Mass (typically wearing similar outfits as the priest). Last time I went to Confession, the deacon was unlocking doors and turning on lights. In addition to assisting with Mass and unlocking doors and turning on lights, they can also administer Baptisms and witness marriages.

         There are two types of deacons:

1.     Transitional – those who are on their last step before ordination to the priesthood

2.     Permanent – those who will not be ordained to the priesthood

Next up are the priests. Now, everyone knows the priest – they main guy at the altar who is celebrating the Mass. Priests come in two forms: diocesan (which means they serve a diocese or archdiocese), and religious (can get sent anywhere to serve). Priests can administer six of the seven sacraments: Baptism, Eucharist, Confession, and Anointing of the Sick. They can also witness the sacrament of marriage in the name of the Church. Fun fact: I learned that priests need permission from their local bishop to administer the sacrament of Confirmation.

Before we reach the Vicar of Christ, we have one more level to discuss: the bishops. They are the successors of the Apostles. This fact is what gives them their authority. Every bishop in the Catholic Church can trace their successive lineage all the way back to one the Apostles. They are all priests, and have the authority to administer all seven sacraments. They are also autonomous, which gives them the space to make decisions within their diocese.

Now, the bishops roughly break down into three categories. I say roughly because there is a lot of overlap between the three:

1.     Bishop – is the head or “ordinary” of a geographical area called a diocese. If you have ever worked in a chain location, think of a district or regional manager.

2.     Archbishop – a bishop but of a larger diocese. Typically, they will have bishops underneath them to support. Think Boston, NYC, Philadelphia, etc.

3.     Cardinals – a bishop who is elevated by the pope. Typically, this is done when he is the archbishop of an important diocese (like Boston), or is the head of an important Vatican dicastery. Cardinals can vote in papal elections up until they turn age 80.

Last, but certainly not least, we have the big papa. The Vicar of Christ. The Holy Father. The Bishop of Rome. Peter’s Successor. We have…the Pope. He inherits Peter’s responsibility to serve the whole Church (over 1 billion people), and the faith that has been handed down. Mighty big shoes to fill, eh? Unlike the bishops, who trace their successive lineage back to one of the Apostles. The pope traces his successive lineage back to Peter.

Where do we get the pope from? Scripture – Jesus gave Peter the keys to the kingdom, and asked Peter to tend to his flock for him. Several passages of Scripture support this. To name a few:

-         Matthew 16:13-20

-         John 1:40-42

-         John 21:15-17

-        Acts 1:15-16, 26-27

-        Acts 10:9-42

-         Acts 15:1-12

         There are plenty of arguments and debates about the pope, but one that was highlighted in our material was about the pope’s infallibility. Here is a direct quote from the OCIA material:

“Is the Pope Infallible? It is easy to misunderstand what the Church means by papal infallibility. It does not mean that the pope never makes a mistake. It does not mean that the pope never sins. What infallibility does mean is that under these certain specific conditions, the teaching of the pope is preserved from error by the Holy Spirit:

1.     The pope must be speaking in his capacity as chief leader and shepherd of the Church.

2.     He must be clearly defining a teaching as being a truth of faith to be accepted by the whole Church.

3.     The teaching must be concerned with matters of faith or morals.

The more common teachings of the pope (in homilies, speeches, encyclicals, and so on) don’t fulfill these conditions.  In fact, the total number of infallible statements is very small. One example is the assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, declared in 1950 by Pope Pious XII. Nevertheless, Catholics give due respect to all the teachings of the pope, whether infallible or not.”

That’s all for this one folks. Thanks for reading, and God bless!