A few days ago (Sep. 17) the Holy Father met with a group of Bishops of Brazil at Castelgandolfo. He talked to them about the role of priests, and that this role is irreplaceable. Here are some things he said:

• "the particular identity of priests and laity must be seen in the light of the essential difference between priestly ministry and the 'common priesthood'. Hence it is important to avoid the secularisation of clergy and the 'clericalisation' of the laity".
  
  
• "the lack of priests does not justify a more active and abundant participation of the laity. The truth is that the greater the faithful's awareness of their own responsibilities within the Church, the clearer becomes the specific identity and inimitable role of the priest as pastor of the entire community, witness to the authenticity of the faith, and dispenser of the mysteries of salvation in the name of Christ the Head".

The Holy Father is right. It is the crisis of the shortage of priests that has caused many difficulties and in some parish situations the line between the role of priest and laity seems to be less clear than it should be. The Code of Canon Law defines the role of the parish priest.

Can. 519. The parish priest is the proper pastor of the parish entrusted to him. He exercises the pastoral care of the community entrusted to him under the authority of the diocesan Bishop, whose ministry of Christ he is called to share, so that for this community he may carry out the offices of teaching, sanctifying and ruling with the cooperation of other priests or deacons and with the assistance of lay members of Christ's faithful, in accordance with the law.

Can. 521 §1. To be validly appointed a parish priest, one must be in the sacred order of priesthood.

§2. He is also to be outstanding in sound doctrine and uprightness of character, endowed with zeal for souls and other virtues, and possessed of those qualities which by universal or particular law are required for the care of the parish in question.

§3. In order that one be appointed to the office of parish priest, his suitability must be clearly established, in a manner determined by the diocesan Bishop, even by examination.

Can. 522. It is necessary that a parish priest have the benefit of stability, and therefore he is to be appointed for an indeterminate period of time. The diocesan Bishop may appoint him for a specified period of time only if the Episcopal Conference has by decree allowed this.

"The [Second Vatican] Council stressed the essential difference between the ordained priesthood of all the baptized, and prescribed a priestly formation in seminaries which is distinct from other forms of formation (Cfr. Lumen Gentium, 10; Optatam Totius, 4). At the heart of this essential difference is the truth that Jesus entrusted the Twelve with the authority to proclaim the Gospel, celebrate the Eucharist, forgive sins and provide for the pastoral care of the community. This authority is given for a truly specific purpose and through ordination is shared by the successors of the apostles and their collaborators in the ordained priesthood. It is given for a particular ministry of service to be carried out in imitation of the Son of Man who came to serve. The ministry of the ordained priest is essential to the life and development of the Church; it is an essential service to the rest of the Church. It is clear that those who are preparing for this specific ministry will have special needs and requirements that differ from those of the rest of the community." Address to Seminarians, by His Holiness John Paul II, at the Cathedral of San Fernando, San Antonio, Texas, Sunday, 13 September 1987

From Lumen Gentium, "10. Christ the Lord, High Priest taken from among men, made the new people "a kingdom and priests to God the Father". The baptized, by regeneration and the anointing of the Holy Spirit, are consecrated as a spiritual house and a holy priesthood, in order that through all those works which are those of the Christian man they may offer spiritual sacrifices and proclaim the power of Him who has called them out of darkness into His marvelous light. Therefore all the disciples of Christ, persevering in prayer and praising God, should present themselves as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. Everywhere on earth they must bear witness to Christ and give an answer to those who seek an account of that hope of eternal life which is in them.

Though they differ from one another in essence and not only in degree, the common priesthood of the faithful and the ministerial or hierarchical priesthood are nonetheless interrelated: each of them in its own special way is a participation in the one priesthood of Christ. The ministerial priest, by the sacred power he enjoys, teaches and rules the priestly people; acting in the person of Christ, he makes present the Eucharistic sacrifice, and offers it to God in the name of all the people. But the faithful, in virtue of their royal priesthood, join in the offering of the Eucharist. They likewise exercise that priesthood in receiving the sacraments, in prayer and thanksgiving, in the witness of a holy life, and by self-denial and active charity." (Footnotes omitted for clarity)

Deacons are also ordained ministers, but their function in the church isn't the same as ministerial priests.

"The deacon’s primary function is not the pastoral "care of souls" for which the exercise of the order of the priesthood is required (Canon 150). Bishops for their dioceses, and parish priests for their parishes, have the full responsibility for the pastoral "care of souls" (Canons 528, 529 and 530). The deacon (together with priests and various non-ordained pastoral ministers) may assist the parish priest in this ministry (Canons 517[2] and 519).

Lumen Gentium (no. 29) lists those faculties which may be granted to a deacon. They are:

"to administer Baptism solemnly, to be custodian and dispenser of the Eucharist, in the name of the Church to assist at and bless marriages, to bring Viaticum to the dying, to read the sacred Scriptures to the faithful, to instruct and exhort the people, to preside at the worship and prayer of the faithful, to administer sacramentals, and to officiate at funeral and burial services."

(Indented text from: "The Deacon and Canon Law", used as a source in: http://catholicdeacon.org/official documents.htm (this is an excellent website, by the way)

I hope these resources help clarify this somewhat complicated topic. It is no use whatsoever to search on the Internet under "Parish priest" or, "Roman Catholic Priest" unless one discerns carefully what is factual and what is not. There is an awful lot of worthless garbage (we know, it's the freedom of speech) there. The above excerpts are from authentic sources.

During these times where the number of priests, in general, seems to increase only slightly (as compared to the 1960's and early 1970's), there is some fudging of the lines of responsibility between priests and laity in some parishes. There shouldn't be. We love our priests and deacons. They have serious responsibilities in the life of the Church, so they should not be expected to be active in roles traditionally assumed by the laity.

Fred Schaeffer, SFO
September 19, 2009