![]() ![]() ![]() Conferences of Bishops, in contrast, frequently issue statements that are largely pastoral in nature, and often serve as a single, united voice for all the Catholic bishops of a particular country or region.īut there are a relative handful of places in the Code of Canon Law where the Church gives Episcopal Conferences the right to make laws that bind all the bishops and all the Catholics in their territories-and canon 1031.3 is one of them. As a general rule, Episcopal Conferences do not have the authority to make laws that are binding on their member-bishops-because it is the diocesan bishop himself who has legislative authority within his diocese (cf. an Episcopal Conference) is a permanent institution comprising all the bishops of a country or a particular territory, that as a body exercises certain pastoral functions for the faithful of their territory ( c. As we saw in “ Are Catholics Supposed to Abstain From Meat Every Friday?” a Conference of Bishops (a.k.a. ![]() 1031.2).Ĭanon 1031.3 then tells us that the Conference of Bishops is free to establish an older minimum age for both the priesthood and the permanent diaconate. (See “ Can a Deacon Ever Get Married?” for more on this.) An unmarried man must be no younger than 25 years old at the time of his ordination to the permanent diaconate, while one who is married must be at least 35 ( c. The next paragraph of this canon addresses the minimum age of permanent deacons, and makes a distinction between men who are already married, and those who aren’t. The first paragraph of this canon tells us that a man who will be ordained a priest must be at least 25 years old, while a transitional deacon-i.e., a deacon who will continue seminary studies and ultimately become a priest-must be no younger than 23 ( c. Let’s look at each of these issues one by one, and by the end we’ll see what the Church has to say about ordaining older men.įor starters, if you flip through the code looking for rules regarding age-cutoffs for men who are to be ordained, you’ll only find canon 1031. On top of that, both he and the program director whom he quotes have made factually erroneous statements. Can you help me understand the situation better? –JohnĪ: There’s more confusion in this seemingly straightforward question than meets the eye! John’s question simultaneously involves issues pertaining to the diaconate, to the contents of the Code of Canon Law, and to the authority of Episcopal Conferences vis-à-vis that of a diocesan bishop. ![]() I thought that this was a guideline set by the Episcopal Conference, and that the local bishop could overrule it if he wished…. By Canon Law, deacon candidates must be no older than 65 at the time of ordination.” So the bishop won’t ordain me. He wrote to me, “The upper age limit for entering our formation process is 61. Q: I’m interested in becoming a permanent deacon, but the director of the program in my diocese says the upper age limit, which I have passed, is set by canon law. ![]()
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