Morals of the Church
Library › Prümmer, Manuale Theologiae Moralis › Volume III › Part II. On The Sacraments In General And In Particular › Treatise IX. On The Sacrament Of Order › Chapter II. On The Minister Of The Sacrament Of Order

Article — Prümmer, Manuale Theologiae Moralis

Article I. On The Minister Of Valid Ordination

596.

596. Besides intention and the due application of the matter to the form, power is required in the minister of ordination; concerning this, let the following be stated:

  1. The ordinary minister of valid ordination is every and only a consecrated bishop.

This is of faith and is evident from the definitions of the Councils of Florence37 and Trent.38 It is said: every bishop, therefore also a schismatic, irregular, degraded bishop, and so forth, provided nevertheless that he himself was validly consecrated. For if the bishop himself is not validly consecrated (as happens with Anglican bishops), neither can his ordinations themselves be valid, as is evident of itself. A bishop elected and confirmed, but not yet consecrated, can indeed grant dimissorial letters to his subjects to be ordained, but he cannot ordain them.

  1. The extraordinary minister of valid ordination (with regard to the minor orders and the subdiaconate) is a priest delegated by the Supreme Pontiff.

This is evident from various Councils39 and the constant practice of the Church.40 Cardinals, a Vicar and Prefect Apostolic, and an Abbot or Prelate "nullius" possess such habitual delegation with regard to the first tonsure and the minor orders for their own clerics or for others "legitimately" dismissed.41 Regular Abbots so-called "of government," who have legitimately received the abbatial blessing, can indeed licitly promote their own subjects (by reason at least of simple profession) to tonsure and the minor orders,42 but they can neither licitly nor validly confer minor orders upon seculars, whether subjects or non-subjects.43

By a special indult of the Supreme Pontiff, a priest can also confer the order of subdiaconate.44 Nor does St. Thomas contradict this opinion.45 It is doubtful whether the Supreme Pontiff can delegate a priest to confer the order of diaconate. It is indeed related that Innocent VIII, by the Constitution Exposcit of April 9, 1489, granted such a delegation to certain Cistercian abbots,46 but the authenticity of this Constitution has not yet been truly proved. All concede that a priest cannot confer the order of priesthood, although Boniface IX is said to have granted this faculty in the year 1400 to the abbots of the monastery of St. Osyth in England.

37 Decree for the Armenians (Denz., n. 701).

38 Sess. 23, can. 7, De sacr. ord. (Denz., n. 967). Certain persons erred concerning the validity of ordination performed by heretics; cf. Saltet, Les réordinations.

39 Second Council of Nicaea (787), c. 14 = c. 1, D. 69; Council of Trent, sess. 23, c. 10, De reform.

40 Cf. St. Thomas, Suppl., q. 38, a. 2; St. Alphonsus, Theol. mor., l. 6, n. 762; Code of Canon Law, cc. 951 and 957, § 2.

41 Code of Canon Law, cc. 239 and 957, § 2.

42 Ibid., c. 967.

43 Ibid., c. 964; Holy Office, July 15, 1903 (Collect. de Prop. Fide, n. 2172). St. Alphonsus (Theol. mor., l. 6, nn. 763 and 766) thinks that abbots confer minor orders upon non-subjects illicitly indeed, but not invalidly; but today the decisions just cited must be followed, since all contrary privileges have been revoked.

44 Cf. St. Alphonsus, loc. cit., n. 762.

45 Suppl., q. 38, a. 1 ad 3.

46 Cf. Analecta ecclesiastica IX (1901), 311 ff.

The minister of Orders