Article — Prümmer, Manuale Theologiae Moralis
Article II. On The Qualities Of The Ordinand Required By Ecclesiastical Law
By ecclesiastical law it is required: 1. that the ordinand be immune from censures and irregularities;91 2. that he have testimonial and sometimes dimissorial letters;92 3. that he have the legitimate age; 4. that he have sufficient learning; 5. that he have a title of ordination, if he receives sacred orders; 6. that he have already exercised the order received; 7. that he perform spiritual exercises before ordination; 8. that he emit a profession of faith.
91 Irregularities will be discussed in the following article; concerning censures, however, cf. above, n. 475 ff., the special treatise.
92 Concerning these, something was already said above under n. 598.
605. The legitimate age is that which the Council of Trent,93 the Pontifical, and the Code of Canon Law determine.
For the first tonsure and for the minor orders, no determined age is required in law; nevertheless, since the theological course must have been begun,94 in practice these orders ordinarily cannot be conferred before the eighteenth year of age.
For the subdiaconate, the completed twenty-first year is required.
For the diaconate, the completed twenty-second year is required.
For the priesthood, the completed twenty-fourth year is required.95
For the episcopate, the completed thirtieth year is required.96
Note. Certain bishops have special faculties for dispensing from a defect of age for receiving the priesthood.
93 Sess. 23, c. 12, De reform.
94 Code of Canon Law, c. 976.
95 Ibid., c. 975.
96 c. 2, X 1, 6; Council of Trent, sess. 7, c. 1, De reform.; Code of Canon Law, c. 331, § 1, n. 2.
606. Sufficient learning in the ordinand must be proved by an examination conducted either by the bishop himself or by his delegate.97
The bishop can examine not only his own subjects to be ordained, but also exempt regulars already examined by their own prelate.98 What learning is required for the individual orders has been established in this manner:
a) For the first tonsure it is required that the one to be tonsured have begun the theological course (c. 976, § 1).
b) For the minor orders, almost the same learning appears to be required as for the first tonsure.
c) For the subdiaconate, the end of the third year of the theological course is required; but the beginning of the fourth year for the diaconate.99
d) For the priesthood it is required that the ordinand have completed half of the fourth year of the theological course, and that he know not only those things which pertain to the celebration of Mass, but also those things which are necessary for teaching the people and administering the sacraments. Hence every ordinand to the priesthood must know how, at the moment of death, he can and ought to administer the sacraments.100
97 Council of Trent, sess. 23, c. 7, De reform.
98 Code of Canon Law, c. 997.
99 Ibid., c. 976, § 2.
100 St. Alphonsus, Theol. mor., l. 6, n. 791.
607. According to its original notion, the title of ordination signifies the incardination of a cleric among the clergy of some title or determinate church, to which the titled cleric devotes sacred ministry, and which in turn grants sustenance to the cleric from its revenues.101 According to the discipline in force, a title (of sustenance) is a legitimate security for the sufficient and perpetual sustenance of a cleric in major orders. For since a cleric in major orders, wholly devoted to the divine ministry, cannot care for his bodily sustenance, it is very fitting that from the beginning of his ordination he have a certain security for suitable support.
By common law, the following titles of ordination exist today:102
The title of benefice, which consists in this: that the candidate to be promoted to the subdiaconate peacefully possesses an ecclesiastical benefice which perpetually suffices for his honorable sustenance. This title is proper and ordinary, but today, on account of the changed conditions of the Church, it is rather rare. Therefore the following three other subsidiary titles are employed:
The title of patrimony, consisting in this: that the candidate to be promoted to the subdiaconate possesses certain goods of his own, from the revenues of which he can receive fitting sustenance. The amount of this patrimony is determined by the local Ordinary.
The title of pension is a certain revenue (whether ecclesiastical or civil) providing certain, perpetual, and sufficient sustenance.
The title of poverty (or of religious profession) is the right granted to the solemnly professed to have sufficient sustenance from the goods of the monastery.103
Besides these four admitted titles, several others now exist, for example, the title of the mission, the title of the episcopal mensa, the title of diocesan service, the title of the common mensa for religious with perpetual simple vows, and so forth; concerning all of these the legitimate particular statutes are to be seen.104
101 Cf. Wernz, Ius Decretalium II, n. 90.
102 Code of Canon Law, c. 979.
103 Ibid., c. 982.
104 Ibid., c. 981 f.
608. The exercise of an order received is prescribed by the Council of Trent.105 But several authors think that this statute does not oblige under grave sin, since the words of the Council are exhortative rather than preceptive: "Let them exercise themselves in each one according to the prescription of the bishop."106 For the rest, whether by privilege or by special dispensation, sacred orders are sometimes conferred on three continuously successive days. But then the exercise of the order previously received is almost impossible.
Spiritual exercises must be performed by ordinands, and indeed a) for three full days before the first tonsure and the minor orders; b) for six full days before each major order; but if some are to be promoted to several major orders within six months, the Ordinary (that is, the bishop or religious superior) can reduce the time of the exercises for ordination to the diaconate, but not below three full days. These spiritual exercises are to be performed in a religious or pious house to be designated by the Ordinary, and a testimony concerning the completed exercises is to be brought to the ordaining bishop. If, after the exercises have been completed, sacred ordination is delayed for any reason beyond six months, the exercises are to be repeated; otherwise, let the Ordinary judge whether they are to be repeated or not.107
Profession of faith. All ordinands to the subdiaconate are bound to emit the profession of faith (and, until it shall have been established otherwise, also the Anti-Modernist Oath). Even before the diaconate and priesthood, the Ordinary can, but is not bound to, require this profession of faith.108
105 Sess. 23, cc. 11 and 13, De reform.
106 Cf. St. Alphonsus, Theol. mor., l. 6, n. 801.
107 Code of Canon Law, c. 1001. Cf. Sacred Congregation of the Sacraments, May 2, 1928 (Acta Apost. Sed. XX, 359).
108 Code of Canon Law, c. 1406.