Chapter II: On the Minister of Sacred Ordination

— The minister of valid ordination is of itself a consecrated bishop. Yet common law, or by a peculiar indult the Apostolic See, can grant to one who is not a bishop the conferral of minor orders and of the subdiaconate. Whether a priest can be rendered capable of conferring the diaconate is disputed. In the Latin Church, the faculty is granted only to priests and as regards minor orders alone, for example, to blessed Abbots, Vicars and Apostolic Prefects.

Nor in the consecration of a bishop are three bishops required for validity, at least when the Apostolic good pleasure accedes.

— The licit use of power. 1. To no one, without faculty of the Apostolic See, is it lawful to promote one ordained by the Supreme Pontiff to a higher order; 2. no one can consecrate a bishop unless it is first established concerning the mandate of the Roman Pontiff, to whom this consecration is reserved (cc. 952; 953). And without apostolic dispensation, the consecrator must use two other bishops. In foreign missions, it is not rarely granted that the consecrator use two priests; 4. everyone is to be ordained by his proper bishop, or with his legitimate dimissorial letters. Yet the proper bishop, if Latin, cannot licitly ordain a subject of an oriental rite without apostolic indult. But, excluding a just cause, the proper bishop is himself to ordain his own subjects by himself (c. 955).

— On the proper bishop. 1. The proper bishop, as regards seculars, by today's law is only the bishop of the diocese, or the prelate of a quasi-diocese equivalent to him, in which the one to be promoted has domicile together with origin, or simple domicile with a sworn intention of remaining perpetually in the diocese.

Yet simple domicile suffices for a cleric who by first tonsure has already been incardinated into the diocese, or for a student to be promoted who is ordained for the service of another diocese, into which he is incardinated by the ordination itself, or who is destined for the service of another diocese in the future, with prior legitimate excardination and incardination; or for a professed religious to be promoted.

The place of origin of a son is defined by the domicile, or, if this is lacking, by the quasi-domicile which the father, or if the son is illegitimate or posthumous, the mother, had when he was born. The place of origin for a son of vagi is the place of birth, and for an exposed child, the place of finding (c. 90. Cf. our Epitome iuris canonici, I, n. 164).

Domicile suffices for him who by first tonsure has already been incardinated into the diocese. But so that he may be legitimately incardinated in this way, or legitimately receive first tonsure, it is necessary that he have origin with domicile, or add an oath to domicile, or obtain tonsure for the service of another diocese from the bishop to whom he is subject at least by reason of domicile (cf. Epitome iuris, I, n. 187, and Ferreres II, n. 869, note 1, and resp. of the Pontifical Commission to the Cardinal Archbishop of Armagh, August 17, 1919, in Irish Theol. Quarterly, 1919, p. 391).

A bishop will also be able to ordain someone for the service of an alien diocese, and indeed without oath, whom he has as a subject only by reason of domicile, without origin; or a professed religious who is legitimately dismissed to him, or who, if he is to be ordained after the manner of seculars, is judged to have domicile in that diocese by reason of the convent to which he is ascribed.

Therefore in seminaries for foreign missions it happens that a young man who, having perpetually abandoned the diocese of origin, has been able to acquire only quasi-domicile in the place of studies, has no proper bishop. For this difficulty, which was proposed to the Pontifical Commission for interpreting the Code, up to now no provision has been made except by dispensation of the Holy See.

2. He who can give dimissorial letters for receiving orders can also ordain the same orders by himself, if he has the necessary power of order.

Therefore not only a regular Abbot in office, if he is a priest and blessed, can from c. 964, 1, adorn with first tonsure and advance with minor orders candidates who, by force of profession at least simple, are subject to him; but any Superior who is a bishop, by right of c. 959, is permitted to ordain, not only with major orders, those religious to whom he can give dimissorial letters.

— 1. Dimissorial letters are letters by which a Bishop or competent Superior sends his subjects to an alien Bishop so that they may be ordained by him. These letters at the same time contain testimony concerning the qualities of those to be promoted, nor can they be given before the testimonies required by law have been had.

2. These letters for seculars, while jurisdiction lasts, are given, from c. 958: a) by the proper Bishop and quasi-diocesan Prelate, after possession has been obtained, but already before consecration; b) by the vicar general, yet from the special mandate of the bishop; c) by the capitular vicar, with the consent of the chapter, after a year from the vacant see; but within the year "to only those constrained by reason of a benefice received or to be received, or by reason of some certain office, for which, because of the necessity of the diocese, provision must be made without delay." Yet let the capitular vicar not give letters to those who had been rejected by the bishop.

3. But for exempt religious these same letters are given by the abbot of a monastery sui iuris and by the major Superior of an exempt religion.

But to professed members from temporary vows they can grant these letters only for first tonsure and minor orders (c. 964, 3).

4. For non-exempt religious, Superiors will not be able to give dimissorial letters without a peculiar indult or privilege, which is often granted, but which they can no longer use toward professed members of temporary vows except for tonsure and minor orders.

Yet those religious of themselves do not need these letters. For since they are not exempt, they have a proper bishop of domicile, by whom they will be able to be ordained without these letters. Their ordination, says c. 964, 4, is governed by the law of seculars, except for the necessity of the oath concerning which in c. 956.

And by a similar reason the bishop of domicile himself can advance professed Regulars from temporary vows to major orders by the law of seculars, if they have a title, for example of patrimony, and he himself is prepared to recognize them as of his clergy if they leave religion. Thus we know that in the year 1922 a Premonstratensian religious was ordained.

5. Dimissorial letters can be given by the proper bishop, even by a suburbicarian Cardinal, to any bishop having communion with the Apostolic See, except only, short of apostolic indult, to a bishop of a rite diverse from the rite of the one to be promoted; but by a religious Superior, unless there is a privilege, they cannot be sent except to the bishop, or quasi-bishop, of the diocese, or quasi-diocese, in which is situated the religious house to whose family the one to be ordained belongs (c. 965). And in c. 967 religious Superiors are warned not fraudulently against the diocesan bishop to send a subject to be ordained to another religious house, or deliberately to defer the concession of dimissorial letters to that time at which the bishop is going to be absent, or is going to have no ordinations at the next legitimate time. There it is a question of general ordinations to be had on the Saturdays indicated below, n. 730. For then, from c. 966, provided that this is established from an authentic testimony of the episcopal Curia, they are permitted to send letters to any other bishop of the rite of those to be promoted. This they can also do if the diocese is vacant and is not ruled by a man distinguished with episcopal character, or, unless we are mistaken, able to confer orders.

— I. The minister of valid ordination is of itself a bishop; from common law or indult, for minor orders, the subdiaconate, and perhaps for the diaconate, it is also a priest.

II. Apostolic faculty must be sought: for promoting one ordained by the Supreme Pontiff; for consecrating a bishop; for ordaining a subject of oriental rite, if the proper bishop is Latin.

III. Each person is to be ordained by his proper bishop or with his dimissorial letters.

The proper bishop of seculars today is only the bishop or quasi-bishop of the diocese or quasi-diocese in which the one to be promoted has domicile together with origin, or domicile with a sworn intention of remaining perpetually in the diocese. Yet for a cleric who by first tonsure has been legitimately incardinated in a diocese, or for a student to be promoted who is destined for the service of another diocese, or for a professed religious, domicile suffices. Finally, one who can give dimissorial letters can confer orders by himself, if he has power.

IV. Dimissorial letters are letters by which a bishop or competent Superior sends his subjects to an alien bishop so that they may be ordained by him. These letters are at the same time testimonial.

For seculars they are given by the proper Ordinary; by the vicar general from special mandate; by the capitular vicar, with the chapter consenting and after a year from the vacant see; within the year, to only those constrained or by reason of an office for which provision must immediately be made. For exempt religious they are given by the abbot of a monastery sui iuris and by the major Superior, but to professed members from temporary vows they can be given only for first tonsure and minor orders. The ordination of non-exempt religious is governed by the law of seculars. Superiors of non-exempt religion do not grant dimissorial letters except from indult or privilege, which is frequent.

The proper bishop can give letters to any bishop of the same rite. But a religious Superior, unless there is a privilege, cannot send these letters except to the Ordinary of the territory in which is the religious house to which the one to be ordained belongs, unless the bishop is going to have no general ordinations at the next legitimate time.