1 1 Catholic Clergy Sexual Abuse Meets the Civil Law by Thomas P ...

legal status changes from the clerical to the lay state. 287 He is always a priest, for the
Church teaches that the character received at ordination is never lost, but being a member
of the clerical state is a matter of Church law. As a member of the lay state, a man is
forbidden to exercise any of the functions or powers of a priest. 288
In the Latin rite of the Church, the vast majority of clerics are bound by a vow or
promise of celibacy. 289 There are two classes of exceptions: permanent deacons and
former Protestant clergymen who have converted to Catholicism. 290 Permanent deacons
are married men who are ordained deacons but without the possibility of becoming
priests. 291 Accession to the higher governmental positions in the Church is restricted to
bishops, and bishops are chosen from among the celibate clergy. 292
Clerics obliged to celibacy constitute a clearly defined subgroup or elite within
the Church. As a group, it is more marginalized from society than clergy of other
denominations, primarily because of the added aspect of celibacy. The claim of personal
celibacy by members of this elite has significantly added to the mystery and separateness
of the Roman Catholic clergy. 293
Catholic Church law reflects the theological teaching that the ordained ministry
287 1917 Code c.290.
288 1917 Code c.274, 835-44.
289 1917 Code c.277.
290 In 1980 the Holy See, in response to requests from priests and laity of the Episcopal Church who were
seeking full communion with the Catholic Church, created a Pastoral Provision to provide them with
special pastoral attention. The Pastoral Provision is under the jurisdiction of the Sacred Congregation for
the Doctrine of the Faith whose Delegate directs the working of the Provision. Under the Provision the
ordination of married Episcopal priests was made possible.
291
1917 Code c.288.
292
1917 Code c.378. The Code does not specifically state that bishops must be celibate. However it has
been unbroken tradition in the Roman Catholic church since the earliest centuries that bishops have been
chosen from among the celibate clergy.
293
A.W. Richard Sipe, A Secret World: Sexuality and 52 the Search for Celibacy 48-51 (1990).