Sacred Minister

• 1. The origin of the diaconate is the consecration and mission of Christ, in which the deacon is called to share.(34) Through the imposition of hands and the prayer of consecration, he is constituted a sacred minister and a member of the hierarchy. This condition determines his theological and juridical status in the Church.

• 2. At the time of admission to the diaconate, all candidates shall be required to express clearly in writing their intention to serve the Church(35) for the rest of their lives in a specific territorial or personal circumscription, in an institute of consecrated life or in a society of apostolic life which has the faculty to incardinate.(36) Written acceptance of a request for incardination is reserved to him who has authority to incardinate and determines the candidate's Ordinary.(37)

Incardination is a juridical bond. It has ecclesiological and spiritual significance in as much as it expresses the ministerial dedication of the deacon to the Church.
• 3. A deacon already incardinated into one ecclesiastical circumscription may be incardinated into another in accordance with the norm of law.(38) Written authorization must be obtained from both the bishop a quo and the bishop ad quem in the case of deacons who, for just reasons, wish to exercise their ministry in a diocese other than that into which they were incardinated. Bishops should encourage deacons of their own dioceses who wish to place themselves either permanently or for a specified time period at the service of other particular Churches with a shortage of clergy. They should also support in a particular way those who, after specific and careful preparation, seek to dedicate themselves to the missio ad gentes. The terms on which deacons afford such service should be duly regulated by contract and agreed upon by the bishops concerned.(39)

It is a duty incumbent on the bishop to care for the deacons of his diocese with particular solicitude.(40) This is to be discharged either personally or through a priest acting as his delegate. Special pastoral care should always be shown to those in particular difficulties because of personal circumstances.
• 4. The deacon incardinated into an institute of consecrated life or society of apostolic life shall exercise ministry under the jurisdiction of the bishop in all that pertains to the pastoral ministry, acts of public worship and the apostolate. He is, however, also subject to his own superiors' competence and to the discipline of his community.(41) When a deacon is transferred to a community in another diocese, the superior shall be obliged to present him to the local Ordinary and obtain permission for him to exercise his ministry in accordance with the procedures agreed upon, between the bishop and the superior.
• 5. The specific vocation to the permanent Diaconate presupposes the stability of this Order. Hence ordination to the Priesthood of non-married or widowed deacons must always be a very rare exception, and only for special and grave reasons. The decision of admission to the Order of Presbyters rests with the diocesan bishop, unless impediments exist which are reserved to the Holy See.(42) Given the exceptional nature of such cases, the diocesan bishop should consult the Congregation for Catholic Education with regard to the intellectual and theological preparation of the candidate, and also the Congregation for the Clergy concerning the programme of priestly formation and the aptitude of the candidate to the priestly ministry.
• 6. By virtue of their ordination, deacons are united to each other by a sacramental fraternity. They are all dedicated to the same purpose — building up the Body of Christ — in union with the Supreme Pontiff(43) and subject to the authority of the bishop. Each deacon should have a sense of being joined with his fellow deacons in a bond of charity, prayer, obedience to their bishops, ministerial zeal and collaboration.

With the permission of the bishop and in his presence or that of his delegate, it would be opportune for deacons periodically to meet to discuss their ministry, exchange experiences, advance formation and encourage each other in fidelity. Such encounters might also be of interest to candidates to the permanent Diaconate. The local Ordinary should foster a "spirit of communion" among deacons ministering in his diocese and avoid any form of "corporatism" which was a factor in the decline and eventual extinction of the permanent Diaconate in earlier centuries.
• 7. The Diaconate brings with it a series of rights and duties as foreseen by canons 273-283 of the Code of Canon Law with regard to clerics in general and deacons in particular.
• 8. The rite of ordination includes a promise of obedience to the bishops: "Do you promise respect and obedience to me and to my successors?".(44) In making this promise to his bishop the deacon takes Christ, obedient par excellence (cf. Phil 2: 5-11), as his model. He shall conform his own obedience in listening (Hb 10, 5ff; John 4:34) and in radical availability (cf. Lk 9:54ff and 10:1ff) to the obedience of Christ. He shall therefore dedicate himself to working in complete conformity with the will of the Father and devote himself to the Church by means of complete availability.(45) In a spirit of prayer, with which he should be permeated, the deacon, following the example of the Lord who gave himself "unto death, death on a cross" (Phil 2:8), should deepen every day his total gift of self. This vision of obedience also predisposes acceptance of a more concrete detailing of the obligation assumed by the deacon at ordination, in accordance with the provisions of law: "Unless excused by a lawful impediment, clerics are obliged to accept and faithfully fulfil the office committed to them by their Ordinary".(46) This obligation is based on participation in the bishop's ministry conferred by the Sacrament of Holy Orders and by canonical mission. The extent of obedience and availability is determined by the diaconal ministry itself and by all that is objectively, immediately and directly in relation to it.

The Deacon receives office by a decree of the bishop. In his decree of appointment, the bishop shall ascribe duties to the deacon which are congruent with his personal abilities, his celibate or married state, his formation, age, and with his spiritually valid aspirations. The territory in which his ministry is to be exercised or those to whom he is to minister should be clearly specified. The decree must also indicate whether the office conferred is to be discharged on a partial or full-time basis and the priest who has the "cura animarum" where the deacon's ministry is exercised, must be named.
• 9. Clerics are obliged to live in the bond of fraternity and of prayer, collaborate with each other and with the bishop to recognize and foster the mission of the faithful in the Church and in the world(47) and live in a simple, sober manner which is open to fraternal giving and sharing.(48)
• 10. Unlike deacons to be ordained to the priesthood,(49) who are bound by the same norms as priests in the matter,(50) permanent deacons are not obliged to wear clerical garb. Deacons who are members of institutes of consecrated life or societies of apostolic life shall adhere to the norms prescribed for them by the Code of Canon Law.(51)
• 11. In its canonical discipline, the Church recognizes the right of deacons to form associations among themselves to promote their spiritual life, to carry out charitable and pious works and pursue other objectives which are consonant with their sacramental consecration and mission.(52) As with other clerics, deacons are not permitted to found, participate in or be members of any association or group, even of a civil nature, which is incompatible with the clerical state or which impedes the diligent execution of their ministerial duties. They shall also avoid all associations whose nature, objectives and methods are insidious to the full hierarchical communion of the Church. Likewise, associations which are injurious to the identity of the diaconate and to the discharge of its duties for the Church's service, as well as those groups or associations which plot against the Church, are to be avoided.(53)

Associations too which, under the guise of representation, organize deacons into a form of trade(s) unions or pressure groups, thus reducing the sacred ministry to a secular profession or trade, are completely irreconcilable with the clerical state. The same is true of any form of association which would prejudice the direct and immediate relationship between every deacon and his bishop.
All such associations are forbidden because they are injurious to the exercise of the sacred ministry, which, in this context, is considered as no more than a subordinate activity, and because they promote conflict with the bishops who are similarly regarded purely as employers.(54)
It should be recalled that no private association may be considered an ecclesial association unless it shall have obtained prior recognitio of its statutes by the competent ecclesiastical authority.(55) Such authority has the right and duty to be vigilant concerning associations and the fulfillment of their statutory ends.(56)
Deacons who come from ecclesial associations or movements may continue to enjoy the spiritual benefits of such communities and may continue to draw help and support from them in their service of a particular Church.
• 12. The professional activity of deacons assumes a significance which distinguishes it from that of the lay faithful.(57) Thus the secular work of permanent deacons is in some sense linked with their ministry. They should be mindful that the lay members of the faithful, in virtue of their own specific mission, are "particularly called to make the Church present and fruitful in those places and circumstances where it is only through them that she can become the salt of the earth".(58)

Derogating from what is prescribed for other clerics,(59) the present discipline of the Church does not prohibit to permanent deacons professions which involve the exercise of civil authority or the administration of temporal goods or accountable secular offices. Particular law, however, may determine otherwise, should such derogation prove inopportune.
In those commercial and business activities(60) permitted under particular law, deacons should exhibit honesty and ethical rectitude. They should be careful to fulfil their obligations to civil law where it is not contrary to the natural law, to the Magisterium or to the canons of the Church and to her freedom.(61)
The aforementioned derogation is not applicable to permanent deacons who are incardinated into institutes of consecrated life or societies of apostolic life.(62)
Permanent deacons must make prudent judgements and they should seek the advice of their bishops in more complex instances. Some professions, while of undoubted benefit to the community, can, when exercised by a permanent deacon, in certain circumstances, become incompatible with the pastoral responsibilities of his ministry. The competent authority, bearing in mind the requirements of ecclesial communion and of the fruitfulness of pastoral ministry, shall evaluate individual cases as they arise, including a change of profession after ordination to the permanent Diaconate.
Where there is conflict of conscience, deacons must act in conformity with the doctrine and discipline of the Church, even if this should require of them great sacrifices.
• 13. As sacred ministers, deacons are required to give complete priority to their ministry and to pastoral charity and "do their utmost to foster among people peace and harmony based on justice".(63) Active involvement in political parties or trades unions, in accordance with the dispositions of the Episcopal Conference,(64) may be permitted in particular circumstances "for the defense of the rights of the Church or to promote the common good".(65) Deacons are strictly prohibited from all involvement with political parties or trade(s) union movements which are founded on ideologies, policies or associations incompatible with Church doctrine.
• 14. Should a deacon wish to absent himself from his diocese for "a considerable period of time", he should normally obtain the permission of his Ordinary or Major Superior in accordance with the provisions of particular law.(66)
• 15. Deacons who are professionally employed are required to provide for their own upkeep from the ensuing emoluments.(67)

It is entirely legitimate that those who devote themselves fully to the service of God in the discharge of ecclesiastical office,(68) be equitably remunerated, since "the labourer is deserving of his wage"(Lk 10:7) and the Lord has disposed that those who proclaim the Gospel should live by the Gospel (cf. 1 Cor 9:14). This does not however exclude the possibility that a cleric might wish to renounce this right, as the Apostle himself did (1 Cor 9:12), and otherwise make provision for himself.
It is not easy to draw up general norms concerning the upkeep of deacons which are binding in all circumstances, given the great diversity of situations in which deacons work, in various particular Churches and countries. In this matter, due attention must also be given to possible stipulations made in agreements between the Holy See or Episcopal Conferences and governments. In such circumstances, particular law should determine appropriately in the matter.
• 16. Since clerics dedicate themselves in an active and concrete way to the ecclesiastical ministry, they have a right to sustenance which includes "a remuneration that befits their condition"(69) and to social security.(70)

With regard to married deacons the Code of Canon Law provides that: "married deacons who dedicate themselves full-time to the ecclesiastical ministry deserve remuneration sufficient to provide for themselves and their families. Those, however, who receive remuneration by reason of a secular profession which they exercise or have exercised are to see to their own and to their families' needs from that income".(71) In prescribing "adequate" remuneration, parameters of evaluation are also: personal condition, the nature of the office exercised, circumstances of time and place, material needs of the minister (including those of the families of married deacons), just recompense of those in his service — the same general criteria, in fact, which apply to all clerics.
In order to provide for the sustenance of clerics ministering in dioceses, every particular Church is obliged to constitute a special fund which "collects offerings and temporal goods for the support of the clergy".(72)
Social security for clerics is to be provided by another fund, unless other provision has been made.(73)
• 17. Celibate deacons who minister full-time in a diocese, have a right to be remunerated according to the general principle of law(74) should they have no other source of income.
• 18. Married deacons who minister full-time and who do not receive income from any other source are to be remunerated, in accordance with the aforementioned general principle, so that they may be able to provide for themselves and for their families.(75)
• 19. Married deacons who minister full-time or part-time and who receive income from a secular profession which they exercise or have exercised are obliged to provide for themselves and for their families from such income.(76)
• 20. It is for particular law to provide opportune norms in the complex matter of reimbursing expenses, including, for example, that those entities and parishes which benefit from the ministry of a deacon have an obligation to reimburse him those expenses incurred in the exercise of his ministry.

Particular law may also determine the obligations devolving on the diocese when a deacon, through no fault of his own, becomes unemployed. Likewise, it will be opportune to define the extent of diocesan liability with regard to the widows and orphans of deceased deacons. Where possible, deacons, before ordination, should subscribe to a mutual assurance (insurance) policy which affords cover for these eventualities.
• 21. Trusting to the perennial fidelity of God, the deacon is called to live his Order with generous dedication and ever renewed perseverance. Sacred ordination, once validly received, can never be rendered null. Nevertheless, loss of the clerical state may occur in conformity with the canonical norms.(77)