Preface to “The Ordained Priesthood”

The Catholic priesthood was instituted by the Lord with a definite nature and mission, hence any question connected with it can be understood and developed only in the supernatural light of faith in the mystery of our redemption in Christ. Taken out of this divine design of our redemption in Christ, and of the expressed will of our Lord as contained in Scripture and in Tradition, the nature and mission of the priesthood cannot be adequately understood.

Priests are no mere representatives of men and chosen by them for religious functions and moral leadership. They are men chosen by God through the Church who “in virtue of the Sacrament of Holy Orders, after the image of Christ, the supreme and eternal priest, are consecrated in order to preach the Gospel and shepherd the faithful as well as to celebrate divine worship as true priests of the New Testament.” (LG 28) They share “in the authority by which Christ himself builds up and sanctifies and rules his Body; by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, they are signed with a special character and so are configured to Christ in such a way that they are able to act in the person of Christ, the Head.” (PO 2) This gratuitous incomparably sublime gift of God to one who is called, chosen and anointed to share in the priesthood of Christ, to the extent of being able to act in the person of Christ, inspires the priest to give himself totally and perpetually to serve God and his people.

Moreover, a deepening of our understanding of the nature and mission of a priest can be achieved only in the light and guidance of the Church to whom Christ definitely entrusted the dispensation of the grace of redemption. (Mt 16:18-19; 28:18-20) and to whom Christ promised the Spirit of Truth “when he comes however, being the Spirit of Truth, he will guide you to all truth,” (n. 16, 13) and to whom the Spirit descended as recounted in the Acts of the Apostles and demonstrated by the uninterrupted existence of the Church for two thousand years with only one source of life and vitality: the abiding Spirit of truth and of comfort.

It is obvious that any study directed to reach a fuller and richer understanding of the Catholic priesthood, and issues intimately connected with it, independently of, and even contrary to, the teaching and practice of the Catholic Church, can lead to nothing permanently constructive. Unless we faithfully adhere to the principle that the life of the Church derives from the Holy Spirit, and that the search for genuine growth and renewal should be undertaken in the light of faith and the tradition of which the Church is guardian, we may yield to the temptation of proposing emergency human measures instead of the ones included in the plan of God, although subject to trials and difficulties. St. Peter, before his definitive conversion, experienced this and deserved a very stern reminder from the Lord: “Get out of my sight, you Satan! You are trying to make me trip and fall. You are not judging by God’s standards but by man’s.” (Mt 16:23)

This Volume VII of the series of Précis of Official Catholic Teaching dedicated to examining The Ordained Priesthood, as it was presented and developed in papal teaching documents of this century, starting with Haerent Animo of Pope Pius X up to the apostolic exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis of Pope John Paul II, is an example of getting authentic and guaranteed light in our search for truth in matters that are a combination of the divine and human.

Vatican City, 28 Feb. 1994
Jose T. Cardinal Sanchez
Prefect, Congregation for the Clergy