Injustice, excessive economic or social inequalities, envy, distrust, and pride raging among men and nations constantly threaten peace and cause wars. Everything done to overcome these disOrders contributes to building up peace and avoiding war:

As in the case of Baptism and Confirmation this share in Christ's office is granted once for all. the Sacrament of Holy Orders, like the other two, confers an indelible spiritual character and cannot be repeated or conferred temporarily. 74

In the Eastern Churches a different discipline has been in force for many centuries: while Bishops are chosen solely from among celibates, married men can be ordained as deacons and priests. This practice has long been considered legitimate; these priests exercise a fruitful Ministry within their communities. 73 Moreover, priestly celibacy is held in great honor in the Eastern Churches and many priests have freely chosen it for the sake of the Kingdom of God. In the East as in the West a man who has already received the Sacrament of Holy Orders can no longer marry.

No one has a right to receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Indeed, no one claims this office for himself; he is called to it by God. 69 Anyone who thinks he recognizes the signs of God's call to the ordained Ministry must humbly submit his desire to the authority of the Church, who has the responsibility and right to call someone to receive orders. Like every grace, this sacrament can be received only as an unmerited gift.

Since the Sacrament of Holy Orders is the sacrament of the apostolic Ministry, it is for the Bishops as the successors of the apostles to hand on the "gift of the Spirit," 63 The "apostolic line." 64 Validly ordained bishops, i.e., those who are in the line of apostolic succession, validly confer the three degrees of the sacrament of Holy Orders. 65

The essential rite of the Sacrament of Holy Orders for all three degrees consists in the bishop's imposition of hands on the Head of the ordinand and in the bishop's specific consecratory prayer asking God for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and his gifts proper to the Ministry to which the candidate is being ordained. 60

Deacons share in Christ's Mission and grace in a special way. 55 The Sacrament of Holy Orders marks them with an imprint (“character") which cannot be removed and which configures them to Christ, who made himself the "deacon" or servant of all. 56 Among other tasks, it is the task of deacons to assist the bishop and priests in the celebration of the divine mysteries, above all the Eucharist, in the distribution of Holy Communion, in assisting at and blessing marriages, in the proclamation of the Gospel and preaching, in presiding over funerals, and in dedicating themselves to the various ministries of charity. 57

Through the Sacrament of Holy Orders priests share in the universal dimensions of the Mission that Christ entrusted to the apostles. the spiritual gift they have received in ordination prepares them, not for a limited and restricted mission, "but for the fullest, in fact the universal mission of salvation 'to the end of the earth,"' 47 "prepared in spirit to preach the Gospel everywhere." 48

"Whilst not having the supreme degree of the pontifical office, and notwithstanding the fact that they depend on the Bishops in the exercise of their own proper power, the priests are for all that associated with them by reason of their sacerdotal dignity; and in virtue of the Sacrament of Holy Orders, after the image of Christ, the supreme and eternal priest, they 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." 46

Non-combatants, wounded soldiers, and prisoners must be respected and treated humanely. Actions deliberately contrary to the law of nations and to its universal principles are crimes, as are the Orders that command such actions. Blind obedience does not suffice to excuse those who carry them out. Thus the extermination of a people, nation, or ethnic minority must be condemned as a mortal sin. One is morally bound to resist orders that command genocide.

The strict conditions for legitimate defense by military force require rigorous consideration. the gravity of such a decision makes it subject to rigorous conditions of moral legitimacy. At one and the same time: - the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain; - all other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective; - there must be serious prospects of success; - the use of arms must not produce evils and disOrders graver than the evil to be eliminated. the power of modem means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating this condition.

Armed resistance to oppression by political authority is not legitimate, unless all the following conditions are met: 1) there is certain, grave, and prolonged violation of fundamental rights; 2) all other means of redress have been exhausted; 3) such resistance will not provoke worse disOrders; 4) there is well-founded hope of success; and 5) it is impossible reasonably to foresee any better solution.

In many circumstances, the Christian is called to make promises to God. Baptism and Confirmation, Matrimony and Holy Orders always entail promises. Out of personal devotion, the Christian may also promise to God this action, that prayer, this alms-giving, that pilgrimage, and so forth. Fidelity to promises made to God is a sign of the respect owed to the divine majesty and of love for a Faithful God.

"Human society can be neither well-ordered nor prosperous unless it has some people invested with legitimate authority to preserve its institutions and to devote themselves as far as is necessary to work and care for the good of all." 15 By "authority" one means the quality by virtue of which persons or institutions make laws and give Orders to men and expect obedience from them.

Unintentional ignorance can diminish or even remove the imputability of a grave offense. But no one is deemed to be ignorant of the principles of the moral law, which are written in the conscience of every man. the promptings of feelings and passions can also diminish the voluntary and free character of the offense, as can external pressures or pathological disOrders. Sin committed through malice, by deliberate choice of evil, is the gravest.

The practice of all the virtues is animated and inspired by charity, which "binds everything together in perfect harmony"; 105 it is the form of the virtues; it articulates and Orders them among themselves; it is the source and the goal of their Christian practice. Charity upholds and purifies our human ability to love, and raises it to the supernatural perfection of divine love.

Strong feelings are not decisive for the morality or the holiness of persons; they are simply the inexhaustible reservoir of images and affections in which the moral life is expressed. Passions are morally good when they contribute to a good action, evil in the opposite case. the upright will Orders the movements of the senses it appropriates to the good and to beatitude; an evil will succumbs to disordered passions and exacerbates them. Emotions and feelings can be taken up into the virtues or perverted by the vices.

The Second Vatican Council "teaches . . . that the fullness of the Sacrament of Holy Orders is conferred by episcopal consecration, that fullness namely which, both in the Liturgical tradition of the Church and the language of the Fathers of the Church, is called the high Priesthood, the acme (summa) of the sacred Ministry." 36

"The divinely instituted ecclesiastical Ministry is exercised in different degrees by those who even from ancient times have been called Bishops, priests, and deacons." 32 Catholic doctrine, expressed in the liturgy, the Magisterium, and the constant practice of the Church, recognizes that there are two degrees of ministerial participation in the Priesthood of Christ: the episcopacy and the presbyterate . the diaconate is intended to help and serve them. For this reason the term sacerdos in current usage denotes bishops and priests but not deacons. Yet Catholic doctrine teaches that the degrees of priestly participation (episcopate and presbyterate) and the degree of Service (diaconate) are all three conferred by a Sacramental act called "ordination," that is, by the sacrament of Holy Orders:

This Priesthood is ministerial. "That office . . . which the Lord committed to the pastors of his people, is in the strict sense of the term a Service." 28 It is entirely related to Christ and to men. It depends entirely on Christ and on his unique priesthood; it has been instituted for the good of men and the communion of the Church. the Sacrament of Holy Orders communicates a "sacred power" which is none other than that of Christ. the exercise of this authority must therefore be measured against the model of Christ, who by love made himself the least and the servant of all. 29 "The Lord said clearly that concern for his flock was proof of love for him." 30

For the purpose of assisting the work of the common Priesthood of the Faithful, other particular ministries also exist, not consecrated by the Sacrament of Holy Orders; their functions are determined by the Bishops, in accord with Liturgical traditions and pastoral needs. "Servers, readers, commentators, and members of the choir also exercise a genuine liturgical function." 14

But "the members do not all have the same function." 12 Certain members are called by God, in and through the Church, to a special Service of the community. These servants are chosen and consecrated by the Sacrament of Holy Orders, by which the Holy Spirit enables them to act in the person of Christ the Head, for the service of all the members of the Church. 13 The ordained minister is, as it were, an "icon" of Christ the priest. Since it is in the Eucharist that the sacrament of the Church is made fully visible, it is in his presiding at the Eucharist that the bishop's Ministry is most evident, as well as, in communion with him, the ministry of priests and deacons.

It is the whole community, the Body of Christ united with its Head, that celebrates. "Liturgical Services are not private functions but are celebrations of the Church which is 'the Sacrament of unity,' namely, the holy people united and organized under the authority of the Bishops. Therefore, liturgical services pertain to the whole Body of the Church. They manifest it, and have effects upon it. But they touch individual members of the Church in different ways, depending on their Orders, their role in the liturgical services, and their actual participation in them." 7 For this reason, "rites which are meant to be celebrated in common, with the Faithful present and actively participating, should as far as possible be celebrated in that way rather than by an individual and quasi-privately." 8

The three Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders confer, in addition to grace, a Sacramental character or "seal" by which the Christian shares in Christ's Priesthood and is made a member of the Church according to different states and functions. This configuration to Christ and to the Church, brought about by the Spirit, is indelible, 40 it remains for ever in the Christian as a positive disposition for grace, a promise and guarantee of divine protection, and as a vocation to divine worship and to the Service of the Church. Therefore these sacraments can never be repeated.

Forming "as it were, one mystical person" with Christ the Head, the Church acts in the Sacraments as "an organically structured priestly community." 36 Through Baptism and Confirmation the pRiestly people is enabled to celebrate the liturgy, while those of the Faithful "who have received Holy Orders, are appointed to nourish the Church with the word and grace of God in the name of Christ." 37

The whole Liturgical life of the Church revolves around the Eucharistic sacrifice and the Sacraments. 29 There are seven Sacraments in the Church: Baptism, Confirmation or Chrismation, Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony. 30 This article will discuss what is common to the Church's seven sacraments from a doctrinal point of view. What is common to them in terms of their celebration will be presented in the second chapter, and what is distinctive about each will be the topic of the Section Two.

All religious, whether exempt or not, take their place among the collaborators of the diocesan bishop in his pastoral duty. 467 From the outset of the work of evangelization, the Missionary "planting" and expansion of the Church require the presence of the religious life in all its forms. 468 "History witnesses to the outstanding Service rendered by religious families in the propagation of the faith and in the formation of new Churches: from the ancient monastic institutions to the medieval Orders, all the way to the more recent congregations." 469

"The term 'laity' is here understood to mean all the Faithful except those in Holy Orders and those who belong to a religious state approved by the Church. That is, the faithful, who by Baptism are incorporated into Christ and integrated into the People of God, are made sharers in their particular way in the priestly, prophetic, and kingly office of Christ, and have their own part to play in the Mission of the whole Christian people in the Church and in the World." 430

What are these bonds of unity? Above all, charity "binds everything together in perfect harmony." 265 But the unity of the pilgrim Church is also assured by visible bonds of communion: - profession of one faith received from the Apostles; -common celebration of divine worship, especially of the Sacraments; - apostolic succession through the Sacrament of Holy Orders, maintaining the fraternal concord of God's family. 266

The seal is a symbol close to that of anointing. "The Father has set his seal" on Christ and also seals us in him. 50 Because this seal indicates the indelible effect of the anointing with the Holy Spirit in the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders, the image of the seal (sphragis) has been used in some theological traditions to express the indelible "character" imprinted by these three unrepeatable Sacraments.

The Liturgical traditions or rites presently in use in the Church are the Latin (principally the Roman rite, but also the rites of certain local churches, such as the Ambrosian rite, or those of certain religious Orders) and the Byzantine, Alexandrian or Coptic, Syriac, Armenian, Maronite and Chaldean rites. In "Faithful obedience to tradition, the sacred Council declares that Holy Mother Church holds all lawfully recognized rites to be of equal right and dignity, and that she wishes to preserve them in the future and to foster them in every way." 69

In the ecclesial Service of the ordained minister, it is Christ himself who is present to his Church as Head of his Body, Shepherd of his flock, high priest of the redemptive sacrifice, Teacher of Truth. This is what the Church means by saying that the priest, by virtue of the Sacrament of Holy Orders, acts in persona Christi Capitis: 23

The ministerial or hierarchical Priesthood of Bishops and priests, and the common priesthood of all the Faithful participate, "each in its own proper way, in the one priesthood of Christ." While being "ordered one to another," they differ essentially. 22 In what sense? While the common priesthood of the faithful is exercised by the unfolding of Baptismal grace - a life of faith, hope, and charity, a life according to the Spirit - ,the ministerial priesthood is at the Service of the common priesthood. It is directed at the unfolding of the baptismal grace of all Christians. the ministerial priesthood is a means by which Christ unceasingly builds up and leads his Church. For this reason it is transmitted by its own Sacrament, the sacrament of Holy Orders.

Holy Orders is the Sacrament through which the Mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles continues to be exercised in the Church until the end of time: thus it is the sacrament of apostolic Ministry. It includes three degrees: episcopate, presbyterate, and diaconate.

Through these Sacraments those already consecrated by Baptism and Confirmation 1 for the common Priesthood of all the Faithful can receive particular consecrations. Those who receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders are consecrated in Christ's name "to feed the Church by the word and grace of God." 2 On their part, "Christian spouses are fortified and, as it were, consecrated for the duties and dignity of their state by a special sacrament." 3

Two other Sacraments, Holy Orders and Matrimony, are directed towards the salvation of others; if they contribute as well to personal salvation, it is through Service to others that they do so. They confer a particular Mission in the Church and serve to build up the People of God.

Since Christ entrusted to his apostles the Ministry of reconciliation, 65 Bishops who are their successors, and priests, the bishops' collaborators, continue to exercise this ministry. Indeed bishops and priests, by virtue of the Sacrament of Holy Orders, have the power to forgive all sins "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

Many sins wrong our neighbor. One must do what is possible in order to repair the harm (e.g., return stolen goods, restore the reputation of someone slandered, pay compensation for injuries). Simple justice requires as much. But sin also injures and weakens the sinner himself, as well as his relationships with God and neighbor. Absolution takes away sin, but it does not remedy all the disOrders sin has caused. 62 Raised up from sin, the sinner must still recover his full spiritual health by doing something more to make amends for the sin: he must "make satisfaction for" or "expiate" his sins. This satisfaction is also called "penance."

Ecclesial communities derived from the Reformation and separated from the Catholic Church, "have not preserved the proper reality of the Eucharistic mystery in its fullness, especially because of the absence of the Sacrament of Holy Orders." 236 It is for this reason that Eucharistic intercommunion with these communities is not possible for the Catholic Church. However these ecclesial communities, "when they commemorate the Lord's death and resurrection in the Holy Supper . . . profess that it signifies life in communion with Christ and await his coming in glory." 237

In the Latin Rite, the ordinary minister of Confirmation is the bishop. 130 Although the bishop may for grave reasons concede to priests the faculty of administering Confirmation, 131 it is appropriate from the very meaning of the Sacrament that he should confer it himself, mindful that the celebration of Confirmation has been temporally separated from Baptism for this reason. Bishops are the successors of the apostles. They have received the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders. the administration of this sacrament by them demonstrates clearly that its effect is to unite those who receive it more closely to the Church, to her apostolic origins, and to her Mission of bearing witness to Christ.

Christ instituted the Sacraments of the new law. There are seven: Baptism, Confirmation (or Chrismation), the Eucharist, Penance, the Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Matrimony. the seven Sacraments touch all the stages and all the important moments of Christian life: 1 they give birth and increase, healing and Mission to the Christian's life of faith. There is thus a certain resemblance between the stages of natural life and the stages of the spiritual life.

The profession of faith of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215) affirms that God "from the beginning of time made at once (simul) out of nothing both Orders of creatures, the spiritual and the corporeal, that is, the angelic and the earthly, and then (deinde) the human creature, who as it were shares in both orders, being composed of spirit and body." 187