Roman Catholic Church

caseyquinn · Dec 11, 2008

Just trying to find some basic info here for the roman catholic church

Priests run a parish, bishops have many dioceses and a cardinal runs a collection of diocese?

Also, priests can be called fathers, bishops and cardinals, who is called your holiness? Either? Any other names they are referred to as ?

What is the general layout of the assignment of priests to churches? Like a bishop is responsible for X number of churches and appoints priests to them? Cardinals appoint bishops? Can bishops just remove a priest?

Do priests have normal contact with their bishop? Like checkups?

Also, priests live in rectories at a church, where does a bishop live? Or a cardinal?

Thanks in advance if anyone can help with a few of these!

dirtsider · Dec 11, 2008

One of the best places to start is going to your local RC church. I'm sure they'd be happy to answer your questions. There are often people at a desk that can answer your questions if you head toward the office section of the Church. Also try going to a Mass, this way you have an idea of what happens during one as well as getting idea of what a Church looks like on the inside.

I know that there's a website out there. I think it's www.vatican.org or something like that.

I also think the term His Holiness is reserved for the Pope.

maxmordon · Dec 11, 2008

Priests run a parish, bishops have many dioceses and a cardinal runs a collection of diocese?

Priest: Parrish
Bishop: Diosece
Archbishop: Archdiosece (being either really important diosece or more than one diosece in a region)
Cardinals are just bishops named for the College of Cardinals. They usually rule over an important diosece or aarchdiosece but their importance comes that, in the time a Pope dies, he is part of the body that votes for a new Pope.

His Holiness is only for the Pope; for a cardinal you use His Eminence, for a archbishop you use Your Grace, His Excellence to the bishops.

Bo Sullivan · Dec 11, 2008

Your Holiness is the Pope of Rome.

caseyquinn · Dec 11, 2008

Thanks for the info everyone! I go to church, just never really thought about the hierarchy of it all - tried to find some stuff online but funny nothing says where bishops live lol i guess its not a common question

waylander · Dec 11, 2008

Bishops (used to) live in the bishop's palace attached to the cathedral of their diocese

scarletpeaches · Dec 11, 2008

Also, the brothers take charge of the brethren and the sisters run the cistern.

citymouse · Dec 11, 2008

Here's one most of us forget to mention. A cardinal need not be a bishop, or even a priest. Yep. But it's rare. There have been in my memory lay cardinals.
The word cardinal comes from the Latin cardo, meaning hinge or support. Cardinals are aides. Much like a US president's aids, except their job is for life. Once upon a time cardinals did not always select popes from their ranks. One man had the papacy forced upon him by the cardinals. When he ran away they found him and had him imprisoned and then murdered. What a sweet bunch, eh?
C

caseyquinn · Dec 11, 2008

ah, so every diocese has a cathedral where the bishop resides. churches have rectories where priest reside. the light is coming on

thanks everyone again, really this is just the info i needed!

johnnysannie · Dec 12, 2008

waylander said:
Bishops (used to) live in the bishop's palace attached to the cathedral of their diocese

Some of them still do.

The basic breakdown would be

Pope
Arch Diocese
Diocese
Parish

pconsidine · Dec 12, 2008

citymouse said:
Here's one most of us forget to mention. A cardinal need not be a bishop, or even a priest. Yep. But it's rare. There have been in my memory lay cardinals.

My parents are very devout and when we found out that the Pope didn't have to be a priest, we started a tongue-in-cheek campaign to have my mother elected Pope. We were even going to make "Top 10 Reasons Mom Should be Pope" T-shirts (I only remember one of the reasons - "Mom always speaks ex cathedra ").

My mother was appropriately scandalized.

mscelina · Dec 12, 2008

Don't forget--there is ring kissing involved as you move higher up in the heirarchy.

johnnysannie · Dec 14, 2008

mscelina said:
Don't forget--there is ring kissing involved as you move higher up in the heirarchy.

That starts at the Bishop level.

johnnysannie · Dec 15, 2008

pconsidine said:
Yeah, before that it's just typical butt kissing. Just like any other organization.

If that's your opinion, then it is. But for devout cradle Catholics, it is quite different.

euclid · Dec 15, 2008

RC

Firstly: a Rectory is where a Church of England Rector lives, not a RC priest.
The priests in a parish live in the "parish house"
The "Parish Priest" (PP for short) is in charge of the parish, aided by his curate(s) (i.e. less experienced priests). So a curate could get promoted to the role of parish priest and move on to run his own parish.
Bishops are appointed to oversee a geographical area (called a diocese or a "see")
Each Bishop is ultimately responsible for the parishes in his diocese.
His Holiness the Pope is sometimes called "the Bishop of Rome".
If a priest was to be removed from a parish for any reason, or moved from one to another, the bishop would take that decision, but I'm pretty sure he would need sanction for any such action from Rome (although probably a mere formality in most cases).
Priests, Bishops, Cardinals and of course the Pope cannot be women (although I seem to recall there was a woman pope way back in history)

euclid · Dec 15, 2008

Oh, and btw as far as I can recall there are six RC sacraments:

Baptism
Confession
Communion
Confirmation
Matrimony
Extreme Unction

aka eraser · Dec 15, 2008

There are seven. Holy Orders (becoming a priest) is the 7th.

euclid · Dec 15, 2008

Quite...

aka eraser said:
There are seven. Holy Orders (becoming a priest) is the 7th.

...right. I thought there was another one. Thanks for setting me straight.

euclid · Dec 15, 2008

There is another rung in the ladder between PP and Bishop, called Monsignor. These super-priests wear a special hat (whose name escapes me). It's a sort of square shaped thing with four sharkfins pointing n,s,e,w, and a pompom on top. These hats are black. I believe cardinals wear a red version of the same hat. Bishops have a mitre, which is shaped like the top of a chess bishop (although I can't think why). Priests in Rome wear a snazzy black hat with a wide brim, a sort of cross between a sombrero and a fedora!

Mike Martyn · Dec 15, 2008

euclid said:
Firstly: a Rectory is where a Church of England Rector lives, not a RC priest.
snip snip****

His Holiness the Pope is sometimes called "the Bishop of Rome".

Especially by rabid Presbyterians like my Scottish grandmother!!

snip snip*******

citymouse · Dec 15, 2008

The black hat you refer to is called a beretta. All ranks of male clergy wear them. The priests beretta has only three fins (as you say). The monsignor, bishop and cardinal wear a four fined hat. All have pompoms on them.
The bishops and popes wear a mitre. It represents the old and new testaments and with these " twin horns of the word" they defend the church. This headgear was taken from the ancient jewish high priest headwear.
Colors are important too. Priests wear black with a cape and black beretta.
Monsignors wear black with a wide red waist sash and red piping on their cassocks. Their capes are read as well as their skull caps.

Bishops wear purple a purple skull cap under their mitres. Capes too are purple.

Cardinals wear read, even shoes! Very stylish.
C

euclid said:
There is another rung in the ladder between PP and Bishop, called Monsignor. These super-priests wear a special hat (whose name escapes me). It's a sort of square shaped thing with four sharkfins pointing n,s,e,w, and a pompom on top. These hats are black. I believe cardinals wear a red version of the same hat. Bishops have a mitre, which is shaped like the top of a chess bishop (although I can't think why). Priests in Rome wear a snazzy black hat with a wide brim, a sort of cross between a sombrero and a fedora!

euclid · Dec 15, 2008

beretta

citymouse said:
The black hat you refer to is called a beretta.

Wasn't this 007's gun?

citymouse · Dec 15, 2008

Yep.
C

euclid said:
Wasn't this 007's gun?

Chase · Dec 15, 2008

euclid said:
Wasn't this 007's gun?

citymouse said:
Yep.
C

Shirley, you jest. Q, his armorer, often insisted 007 use larger caliber issue pistols, but James disdained them for a sleek Walther PPK in .25 ACP.

The U.S. military brass loves the Berreta, and now I see so does Catholic clergy, although they've apparently kept it under their hats.

johnnysannie · Dec 15, 2008

pconsidine said:
So much for humor.

There's funny and then there are the things that are sacred to some. For most of us, sacred isn't amusing.

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