Q. 978. What is the Sacrament of Holy Orders? A. Holy Orders is a Sacrament by which bishops, priests, and other ministers of the Church are ordained and receive the power and grace to perform ...

This is what the Church means by saying that the priest, by virtue of the sacrament of Holy Orders, acts in persona Christi Capitis [in the person of Christ, the Head]” (“Catechism of the ...

However, Pope Francis took steps toward distancing Holy Orders from the governing authority of the Roman Curia in his constitution reforming the Roman Curia, Predicate Evangelium. Shortly after ...

“The Tribunal considered [his] attempt to justify drug taking as a part of his ministry as entirely misconceived, displaying a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of his Holy Orders', the ...

Pope Francis in 2023 repeated the rule, saying holy orders were reserved for men. His predecessor, Pope John Paul II, had also shut the door on women's ordination. Besides having to be a man ...

Cardinals are hand-selected by a pope and are typically already bishops—which is the next highest rank above a priest and a deacon in the Sacrament of Holy Orders. (All bishops elected must have ...

In 2023, Pope Francis reaffirmed this stance, stating that holy orders are exclusive to men. His predecessor, Pope John Paul II, had also ruled out women's ordination. To be eligible for the papacy, a ...