One thing they always seemed to be on the brink of mentioning but never did was the once-common practice that high Vatican officials were often celibate deacons. I guess the idea must have been precisely the thing that JD and Ed said - that bureaucrats should be clerics but with no need to be priests if they were not pastors. Sometimes o…
One thing they always seemed to be on the brink of mentioning but never did was the once-common practice that high Vatican officials were often celibate deacons. I guess the idea must have been precisely the thing that JD and Ed said - that bureaucrats should be clerics but with no need to be priests if they were not pastors. Sometimes one of them be elected Pope and would have to be ordained a priest prior to taking the papal office. As they undoubtedly know, these officials are still called cardinal deacons today even though now they are required to be priests and even bishops.
One thing they always seemed to be on the brink of mentioning but never did was the once-common practice that high Vatican officials were often celibate deacons. I guess the idea must have been precisely the thing that JD and Ed said - that bureaucrats should be clerics but with no need to be priests if they were not pastors. Sometimes one of them be elected Pope and would have to be ordained a priest prior to taking the papal office. As they undoubtedly know, these officials are still called cardinal deacons today even though now they are required to be priests and even bishops.