Presbyterorum Ordinis (EN)

Une Reflection sur la Décret sur le Ministère et la Vie des Prêtres: Presbyterorum Ordinis
Séminaire: Introduction a la Méthode Théologique - James Paul Finnegan, Venerabile Collegio Inglese
The Decree of the Second Vatican Council Presbyterorum Ordinis, on the ministry and life of priests,
promulgated by Pope Paul VI on 7th December 1965, continues to be a formative document for
those who serve as priests in the presbyteral rank within the Church. It is arranged into three
chapters: The Priesthood in the Ministry of the Church, The Ministry of Priests, and The Life of
Priests. As such, the Decree offers a holistic view on priesthood: what it means to minister and live as
a priest within the service of the Church, and how this life and ministry fits within the wider
ministry of the Church herself. A priest is, of course, a member of a community, and his ministry is
one instrument in the great symphony of the Church’s song of praise and worship. As such, I will
focus particularly in this short reflection on how the image of the priest in the community has
changed, and how the Decree has helped to facilitate that change.
As is made apparent in the Acts of the Council1 , preparatory questionnaires collected varied
responses from all over the world; the genre of these responses, however, changed significantly over
the course of the Council’s working sessions. As Joseph Lécuyer noted:
‘De clericis in genere summed up the most important points taken up in the preparation of this
decree. Generally speaking, we might say that the perspective at this stage was essentially
different from that reached at the later stages of the Council. It manifested a juridical rather
than a pastoral tone…’ 2
Priests members of a community, this worshipping community which is the object of his pastoral
ministry, and ministering has the double requisite of any other transient verb. That is, the priest and
his people, between whom is a fundamental relationship. It is clear from the above remark that the
Council Fathers became aware of this as the debates progressed. This progress did not happen in a
vacuum, indeed, the text of the Decree itself, being ratified at the end of the Council, had new
focusses on both ends of this relationship already at its disposal. As Hünermann notes:
‘The Council’s new definition of the people of God as the other term of the relation that is
priestly ministry is connected fundamentally with a broader vision of priestly ministry as a
whole: preaching and pastoral activity are now the primary tasks. These are connected
directly with the people of God…’3
There is, then, a huge shift in emphasis of ministerial relationship here from, say, was seen at the
Council of Trent which in its seventh session made its decrees on the institution of the Priesthood.
No mention here of how the priest is out of the people for the service of the people, but rather how
the ministry of priesthood itself may be served. Chapter II of Session VII of Trent thus decrees:
‘And whereas the ministry of so holy a priesthood is a divine thing; to the end that it might be
exercised in a more worthy manner, and with greater veneration, it was suitable that, in the
most well-ordered settlement of the church, there should be several and diverse orders of
ministers, to minister to the priesthood, by virtue of their office; orders so distributed as that
1Acta et Documenta Oecumenico Vaticano II apparando, Series I (Ante praeparatoria), Appendix columnist II, Pars I (Typis
Polyglottis Vaticanis, 1961).
2Lécuyer, J, 'Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests', in Commentary on the Documents of Vatican II, ed. by Herbert
Vorgrimler et al., trans. by Ronald Walls(New York: Herder and Herder, 1969), p. 183.
3Hünermann, P, 'The Final Weeks of the Council', in History of Vatican II Vol. V, ed. by Giuseppe Alberigo, trans. by
Matthew J. O'Connell(Leuven: Peeters, 2006), p. 459.
those already marked with the clerical tonsure should ascend through the lesser to the greater
orders.’ (Trent. VII.II)
Contrasting the above with the following:
‘The People of God are joined together primarily by the word of the living God. And
rightfully they expect this from their priests. Since no one can be saved who does not first
believe, priests, as co-workers with their bishops, have the primary duty of proclaiming the
Gospel of God to all. In this way they fulfill the command of the Lord: "Going therefore into
the whole world preach the Gospel to every creature" (Mk 16:15), and they establish and
build up the People of God.’ (Presbyterorum Ordinis II.I)
Thus we see a marked difference of emphasis from how the ministerial priesthood might be served
as an institution, to how it is disposed to serve. There is a renewed emphasis on the place of
preaching within the ministry of the priest, as opposed to the focus on what Hünermann called
‘The power over the mystical body of Christ’ which had pervaded through the Middle Ages.4
Relationship, rather than power, is key to understanding the new perspective offered in XXXX. A
relationship which one might refer to as being between the ministerial and the common priesthood,
and crystallised for us in the letter The Image of the Priest in the Decree Presbyterorum Ordinis (1997), from
Bishop Casado, the then president of the the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative
Texts:
‘Whence, in fact, do some of the serious ecclesial imbalances in this period arise we think, for
example, of certain confusions and abuses regarding the nature of pastoral ministry and the
exercise of its functions — if not…of a deficient theological and pastoral use of the conciliar
doctrine on the priesthood and, more concretely, (its doctrine) on the relationship between
the common priesthood and the ministerial priesthood?’5
Whilst the Decree has been posited to be one of the less-striking documents of the Council, even
one of its ‘step-children’6, we should not be duped into thinking that it has little to offer. Its emphasis
on the importance of the pastoral function of the priest, and the relational role of ministry - as
opposed to simply the clerical role - offered the Church a new aspect and vision of the priest not just
at the Temple, but also in the courts of gentiles from where he was once taken. As Pope Francis put
it, reflecting (mostly on the nature of relationships for priests) upon Presbyterorum Ordinis, 50 years
after its promulgation:
‘Let us consider these three circumstances: “taken from among men”, “ordained for men”,
and present “on earth with other men”. The priest is a man who is born into a certain
human context; there he learns the primary values, absorbs the spirituality of the people and
acclimates to the relationships…In families and all the other community contexts — school,
parishes, associations, groups of friends — we learn to have relationships with real people, we
are moulded by our relationships with them, and we also become who we are because of
them.’7
4 Hünermann (2006), p.459.

5 Herranz Casado, J, The Image Of The Priest In The Decree Presbyterorum Ordinis Continuity And Projection Toward The Third
Millennium (1997) <https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cclergy/documents/
rc_con_cclergy_doc_23101995_imp_en.html> [accessed 8 January 2021].
6 Hünermann (2006), pp.457-463.
7 Address of His Holiness Pope Francis to Participants in the Convention Sponsored by the Congregation for Clergy on
the 50th Anniversary of the Conciliar Decrees “Optatam Totius” and “Presbyterorum Ordinis”. Vatican City: 20th
November 2015.

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Une Reflection sur la Décret sur le Ministère et la Vie des Prêtres: Presbyterorum Ordinis

Contrasting the above with the following:

4 Hünermann (2006), p.459.

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