Guidelines for Receiving Pastoral Ministers in the USA

Special Consideration for Married Eastern Catholic Priests On the matter of Eastern Catholic married priests serving in the United States, eparchial bishops are reminded that the prohibitions found in the decrees Cum Data Fuerit and Qua Sollerti are still in effect. Therefore, it is necessary for the receiving epar chial bishop to receive a dispensation from the Apostolic See from the provisions of these decrees before accepting a married priest for the exercise of the sacred ministry in the United States (cf. CCEO c. 758 §3). Individual requests for specific married priests are to be submitted on a case-by-case basis to the Congregation for the Oriental Churches. The praxis of the Apostolic See indicates that the Congregation for the Oriental Churches enjoys exclusive competence in this area, mindful of the competence of the Apostolic Signatura to adjudicate recourses against administrative acts due to a viola tion of law in the decision-making process or in the procedure that was utilized. Special Considerations for Seminarians Bishops and major superiors are free to consider can didates for the seminary from outside the United States. They should carefully follow the norms of the USCCB’s current edition of the Program of Priestly Formation . 2 Before accepting a candidate, they should determine if he has previously been a seminarian for another diocese, eparchy, institute, or society (cf. CIC c. 241 §3; CCEO c. 342 §3). If so, the USCCB’s Norms Concerning Reapplication for Priestly Formation are to be followed. 3 The diocesan or eparchial bishop or the major superior, the vocations director, and the seminary rector should ensure that during their period of for mation seminarians develop an understanding of the institutions, social conditions, usages, and customs found in the United States. The seminarian should be required to develop and demonstrate a proficiency in English that enables him to preach, teach, and otherwise communicate effectively (CIC c. 257 §2; Program of Priestly Formation , 49). During his period http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/vocations/priesthood/ priestly-formation/upload/ProgramforPriestlyFormation.pdf . 3 See http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/vocations/priesthood/ priestly-formation/norms-concerning-reapplication-for-priestly-forma tion.cfm . 2 See

receive him during the five-year period. If the diocesan or eparchial bishop refuses him, or if the cleric decides to return to his institute or society, having informed the receiving diocesan or eparchial bishop, he is to return immediately to that institute or society. If the petitioning cleric is legitimately present in the diocese or eparchy for five years and has properly made his request in writing for incardination/ascrip tion, in accord with the norms of canon law, and nei ther the diocesan nor the eparchial bishop nor the major superior has expressed opposition to the request in writing and within four months of receiving it, then the cleric is incardinated/ascribed to the receiving dio cese or eparchy ipso iure following the expiration of the five-year period (CIC c. 268 §1; CCEO c. 360 §2). Likewise, a member of an institute or society who has followed correct canonical procedure and has been received ad experimentum into a diocese or eparchy is incardinated/ascribed into the same diocese or eparchy ipso iure if he is willing and the diocesan or eparchial bishop has not refused him and the five-year period has elapsed (CIC c. 693; CCEO cc. 494, 549 §3). Case Study 1 For the past five years Father Phineas, a priest of the Diocese of Canisius in Ghana, has been living in the Diocese of Acropolis, USA pursuing a doctorate in canon law. Father Phineas has lived in a religious house near the university throughout his time in the United States. Shortly after his arrival, he requested and received diocesan faculties from the Bishop of Acropolis and since then has been assisting with the pastoral care of Ghanaian immigrants. He has also volunteered as a part-time “defender of the bond” in the diocesan mar riage tribunal. His work both in pastoral and tribunal ministry has, by all reports, been exemplary. Last week, the Bishop of Acropolis received a letter from Father Phineas in which he thanks the bishop for his hospital ity during his time as a student, and expresses his desire to be incardinated in the Diocese of Acropolis. This case highlights the canonical option available to clergy following ordination to request incardination in another diocese, for a just cause. Such requests are to be weighed against the needs of the sending and receiving dioceses, the qualifications and the suitability of the cleric for ministry, the receiving diocese’s ability to provide for the needs of the cleric, and the sending diocesan bishop’s willingness to grant his priest a decree of excardination. In addition, the time limits prescribed in canon law for responding to such requests are criti cal, in view of the possibility for ipso iure incardination of the cleric within the receiving diocese.

Canon Law Considerations | B-5