In the Catholic Church the term minister enjoys a variety of usages. It most commonly refers to the person, whether lay or ordained, who is commissioned to perform some act on behalf of the Church. It is not a particular office or rank of clergy, as is the case in some other churches, but minister may be used as a collective term for vocational or professional pastoral leaders including clergy (bishops, deacons, priests) and non-clergy (theologians and lay ecclesial ministers). It is also used in reference to the canonical and liturgical administration of sacraments, as part of some offices, and with reference to the exercise of the lay apostolate.
Minister is not used as a form of address (e.g., Minister Jones) in the Catholic Church.
Scripturally, various passages utilize the language of servant (ministri) to indicate those charged with spiritual functions or pastoral care of the community: 1 Corinthians 4:1–2; Hebrews 8:2; Matthew 20:26, etc.
Specific distinction in terminology may be found in various documents, among others: Participation of the Lay Faithful in the Presbyteral Ministry.[1]
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In a general sense, any Christian exercising a ministry is a minister. Since all the baptised are part of the universal priesthood, whenever they engage in their vocation to evangelize the world and to help those in need, they are ministers.
In addition, the Church calls people to the responsible stewardship of their time and talent in support of the Church. This often takes the form of volunteering for a specific lay ministry, most of which are liturgical, catechetical, or involved in pastoral care and social justice.
Liturgical lay ministries include lectors (Ministers of the Word) who proclaim scriptural (the Bible) passages during the Eucharist, altar servers and acolytes who assist the presider at the altar, cantors and music ministers who lead the singing, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion who serve during Mass and/or who take Holy Communion to the sick and homebound, and ushers or ministers of hospitality who direct the seating and procession of the assembly.
Catechetical lay ministries include catechists (Sunday school teachers and teachers at Catholic schools), dismissal leaders (ministers who lead RCIA catechumens on Sundays), retreat leaders, youth group leaders, and Scout religious emblems counselors.
Other lay ministries include those who work with charitable activities, pastoral care and outreach, or advocacy for social justice.
Some persons within the church are called by God and the assembly to serve as ministers to the whole people of God. These people respond to this vocation by receiving the proper formation, usually including graduate studies in theology or divinity, and then exercising some leadership role in the community. In common usage, when someone refers to a "minister of the church" they are referring to any one of these "professional" ministers.
The Catholic Church identifies five ecclesial vocations, three of which are ordained. Theologians and lay ecclesial ministers are not necessarily ordained, while bishops, presbyters, and deacons are ordained. While only the later are considered clergy by the Catholic Church, all are considered ministers in the professional and vocational sense.
The other kind of minister in Catholic parlance is a person who ministers a sacrament, meaning that he or she is a conduit of sacramental grace. This is not an office or position but instead a function that different kinds of people may perform, depending on the sacrament. There are two kinds of ministers in this sense. The ordinary minister of a sacrament has both the spiritual power to perform the sacrament (i.e. a valid sacrament) and the canonical authority to perform the sacrament (i.e. a licit sacrament). By way of example, the priest is the only minister of the Eucharist.[2] If a priest is, for some reason, debarred [3] and yet still celebrates the Eucharist, he does so illicitly (i.e. against Canon Law) but the Eucharist is still valid. However, in terms of the sacrament of Reconciliation (the Sacrament of Penance), although the priest is the ordinary minister, he must have permission from the appropriate authority if he is to celebrate this sacrament validly [4]
An extraordinary minister (Latin: minister extraordinarius) has the spiritual power but may only perform the sacrament in certain special instances under canon law. If an extraordinary minister performs a sacrament illicitly, the sacrament is effective but the person ministering could be liable for an ecclesiastical penalty, such as an interdict. By way of example, an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion is authorised to bring Holy Communion within a particular parish or diocese. If a minister brings Holy Communion to someone outside of the authorised area, it is done illicitly, but the person still receives Holy Communion.
If a person who is not an ordinary minister attempts to celebrate certain sacraments it is considered to be invalid.
Below is a table outlining each sacrament, its ordinary ministers, and its extraordinary ministers (if any), with stipulations regarding its exercise by extraordinary ministers in parenthesis.
| Sacrament | Ordinary ministers | Extraordinary ministers |
|---|---|---|
| Baptism | clergy1[5] | laity or an unbaptized person (illicit except in emergencies, but still valid))[6] |
| Confirmation | bishop[7] | priest (invalid except in emergencies or with permission of the bishop e.g. as for adult confirmation)[8] |
| Eucharist (consecration)² | bishop or priest[9] | none; always invalid |
| Distribution of Holy Communion³ | clergy (including deacons) | acolyte (licit when not enough or no clergy are available) other laity (legal when not enough or no clergy or acolytes available) |
| Reconciliation | bishop or priest[10] | none; invalid if done by a layperson or by a priest without faculties (except in emergency).[11] |
| Anointing of the Sick | bishop or priest[12] | none; invalid if done by anyone else |
| Holy Matrimony | husband and wife with clergy as witness | husband and wife alone, or with specially deputized lay person as ecclesial witness. If there is no witness, the marriage is valid but must be regularised at a later date. |
| Holy Orders (bishop)4 | a bishop [13] acting as principal consecrator with two or more bishops as co-consecrators | fewer than three bishops; licit after permission of the Pope, but still valid without this permission.[14] |
| Holy Orders (priest and deacon) | bishop[15] | only a validly ordained bishop may ordain a priest or deacon; historically minor orders and subdiaconate were also conferred by (cardinal) priests and abbots with papal indult[16] |
In certain traditionalist Catholic priestly societies, whether enjoying the favour of the Holy See (like the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter) or not (like the Society of St. Pius X), the rites of conferring of tonsure, what were called minor orders (of Porter, Lector, Exorcist, and Acolyte) and subdiaconate continue to be used, as before the coming into force of the apostolic letter Ministeria quaedam of 15 August 1972, which, of the minor orders, which it called instituted ministries, preserved for seminarians being prepared for priesthood those of lector and acolyte, and indicating that episcopal conferences, if they wished, could use the term "subdeacon" instead of "acolyte". The specific functions of all of these, whatever the rite by which they are conferred, are clearly not reserved to them. Lay people may and do perform the functions of a lector or acolyte. Laypersons of good character may act as ushers, porters, lectors, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, cantors, or may teach the faith as catechists and may advise the clergy or church courts, including serving as judges on marriage tribunals.
Since the entry into force of the 1983 Code of Canon Law, one becomes a member of the clergy upon ordination to the diaconate. Earlier, it was the rite of tonsure that made one a cleric.