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The hierarchy of the Catholic Church consists of its bishops, priests, and deacons. [1] [2] In the ecclesiological sense of the term, "hierarchy" strictly means the "holy ordering" of the church, the Body of Christ, so to respect the diversity of gifts and ministries necessary for genuine unity.
A deacon is titled "Reberendo" ("Reverend"); for example, "Reverend Juan de la Cruz". Deacons are rarely titled "Deacon" followed by their names as in the United States, except when addressing them formally. Instead, they are colloquially addressed as "Rev." in contrast to priests who are addressed as "Father".
Though the 1911 Catholic Encyclopedia [3] offered a brief order of precedence based on these principles, it was updated and replaced by the New Catholic Encyclopedia in 1967, which was further updated with a Revised Edition in 2002. [4] The current Catholic Encyclopedia does not include an entry on "precedence". Since the publication of the ...
Priests lay their hands on the ordinands during a Catholic rite of ordination. The sacrament of holy orders in the Catholic Church includes three orders: bishops, priests, and deacons, in decreasing order of rank, collectively comprising the clergy. In the phrase "holy orders", the word "holy" means "set apart for a sacred purpose".
The vestments most particularly associated with the Latin Catholic deacon are the alb, stole and dalmatic. Deacons, like priests and bishops, must wear their albs and stoles; deacons place the stole over their left shoulder and it hangs across to their right side, while priests and bishops wear it around their necks.
Ordained clergy in the Catholic Church are either deacons, priests, or bishops belonging to the diaconate, the presbyterate, or the episcopate, respectively. Among bishops, some are metropolitans , archbishops , or patriarchs .
Priests and deacons ordinarily perform Baptism, but any Catholic can baptize in emergency circumstances. In cases where a person dies before the baptism ceremony is performed, the Catholic Church also recognizes baptism of desire , where a person desired to be baptized, and baptism of blood, when a person is martyred for their faith.
Cardinal priests (Latin: cardinales presbyteri) are the most numerous of the three orders of cardinals in the Catholic Church, ranking above the cardinal deacons and below the cardinal bishops. [51] Those who are named cardinal priests today are generally also bishops of important dioceses throughout the world, though some hold Curial positions.