3.41 Pse gratë dhe të martuarit nuk mund të bëhen meshtarë?

Urdhri dëfton një trup kishtar, në të cilin merret pjesë nëpërmjet një shugurimi të veçantë (Urdhri i Shenjtë), i cili, falë një dhuratë të veçantë të Shpirtit Shenjt, lejon ushtrimin e një pushteti të shenjtë në emër dhe me autoritetin e Krishtit, në shërbim të popullit të Hyjit. [KKKP 323]

The man who is ordained receives a gift of the Holy Spirit that gives him a sacred authority that is conferred upon him by Christ through the bishop.

Being a priest does not mean just assuming an office or a ministry. Through Holy Orders a priest receives as a gift a definite power and a mission for his brothers and sisters in faith. [Youcat 249]

Këtë Sakrament mund ta marrë në mënyrë të vlefshme vetëm i pagëzuari i gjinisë mashkullore: Kisha e sheh veten të lidhur me këtë zgjedhje të kryer prej vetë Zotit. Askush nuk mund të kërkojë me ngulm ta marrë Sakramentin e Urdhrit, por duhet të konsiderohet i përshtatshëm për këtë shërbim prej autoritetit të Kishës. [KKKP 333]

Si kremtohet Sakramenti i Urdhrit?
Për secilën prej shkallëve, Sakramenti i Urdhrit jepet nëpërmjet “shtrirjes së duarve” mbi kryet e të shuguruarit prej Ipeshkvit, i cili thotë edhe lutjen shuguruese solemne. Me këtë veprim Ipeshkvi kërkon prej Hyjit për të shuguruarin zbritjen e veçantë të Shpirtit Shenjt dhe të dhuratave të Tij për të mirën e mbarështimit. [KKKP 331]

The priests of the Old Covenant saw their duty as mediating between heavenly and earthly things, between God and his people. Since Christ is the “one mediator between God and men” (1 Tim 2:5), he perfected and ended that priesthood. After Christ there can be an ordained priesthood only in Christ, in Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross, and through a calling and apostolic mission from Christ.

A Catholic priest who administers the sacraments acts not on the basis of his own power or moral perfection (which unfortunately he often lacks), but rather “in persona Christi”. Through his ordination, the transforming, healing, saving power of Christ is grafted onto him. Because a priest has nothing of his own, he is above all a servant. The distinguishing characteristic of every authentic priest, therefore, is humble astonishment at his own vocation. [Youcat 250]

The rule that only men may receive Holy Orders in no way demeans women. In God’s sight, man and woman have the same dignity, but they have different duties and charisms. The Church sees herself as bound by the fact that Jesus chose men exclusively to be present at the Last Supper for the institution of the priesthood. Pope John Paul II declared in 1994 “that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful”.

Like no one else in antiquity, Jesus provocatively affirmed the value of women, bestowed his friendship on them, and protected them. Women were among his followers, and Jesus highly valued their faith. Moreover, the first witness to the resurrection was a woman. That is why Mary Magdalene is called “the apostle of the apostles”. Nevertheless, the ordained priesthood (and consequently pastoral ministry) has always been conferred on men. In male priests the Christian community was supposed to see a representation of Jesus Christ. Being a priest is a special service that also makes demands on a man in his gender-specific role as male and father. It is, however, not some form of masculine superiority over women. As we see in Mary, women play a role in the Church that is no less central than the masculine role, but it is feminine.Eve became the mother of all the living (Gen 3:20). As “mothers of all the living”, women have special gifts and abilities. Without their sort of teaching, preaching, charity, spirituality, and guidance, the Church would be “paralyzed on one side”. Whenever men in the Church use their priestly ministry as an instrument of power or do not allow opportunities to women, they offend against charity and the holy spirit of Jesus. [Youcat 257]

Jesus lived as a celibate and in this way intended to show his undivided love for God the Father. To follow Jesus’ way of life and to live in unmarried chastity “for the sake of the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 19:12) has been since Jesus’ time a sign of love, of undivided devotion to the Lord, and of a complete willingness to serve. The Roman Catholic Church requires this way of life of its bishops and priests, while the Eastern Catholic Churches demand it only of their bishops.

Celibacy, says Pope Benedict, cannot mean “remaining empty in love, but rather must mean allowing oneself to be overcome by a passion for God”. A priest who lives as a celibate should be fruitful inasmuch as he represents the fatherly character of God and Jesus. [Youcat 258]