Loss of Clerical State and Return to Sacred Ministry

Ordained ministers serve God as sacred minsters dedicated to the sacred ministry. no one ascends to holy orders without being called by God. Every cleric has this vocation. They have been called by God to serve the church at their various capacities. This clerical status is meant to be permanent, but anyone who breaches the provisions of the law must face the full face of law. Ministerial priesthood is a gift of God to the Church. It has been part of the Church from the very early times. It is a special vocation in the Church and the men of God called to this vocation play a major role in sanctifying the people of God in persona Christi caput Ecclesiae. This vocation must be treasured, nurtured and held with high regard and love both by those called to it and the whole church at large. However, since this vocation is embraced by human beings who are fragile and vulnerable, they can sometimes fail in making a fully clear discernment of their consecration and fail to live up to their commitment or promise. In order to work and foster the salus animarum of these people of God, the Mother Church, through the Code of Canon Law, has made provisions to liberate the faithful from the clerical state and sacred ministry when this commitment becomes partly or even totally burdensome and unbearable within some given environment.

This, therefore, presents the three major canonical ways in which one loses the clerical state. It not only explores the manner in which one leaves but highlights equally the due procedures which must be followed in order for this exit to be recognized canonically. It goes deeply into the praxis of the Holy See and the procedural norms for each form of departure. It culminates this with a procedure for the return of a former cleric back to ministry whenever such opportunities arise.