Can a man become a Priest without being a Deacon? Or, can a Bishop become a Priest without being Ordained a Priest first? Someone said Saint Thomas Aquinas had an answer to this? Or, maybe another reference?
What about the Thuc-line? Were they Deacons before they were Ordained? And, by who?
Thanks.
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It is forbidden by the law of the Church to skip any of the minor or major orders. So it would be wrong to ordain a man a priest who is not a deacon. Nevertheless, the sacrament would be valid.
However, a man cannot be consecrated a bishop validly who is not a validly ordained priest. I believe the reason for this is that episcopal consecration merely augments the priestly character already existing in the person's soul. In any case, the
sacramental form for episcopal consecration presumes the person receiving it is already a priest:
Perfect in Thy priest the fullness of thy ministry ...
So if the person is not a priest, the form would not be able to have that effect in him.
In any case, theologians teach that episcopal consecration is only valid if it is conferred on a validly ordained priest.
What about the Thuc-line? Were they Deacons before they were Ordained? And, by who?
There are a vast number of priests in the Thuc line, and it is impossible to give a general answer to this question. However, all traditional Catholic seminaries observe the rules I have described here, and do not skip any of the orders.