The Responsibilities and Significance of the CONGREGATIO PRO CLERICIS in the Life and Ministry of the Diocesan Clergy

About the Book

Of the many problems which excite general concern in the Catholic Church today are issues regarding the ministerial priesthood. Lack of collegiality with the authority structure of the Church and other circumstances have contributed to the frustration of many priests. Of this unfortunate state of affairs, this study carried out in the light of the apostolic constitution Pastor Bonus of John Paul II aims to address some of those pertinent matters confronting priests in their day to day living. Its many features include the sanctification and ongoing formation of clerics, clerical rights and obligations, the equitable distribution of the clergy in the world and priestly sustenance.  It also examines the pastoral leadership of parish priests in their sacramental role as “pater familias” in the community of faith and the challenges confronting pastoral ministry in today’s parishes.

About the Author

Christian Onyems Okwuru, SMMM, a member of the Congregation of the Sons of Mary Mother of Mercy, hails from Nunya Isuikwuato, Abia State, South East Nigeria. He holds bachelor’s degrees in both Philosophy and Theology from the Pontifical University Urbaniana in Rome. In 2007 he was granted the degree Iuris Canonici Licentiatus (JCL) and MCL at the Faculty of Canon Law, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium. In addition, in 2011 he obtained his JCD and PhD from the same University. Prior to his studies, Fr Christian has served as Secretary General of his Congregation and Principal in one of their schools. He is currently working in the diocese of Aachen in Germany.