Addresses the identity and circumstances of today's priests.

From the Congregation for Catholic Education and the Congregation for the Clergy.

The national directory addresses the dimensions and perspectives in the formation of deacons and the model standards for the formation, ministry, and life of deacons in the United States. It is intended as a guideline for formation, ministry, and life of permanent deacons and a directive to be utilized when preparing or updating a diaconate program in formulating policies for the ministry and life of deacons. This volume also includes Basic Standards for Readiness for the formation of permanent deacons in the United States, from the bishops' Committee on the Diaconate, and the committee document Visit of Consultation Teams to Diocesan Permanent Diaconate Formation Programs.

From the earliest times, the life and ministry of priests and deacons, under the guidance and leadership of the bishops, has been central to the mission of the Church. The relationship between priests and deacons and their bishops is a unique one, which cannot be fully comprehended in solely juridical terms. To assist the clergy in understanding the juridical implications of this relationship, the aim of this Directory is to set out in a systematic way the rights and obligations of the clergy, found principally within the part of the 1983 Code of Canon Law concerned with the People of God, together with those procedures which are necessary to maintain discipline and for the just resolution of disputes.

See Pamphlet 5-383 for duplicate copy.