While journalists have their press card, Catholic priests have their celebret. It is a kind of professional identity card, issued by the ecclesiastical authority which thus certifies that its holder is indeed a minister of religion, who can celebrate mass and has the ability to confess. As part of their fight against sexual violence, the French bishops have decided to breathe new life into this document which has fallen into disuse in France, where no one asked to consult it. Here are four questions to understand what will change concretely.
Since when does the famous exist?
The origin of the document dates back to the Council of Trent (1545-1563), which established a rule that “no foreign cleric may, without a commendatory letter from his own ordinance, be admitted by a bishop to celebrate the divine mysteries”. But it will really become institutionalized as the priest’s “identity card” in 1917. At the time, it was already a device intended to fight against sexual violence, in particular that committed during the sacrament of confession. Pope Benedict XV then imposes on priests the wearing of the celebret, which must be withdrawn from them in the event of a sexual crime.
It has since been up to the bishops (and to the superiors of congregations for monks) to issue or withdraw the document, which can then be requested by the ecclesial authorities or by those responsible for places in which priests from outside the parish come to officiate, in a sanctuary, a cathedral, or during major events such as World Youth Days (WYD), for example.
What is changing today?
The celebret will be modernized across France. So far it has been a “paper document, falsifiable (…) and complicated to update », developed Alexandre Joly, spokesperson for the Conference of Bishops of France (CEF), during a press conference on Wednesday, May 10. A perpetrator of sexual violence expelled from the clerical state or subject to restrictions could thus fabricate a document and go officiate in a parish where he was not known.
The new card will contain a QR code which will give several information: a green banner if the priest has no restrictions to celebrate or confess; orange if there are restrictions, such as not being alone with children, for example. Finally, a red banner will be displayed if the holder of the card can neither preach nor celebrate, for example a priest who has fallen from the clerical state.
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