Szafarz sakramentu bierzmowania. Próba wykładni obowiązujących przepisów

Abstract

The progress of theology and canon law in the last century has brought a new understanding of the minister of the sacrament of confirmation. It makes us inquire after the current juridical status of this issue and leads us to appraise whether the present norms have the character of the definitive expression of the Church lawgiver. The analysis of the existing norms in this area allows us to become aware of the differences between the Latin Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches. In the Latin Church the ordinary minister of confirmation is the bishop and only few presbyters confer this sacrament on the basis of the universal law or owing to a special permission. In the Eastern Catholic Churches the minister of chrismation is every presbyter. Discussing the way confirmation is administered we should also have in mind the practice of these separated Churches that preserved this sacrament and during its celebration draw from the tradition of the West as well as of the East of Christianity. It seems that the present norms will evolve and the body of presbyters of the Latin Church, enabled ipso iure to administer the sacrament of confirmation, will grow in number.