By Nchumbonga George Lekelefac, Doctorate Candidate, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Münster, Germany, February 14, 2022
Last week, history was made in Canon Law when the first ever Roman Catholic priest in history attempted public engagement in the United States of America. Reverend Father George Ngalame’s public engagement to Miss Eta Obi Jamila went viral all-over social media. Rev Fr. Ngalame was ordained priest on Thursday April 16, 2009, at the Regina Pacis Cathedral in Small Soppo, Buea, by then Bishop of Buea, Immanuel Bushu.
Now, when I use the phrase “history was made here” I refer categorically to something that will be remembered as part of canon law. To justify this fact, Monsignor John A. Renken, Doyen / Dean, Faculté du droit canonique / Faculty of Canon Law, Université Saint-Paul University, erudite canonist at Ottawa observed on February 10, 2022 when I consulted him about the case: “George, I have never encountered such a situation. I note that an engagement does not give rise to action to see the celebration of marriage (c. 1061). I also note that priests cannot marry, but that priests dismissed from the clerical state may be permitted to marry. The bishop (superior) must address an ‘engagement’ made by one of his priests, even one who is in the process of seeking to return to the lay state.”
Moreover, a professor in canon law stated on observed on February 10, 2022: “Hello George, since he is still a priest and incardinated, it is an issue with canon 1399, in addition to disobedience towards his bishop – in case he got a monitum already – and it also depends on the nature of their relationship, i.e., is it already sexual. So, there are several components to consider. The strict interpretation of attempted marriage may not work, because he did not try to marry her, but he is in a committed relation”.
Furthermore, another professor of canon law articulated: “I don’t think he would commit any offense in the canonical sense but would be liable to breaking the norms of c. 277, 2. Then his bishop could issue a precept, also a penal one, in anticipation of that event. After – not much probably to do, but that could jeopardize his chances in getting the dispensation, if the fact is communicated to the Holy See. In particular case, when there is a great scandal and necessity to act quickly, the Holy See could even dismiss him in virtue of canon 1399 (using Faculty III of the Congregation for the Clergy).”
Finally, another professor of Canon law noted: “Dear George, an engagement is not a marriage. Therefore, there are no facts that lead to suspension. However, an engagement is not compatible with the priestly status. Therefore, a diocesan bishop or a religious superior can withdraw an official pastoral mandate from the priest and demand that he break the engagement. If he disobeys, he can be suspended.”
- Uncontrolled Confusion in the Social Media
The social media was indescribably ‘inundated’ and spiraled to saturation with the news ranging from Facebook, Whats app groups, Twitter, etc. and a myriad of comments regarding the public engagement were read worldwide in the stroke of a second. To my mind, this uncontrollable attention was due to the fact that the People of God were taken unawares given the fact that Rev. Father George Ngalame is still a priest and has not yet lost the clerical state. Secondly, the news went viral because Rev Father George Ngalame was formerly Financial Secretary of Buea Diocese, the Mother Diocese in Cameroon and was well known to that regard not only by the priests of that Diocese, but also by almost the entire people of God of Buea Diocese. Lastly, I believe the news went viral because Father George Ngalame was Senior Prefect in Bishop Rogan in 1999. In fact, he was my senior prefect in Bishop Rogan Minor Seminary in 1999 and I vividly remember the great impact he had on me and others. He was an outstanding senior prefect. I will never forget the day in the refectory when he laconically described how “rice chaff” is cooked. Those who passed through BIROCOL will understand what I am talking about; Interestingly, he was also Auxiliary at the St John Mary Vianney at Bafut and Auxiliary at St Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary in Bambui. These are posting that are given to people who are dotted with outstanding qualities. Therefore, you could see that Reverend Father George Ngalame was well known even before he became a priest.
- Canonical Perspective
Now, diving into the canonical perspective of the engagement act, in the Roman Catholic Church, just like any other institution, each and everyone has a status: We have clergy, laity, etc. Each status is distinct with different duties, rights. In the case of a priest, once ordained, canon 1087 of the Code of Canon states that “Those in sacred orders invalidly attempt marriage.” Therefore, it is impossible for a Roman Catholic priest to validly marry in the Catholic Church. In our case study, it was an attempt to marriage engagement and there is no canon that talks about public engagement of a priest.
Now, in order for a priest to validly marry in the Catholic Church, the priest must first return to the lay state, that is, he must first lose the clerical state before he can validly marry in the Catholic Church. It should be noted that just as transitional deacon requests from his bishop to be ordained a priest, so too must the priest request from his bishop the permission to return to the lay state. The Priesthood is not a profession where people just come in and leave when they want without permission. This makes us understand the seriousness of what it means to be a priest.
The Sacrament of Orders “configures the recipient to Christ by a special grace of the Holy Spirit, so that he may serve as Christ’s instrument for his Church. By ordination therefore, the priest is enabled to act as a representative of Christ, Head of the Church, in his triple office of priest, prophet and king”. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1581.) Through the Sacrament of Orders, the mission entrusted by Christ to his Apostles continues to be exercised in the Church until the end of time. It is thus the sacrament of apostolic ministry. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1536.) The sacramental act of ordination surpasses mere election, designation or delegation by the community, because it confers a gift of the Holy Spirit enabling the exercise of sacred power which can only come from Christ himself through his Church. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1538.) “The one sent by the Lord does not speak and act of his own authority, but by virtue of Christ’s authority; not as a member of the community but speaking to it in the name of Christ. No one can bestow grace on himself; it must be given and offered. This fact presupposes ministers of grace, authorized and empowered by Christ”. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 875.) The sacrament of apostolic ministry comprises three degrees. Indeed “the divinely instituted ecclesiastical ministry is exercised in different degrees by those who even from ancient times have been called bishops, priests and deacons”. (Second Vatican Council, Lumen gentium, 28.) We can now comprehend the seriousness of the sacrament of Holy Orders.
Solomon Tembang describes the video in his article titled: “Buea Diocese priest proposes marriage, engages “longtime” sweetheart” that: “In a video that went viral on social media, Fr. Ngalame, who has been living in the US for some time now, is seen in a blue suit and with one knee on the ground, stretching a ring at Eta Obi Jamila as family members and friends watched, apparently in disbelief. Eta Obi Jamila confirmed her engagement in a Facebook post on Wednesday, February 9, describing the twin occasion as ‘fabulous’”.
Solomon Tembang added that “Lambert Mbom, who schooled with Fr. Ngalame at the Bishop Rogan Minor Seminary in Buea, is quoted as having said people are trying to give him a bad name in order to hang him. Mbom said Ngalame has not been performing priestly duties for some time now and so he is not in the priesthood anymore.” In his well-written article, Mr. Lambert Mbom concluded by stating: “But wait a minute – leave George alone and in the spirit of the synod: Let’s journey together with him! Let the wedding bells ring.”
- What makes Reverend Father George Ngalame different from a lay person?
Mr. Lambert Mbom forgot to remember that his classmate Mr. George Ngalame as he addressed him in his outstandingly succinct article is still a priest and therefore ought to be addressed with the title “Reverend Father” until he formally returns to the lay state. Even if a priest no longer performs his duties as a priest, probably because he does not have the faculties from his local diocesan bishop, he still remains a priest and is addressed as Reverend Father until he formally returns to the lay state by losing the clerical state. Therefore, Reverend Father George Ngalame still has a bond with his home diocese to a particular bishop until his bishop publicly issues a decree to the people of God informing that he has return to the lay state.
It is therefore important to know that a priest needs permission in order to leave the priesthood and that he has to wait until that he is released from his clerical state before he can validly marry. That is why Reverend Father George Ngalame will still be validly called Reverend Father until he formally loses the clerical state. When the Holy See will issue the decree of a return to the clerical state, the local Diocesan Bishop of Reverend Father George Ngalame will issue a public decree informing the people of God in the Diocese where he is incardinated that Reverend Father George Ngalame has lost the clerical state and has return to the lay state. This is how the process is carried out. Let us now focus on what laicization means. During these past days, this word has been used endlessly and lots of mistakes have been made on what it really is. Let me at this juncture elucidate what it means:
- Laicization: “loss of the clerical state”
In canon law, laicization is an act by legitimate authority that takes away from a cleric the lawful use, except for emergencies, of the sacrament power of orders; deprives him of his rights, privileges, and clerical status; and renders him juridically equivalent to a lay person. Canon law clearly points out that laicization in no way affects the power of orders, not even those that are clearly of ecclesiastical origin; rather, the action touches on the lawful use of the power of the sacrament of orders. There are three ways in which a cleric loses the clerical state: (a) by judicial sentence or administrative decree that declares the invalidity of sacred ordination; (b) by a penalty of dismissal legitimately imposed for some crime specified in church law; or (c) by a rescript or letter of the Apostolic See, as for example, the priest who desires to leave active ministry and live as a lay person, either with or without marriage as is the case with Reverend Father George Ngalame. (see CIC 290 and CCEO 394).
While frequently used in the media, the term “laicization” doesn’t really exist anymore among canonists. Jesuit Father Professor Damián Astigueta, an erudite and renowned canon law professor at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University and Coordinator of the diploma in penal jurisprudence said that this term has been widely replaced by the term “loss of the clerical state.” Now, when a priest loses his clerical state, either because he requested it or because it was taken from him, he is “‘dismissed from the clerical state,’ because this is a juridical status,” Fr. Prof. Astigueta explained. “He remains in a situation judicially as if he were a layperson. This is where the term ‘laicization’ comes from.” He clarified that when this happens, it doesn’t mean that a priest is no longer a priest: “the sacrament of Holy Orders isn’t lost; it imprints an ontological sign on the being of the priest that can never be lost.” This is to let us know how serious the ordination of a priest is and its canonical impact. What happens instead is that exercising the rights proper to the clerical state are prohibited, such as saying Mass, hearing confessions, and administering the sacraments; as are the obligations, such as that of reciting the Liturgy of the Hours and obedience to their bishop.
However, since a man dismissed from the clerical state remains a priest, there are times at which the Church continues to oblige him to act as a priest. For example, if he finds someone in danger of death who asks for the sacraments, even though he is no longer in a clerical state, he “must hear (the person’s) confession because the most important thing is the salvation of that person.”
Fr. Prof. Astigueta also underscored the importance of not misinterpreting the process to mean a “reduction to the lay state.” This phrase is not correct, he stressed, since it inaccurately treats laity “in a derogatory way, as if they were lesser.”
If a priest chooses to renounce his clerical state, he is often inserted into society without a problem; but when it comes to those who have been dismissed, it can be a lot harder, Fr. Prof. Astigueta said, explaining that there is a canon (c. 1350 §2) establishing “that there exists a duty of charity toward them.” This means “helping them and taking care of them in the measure that the person lets themselves be helped,” he said. If an 80-year-old priest is dismissed from the clerical state, “where do we send him? Can he find work? He’ll end up living on the street as a homeless man. How long will he last? He won’t last anything,” he observed. To put a man on the street in this circumstance, unless he has relatives ready to take him in, “is practically to kill him.”
Since Pastor bonus, a number of practical instructions on processing laicization petitions became available. “Documents Necessary for the Instruction of a Case for the Dispensation from the Obligations of Priestly Celibacy” was issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments in April 1991 (CLSA Roman Replies & Advisory Opinions [1991] 2–4). The next year the congregation issued “Loss of the Clerical State by a Deacon and a Dispensation from All the Obligations of Ordination” through Archbishop Daniel Pilazczyk, May 11, 1992 (CLSA Roman Replies & Advisory Opinions [1992] 6–11). Finally, a circular letter was sent on June 6, 1997, to all ordinaries and superiors concerning the laicization of priests and deacons (Origins 27/11 [Aug. 28, 1997] 169, 170–172).
- The Effects of the Loss of the Clerical State
While more attention focuses on the procedures on loss of the clerical state, there are a number of consequences applicable to all three modes. CIC canon 292 and CCEO canon 395 state that one who loses the clerical state is no longer bound by its obligations but also no longer enjoys its rights (cc. 279–289). With the exception stated in canon 976, one who loses the clerical state is forbidden the exercise of sacred orders. It is necessary therefore to examine individual rescripts for restrictions imposed on the departing cleric.
- A Return to the Clerical State
The present law of the Church provides for such a possibility with CIC canon 293 and CCEO canon 398. “A cleric who loses the clerical state cannot be enrolled among clerics again except through a rescript of the Apostolic See.” No further procedures are set forth. As a commentary on this topic, one might consult M. Souckar, “Return to Ministry of Dispensed Priests,” Jurist 54 (1994) 605–616.
- Notable Historical Examples of Laicization
First, at Napoléon Bonaparte’s insistence, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord requested laicization in 1802, in order to marry his long-time lover Catherine Grand (née Worlée). Talleyrand was already excommunicated for his part in the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. Pope Pius VII reluctantly lifted the excommunication and gave him permission to wear secular clothing, which permission the French Conseil d’État interpreted as a laicization. Talleyrand married Worlée, then divorced in 1815, [Cf. Spiegel, Taru (2019-03-02). “Talleyrand: A Diplomat Par Excellence, 4 Corners of the World: International Collections and Studies at the Library of Congress”] and lived on as a layman, but on his deathbed in 1838 he signed a document of reconciliation with the Church, prepared by future bishop Félix Dupanloup. Dupanloup then administered the last rites of a bishop to Talleyrand.
Second, Bishop of San Pedro Fernando Lugo requested laicization in Paraguay in 2005 to allow him to run for President of Paraguay. [Vatican laicizes bishop who was elected president. (WORLD BRIEFS) (Fernando Lugo, Brief article) – National Catholic Reporter, HighBeam Research. November 2, 2012.] The Church at first refused, going so far as to suspend him as bishop when he ran for office anyway, but eventually granted lay status in 2008 after he was elected. [Cf. “Paraguay’s president, ex-bishop, granted lay status” Catholic World News. Nokesville, Virginia: Trinity Communications. 2008-07-30].
Third, in September 2018, Pope Francis ordered the laicization of a Chilean priest convicted in 2011 of the sexual abuse of minors. He had previously been sentenced to a life of prayer and penance. [Cf. “Pope Francis laicizes convicted Chilean abuser”. Catholic News Agency.]
- Cases of Bishops
The laicization of bishops is unusual.
First, in 2009, the church laicized Emmanuel Milingo, a former exorcist, faith healer, and archbishop of Lusaka, Zambia, who had already been excommunicated from the church three years earlier. [Cf. Philip Pullella (December 17, 2019). “Vatican defrocks exorcist archbishop who married”]. Archbishop Milingo had threatened to form a breakaway church without a rule of priestly celibacy and had himself married. [Cf. Philip Pullella (December 17, 2019). “Vatican defrocks exorcist archbishop who married”]
Second, Raymond Lahey, the former bishop of Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada, was laicized in 2012, a year after he pleaded guilty in Canadian civil court to importing child pornography. [Cf. “Vatican laicizes Canadian bishop convicted of importing child porn”. Catholic News Service. May 16, 2012 – via National Catholic Reporter.
Third, Józef Wesołowski, a Polish archbishop who had been a nuncio (papal ambassador), was dismissed from the clerical state in 2014 on grounds of sexual abuse of minors. The Vatican had made criminal charges against Wesołowski related to his abuse of minors and planned to try him, but Wesołowski died in 2015 before a trial could be held. [Cf. Payne, Ed; Messia, Hada (2015-08-28), Vatican official accused of child porn, pedophilia dies, Greene, Richard, CNN].
Fourth, Theodore Edgar McCarrick, a former cardinal and the former Archbishop of Washington, D.C., was dismissed from the clerical state in February 2019. [Cf. Chico, Harlan (16 February 2019). “Ex-cardinal McCarrick defrocked by Vatican for sexual abuse” Washington Post.] McCarrick is the highest-ranked church official to date to be dismissed over the ongoing sexual abuse scandals in the Church. [Cf. D’Emilio, Frances; Winfield, Nicole (2019-02-16), “Vatican defrocks former US cardinal McCarrick over sex abuse”, KCRG].
- Conclusion
The final canon of the Code of Canon Law, canon 1752, ends with the teleological and juridical principle that the supreme law of the Church is the salvation of souls (commonly formulated Salus animarum lex suprema est.). The aim of canon law is to save, it is meant for the salvation of souls. Just as the aim of traffic lights is to prevent accidents, so too does canon law. Every institution has laws to maintain order and fulfil its objectives. Canon law provides good order to the Church and defines how it is to function. Second, canon law ensures the proper exercise of the sanctifying function of the Church. Third, canon law provides rights, obligations, and methods of resolving conflicts in the Church. Fourth, canon law attempts to provide the structures that sustain and direct the Church’s common initiatives. These structures are defined and directed in canon law. For example, a parish or a diocese must have certain bodies that aid its superior in governing the parish or diocese. (Cf. Laschuk, 2019).
Therefore, it is my ardent wish and prayer that Reverend Father George Ngalame could patiently follow due process until he formally loses the clerical state so that he may validly marry in the Catholic Church. I know he is still a practicing Catholic. Regardless of whether Reverend Father George Ngalame remains a priest or finally loses the clerical state, I resolve with candor to continue to appreciate his person. The great impact he had on me and others as students of Bishop Rogan College cannot be forgotten. As a Christian, I call on all of you to kindly pray for our friend and brother, Reverend Father George Ngalame. Since he has openly made his intention to marry, let us ardently pray that his process of losing the clerical state will go smoothly in the Holy See so that the wedding bells may soon ring in accordance with canon law, which is the law that still binds Reverend Father George Ngalame in his status as a cleric until he formally loses the clerical state. It is my ardent wish that we pray for him during this moment of his life, for he is still our brother and friend, he is still a child of God, whose Father is our Father who is in Heaven. Amen.
Researched by Nchumbonga George Lekelefac, B. Phil., (Mexico); S.T.B., (Rome); J.C.L/M.C.L., (Ottawa), Diploma in English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, Dutch; Doctorate Candidate at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Katholisch-Theologische Fakultät, Ökumenisches Institut, Robert-Koch-Straße 29, 48149 Münster, Deutschland, Europe.
Email: nchumbong@yahoo.com; My Signature: Nchumbonga George Lekelefac