§ 70. c) Qualities as Regards the Freedom of the Candidate

These qualities concern, first, the free will which the candidate must manifest in entering the priesthood, and then his free standing in secular society—namely, that he is not bound by any obligations imposed upon him by society.

As regards the first, no one may be compelled to receive ordination; rather, this must proceed from the free will of the person concerned and from the calling which he feels within himself for priestly service. The canons condemn every ordination performed against the will of the one whom someone wishes to ordain;[1] and this is likewise condemned by civil legislation.[2]

As regards the second, the canons affirm the unchanging principle that the priesthood may belong only to persons who are, by their standing, free in society.[3] Since he who enters the clergy must devote himself exclusively to church affairs and occupy himself with these alone, without meddling in any secular business,[4] it necessarily follows that only he may be received into the clergy who is not bound by any external obligation that would prevent him from freely performing the service of the Church; and consequently, if he is bound by such an obligation, he can be received only once he has been entirely freed from it. According to the social conditions of the Greco-Roman state, the canons forbade—and, wherever similar conditions exist, forbid today—receiving into the clergy: a) slaves, until their masters free them from their obligations;[5] b) curiales, who held appointed posts in state service;[6] and c) soldiers, or more precisely, those who by state law are subject to military service.[7]