The ‘hierarchy of truth . Most Junior as Priest; Most Senior as Priest; Most Junior as Bishop; Most Senior as Bishop; Active Near Age Limit There is a Hierarchy of Truths, which refers to the levels of solemnity of the official teaching of the faith. STUDY. The primary role of the College of Cardinals is to act as special advisors to the Pope and to come together on the death of a Pope to vote for his successor. Roman Catholic Church hierarchy is a group of people exercising the authority of Roman Catholic Church. Hierarchy of the Catholic Church The Hierarchy, as the supreme governing body of the Catholic Church, consists of the Roman Pontiff, the successor of Peter, and the Bishops joined together with him and never without him (canons 330,331,336) in one apostolic college to provide for the common good of the Church. Related to the NCCB is the United States Catholic Conference, a civil corporation and operational secretariat through which the Bishops, in cooperation with other members of the Church, act on a wider-than-ecclesiastical scale for the good of the Church and society in the United States. XXIII, can. Having a hierarchy helps the Church lead the faithful at local and increasingly higher levels. Although not forming part of the official hierarchy of the Church, certain bishops are granted special status and position within the Church by being elevated to the College of Cardinals. In the ecclesiological sense of the term, "hierarchy" strictly means the "holy ordering" of the Church, the Body of Christ, so to respect the diversity of gifts and ministries necessary for genuine unity. This use has caused some confusion, but the trend now is to think of one church divided rather than of one true church and other false churches. a priest that works for the Pope and helps choose the new Pope. The Catholic Church describes as its hierarchy its bishops, priests and deacons. Cardinal. Ierarchia; from ieros, sacred; archein, rule, command).This word has been used to denote the totality of ruling powers in the Church, ever since the time of the Pseudo-Dionysius Areopagita (sixth century), who consecrated the expression in his works, “The Celestial Hierarchy” and “The Ecclesiastical Hierarchy” (P.G., III, 119 and 370). The word hierarchy is used here to denote the three grades of bishop, priest, and deacon (ministri).According to Catholic doctrine (Council of Trent, sess. The hierarchy of the Catholic Church requires nearly absolute obedience. In the Catholic Church, authority rests chiefly with the bishops, while priests and deacons serve as their assistants, co-workers or helpers. Vatican II also departed from established Roman Catholic theology since the Reformation by using the word church in connection with Protestant churches. Title: Hierarchy of the Catholic Church 1 Hierarchy of the Catholic Church. . a priest in charge of a diocese (a large group of churches); performs sacraments of Confirmation and Holy Orders. Hierarchy of the Catholic Church The hierarchy of Catholic Church is extremely complicated, as Catholic Church is one of the oldest institutions of the world and their hierarchy is very complex. In the ecclesiastical sense of the term, "hierarchy" commonly means the body of persons who exercise authority within a Christian church. The highest authority belongs to the Bishop of Rome (the pope), who “has full, supreme and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no.882).