Dalam kaitan itu, mari kita simak pernyataan ini: "Those apostles ordained others after them, who ordained others after them, and so on, until we reach the bishops of today's Church. Our bishops therefore stand in a continuous line of succession which stretches back to Jesus Christ himself. Just as in the early Church, when the apostles were endowed with a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit to enable them to fulfil their mission, so in today's Church, ordination witnesses the outpouring of the Spirit on the candidate. This is signified in episcopal and priestly ordinations (which are also known as consecrations) by anointing with holy oil and the imposition of hands."
Imam yang bertindak in persona Christi capitif itu tak terpisahkan dari ajaran dogma tentang suksesi jabatan dan juga tentang "ordinasi" jabatan. Pada saat proses ordinasi, imam sekaligus menerima karakter khusus yang sakral-adikodrati, yang melekat pada diri seorang imam Katolik, yang memampukannya melakukan pelayanan sakramental.(Bersambung)