A consultor is one who gives counsel, i.e., a counselor. In the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, it is a specific title for various advisory positions: *in the Roman Curia, a consultor is a specially appointed expert who may be called upon for advice desired by a department. Consultors, who can be members of the

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

, female or male religious, or

laity In religious organizations, the laity () consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. In both religious and wider secular usage, a layperson ...

, and possibly even non-Catholics, are called upon according to need and according to their competence in specific fields. The decisions are then made by the cardinals and (since the Second Vatican Council) bishops who are members of the department, those of the greatest importance being made at plenary meetings, held in principle every year, at which even those members not resident in Rome take part, while those that are important but of ordinary character are taken at the more frequent ordinary meetings, and the day-to-day routine work is done by the prefect or president of the department, assisted by the secretary and under-secretary and the other members of the staff. *in a

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

, the college of consultors consists of

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

s charged with advising the

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

; some decisions require that they be given a hearing, others require their consent; when a ''

sede vacante ''Sede vacante'' ( in Latin.) is a term for the state of a diocese while without a bishop. In the canon law of the Catholic Church, the term is used to refer to the vacancy of the bishop's or Pope's authority upon his death or resignation. Hi ...

'' situation arises, the college of consultors is obliged to elect a diocesan administrator within eight days of receiving notice of the vacancy.canon 421 of the Code of Canon Law
*in certain regular congregations (i.e.

religious order A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practi ...

s) consultors can advise the superior-general, (e.g. the six geographically diverse consultors to the superior general of the Passionists), provincial superior (e.g. Redemptorist Vice-provincials), or a local superior.

Sources and references

Catholic Encyclopaedia
Ecclesiastical titles Catholic Church legal terminology Catholic ecclesiastical titles {{RC-Canon-law-stub

See also

Sources and references