ntire province. The bishops, then, administer the dioceses. In his diocese, a bishop may be assisted by deacons (or vicar generals). And finally, at the head of each particular parish is their own pastor (Vermeersch).
             Throughout the remainder of this paper, I will explore a variety of positions throughout the hierarchy of the Catholic Church and try to answer questions of their origins, duties, and jurisdictions.
             The majority and most commonly known of these religious leaders are priests. The priests are a representative population in the Church that act almost as teachers. They are associated with their levels of faithfulness more so than anything else.
             The priest is the minister of Divine worship, and especially of the highest act of worship, sacrifice. The word itself stems from "presbyteros," meaning elder and has taken the meaning of "sacerdos" (Hoge). Priests, or their equivalents throughout different religions, exercise exalted sacerdotal functions as intermediaries between man and the Divinity. The priest may be assisted by inferior ministers of many kinds; he may belong to a special class of caste, to a clergy, or else may be like other citizens except in what concerns his sacerdotal functions. He may be a member of a hierarchy, or, on the other hand, may exercise an independent priesthood (Young). Among all these similarities remain some important differences as well. The methods of recruiting the ministers of worship, the rites by which they receive their powers, the authority that establishes them, may all differ. Through and through, one idea is common to all religions: the priest is the person authoritativ!
             ely appointed to do homage to God in the home of society and to offer Him sacrific
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