At a glance: Duties of the Catholic church leaders

Bishop: The leader of a diocese. He is responsible for the spiritual welfare of the Catholics within its borders. Bishops have limited authority outside their own jurisdictions but sometime work together in a geographic area (the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, for example) to set local guidelines.

Archbishop: The title given to the leader of an archdiocese, a larger diocese with a higher rank that is often the center of a geographical cluster of dioceses.

Cardinal: The title given to a bishop — typically an archbishop of a large or influential diocese, or an important administrator within the Vatican — who advises the pope. Cardinals under the age of 80 gather in Rome after the death of a pope in a secret meeting (called a conclave) to elect a new pope.

Pope: As "pastor of the entire Church," he has "full, supreme and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered," according to Lumen Gentium, a 1964 document from the Second Vatican Council.

Auxiliary Bishop: A cleric ordained to the episcopacy who is not himself in charge of an active diocese, but who assists a bishop who is.

Monsignor: A senior priest given special recognition by the Pope for his service. Monsignors, like bishops, are technically prelates, but do not necessarily have any more authority than any other priest.

Priest: An "elder" or "presbyter," a man who is ordained to Holy Orders to offer Mass, hear confessions, administer the other sacraments (except for Holy Orders), and perform various other duties, always under the authority of the bishop.

Deacon: A man ordained to the lowest level of Holy Orders. The deacon has certain duties at Mass (he can read the Gospel and preach the sermon), and, like a priest, is the ordinary minister of the Eucharist and Baptism. He can also witness marriages. Deacons can be either "permanent" or "transitional"; a "transitional deacon" spends only a year in the diaconate before being ordained to the priesthood.

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