{"id":299,"date":"2022-08-08T17:42:20","date_gmt":"2022-08-08T17:42:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/?p=299"},"modified":"2026-02-25T01:49:51","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T01:49:51","slug":"roman-collar-question","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/index.php\/2022\/08\/08\/roman-collar-question\/","title":{"rendered":"Roman Collar Question"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Bulletin Q&A published 7-17-22:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why do some deacons wear a black outfit and white collar like a priest? They are not priests. They should not be wearing these vestments!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Canon Law: \u201cClerics are to wear suitable ecclesiastical garb according to the norms issued by the conference of bishops and according to legitimate local customs\u201d<\/em> (Can. 284). What is meant by \u201csuitable ecclesiastical garb\u201d changes over time and in different places. In 1998, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops approved a complementary norm to Can. 284 which states in part: \u201cOutside liturgical functions, a black suit and Roman collar are the usual attire for priests.\u201d <\/em>So all priests wear the Roman collar, but not all that wear the Roman collar are priests. And this can cause confusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seminarians are allowed to wear Roman collars while at the seminary after being admitted into candidacy. And you have probably observed Protestant ministers, both male and female, wearing Roman collars with shirts of all different colors. But what about deacons?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Canon Law, the requirements to wear ecclesiastical garb \u201cdo not bind permanent deacons unless particular law establishes otherwise\u201d <\/em>(Can. 288). So deacons don\u2019t have<\/em> to wear clerical clothing, but are they allowed to? Well this question is left to the bishops to decide. For us in the United States, the National Deacon Directory states: \u201cBecause they are prominent and active in secular professions and society, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops specifies that permanent deacons should resemble the lay faithful in dress and matters of lifestyle. Each diocesan bishop should, however, determine and promulgate any exceptions to this law, as well as specify the appropriate clerical attire if it is to be worn\u201d<\/em> (89).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so it comes down to the local bishop to decide when deacons can appropriately wear clerical attire. The policy in the Archdiocese of Detroit has changed over time. It was very restrictive 22 years ago when I was ordained\u2014I never even owned a clerical shirt with a Roman collar until a couple of years ago. Here is the current policy from the 2017 Permanent Deacon Handbook for our diocese:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPermanent Deacons are allowed to wear the Roman Collar within the Archdiocese of Detroit under the following conditions: \u2022 When presiding at liturgical functions in and outside of the parish. \u2022 While involved in pastoral ministry at hospitals, cemeteries, prisons and other facilities where the Roman collar serves as a valuable witness. Deacons wearing the Roman Collar are to ensure that they are known as deacons and should wear a designator pin or some other type of identity\u201d<\/em> (3.2)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the end of the statement, it is clear that the Archbishop is also concerned about people confusing deacons with priests. The statement mentions the Roman collar, but does not comment on the color of the shirt. Because I also share your concern about reducing confusion, I have made the personal decision to only wear a gray clerical shirt on the few occasions that I wear one at all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bulletin Q&A published 7-17-22: Why do some deacons wear a black outfit and white collar like a priest? They are not priests. They should not be wearing these vestments! According to Canon Law: \u201cClerics are to wear suitable ecclesiastical garb according to the norms issued by the conference of bishops and according to legitimate local… Continue reading Roman Collar Question<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bulletin-articles","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=299"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":445,"href":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299\/revisions\/445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/orthoscopy.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}