| No, ordination is a sacrament, and requires a bishop to dispense it. It is not necessary to complete a course of study to be ordained, per se, but it is necessary in order to be licensed as a priest. Ordination permits one to dispense some sacraments. Any layman can baptize (although typically a priest officiates), and the sacrament of matrimony take place as a result of the exchange of vows, the priest merely officiates. However, only a priest can perform the eucharistic service, dispense the sacrament of penance, or give extreme unction. Bishops (who are ordained as priest and then consecrated as bishops), may also confirm and ordain/consecrate. A license does not give you the power of dispensing these sacraments, it merely says that the church allows you too, without penalty. The whole idea is that the personal worth of the priest does not matter, only the power of God operating through the sacraments...... |
