Benin: A Bishop Orders the Cassock to Be Worn

Church law prescribes that all clergy must wear an ecclesiastical habit suited to the local customs (canon 284 of the 1983 Code, a repetition of canon 186 of the 1917 Code). This duty applies just as universally as the law that prescribes it: the reason is that the ecclesiastical habit emphasizes the consecration of the minister of Jesus Christ.

Unfortunately, in the materialistic and more and more secularized Western world, the cassock, the ideal habit for the clergy, is no longer the common rule; far from it. And so the recent decree that has just been promulgated by a young Beninese bishop is a welcomed sight. Bishop Aristide Gonsallo is the bishop of Porto-Novo, the country’s capital. The diocese was erected in 1955 and includes the two departments of Oueme and the Plateau, which represents about 5,541 square kilometers, with a population of over 1,137,000 souls. 227 priests are presently incardinated in this diocese.

Invoking Church law, the prelate has just decreed, in a letter dated May 9, 2017, that:

1. The only normal ecclesiastical habit of all clergy (diocesan, religious, clerical members of a society of apostolic life) in the diocese of Porto-Novo is the cassock;
2. It is obligatory to wear the cassock:

• For the celebration or administration of all sacraments and especially that of the Eucharist…;
• During any meeting of the clergy and any meeting with the participation of the clergy, be it on the diocesan, dean, or parochial level (…);
• In places where the faithful come to the clergy for the exercise of the priestly ministry;
• At the bishop’s palace, no matter the time or the reason for the visit;
• In any place where the identity of the priest could be questioned.

We can only hope that Bishop Gonsallo’s courageous decision will be followed by many of his fellow bishops.

Far from being a retrograde symbol from the fogs of bygone days, the cassock is the reassuring and distinct sign that not only keeps the priest vigilant in his exterior behavior and in his apostolate, but also and above all offers a public testimony of the presence of God and shows the special consecration of His minister to Our Lord Jesus Christ.