Personal Ordinariate and Personal Prelature : Married Roman Catholic Priests on the Increase

A lot of people are confused by what is meant by personal ordinariate and Personal Prelature. A personal prelature is an institution having clergy and possibly lay members which would carry out specific pastoral activities. The adjective personal refers to the fact that, in contrast with previous canonical use for ecclesiastical institutions, the jurisdiction of the prelate is not linked to a territory but over persons wherever they happen to be.The establishment of personal prelatures is an exercise of the theologically inherent power of self-organization which the Church has to pursue its mission, though a personal prelature is not a particular church as dioceses and military ordinariates are.A personal ordinariate is similar but different. It is headed by an ordinary who can be either a bishop or priest. It too is personal meaning that it does not have geographic boundaries like a diocese does.A personal ordinariate differs from a personal prelature in that an ordinariate is reckoned as a particular church.Married priests can be an ordinariate.In Kenya we are four validly Ordained Bishops with Apostolic Succession from Pope Paul VI.The book is is a must read to all Christinas