A priest either belongs to an order or is considered a diocesan priest. A diocese is a geographical area named after the major city within its confines. Larger dioceses are called arch-dioceses, so for example you have the Diocese of Harrisburg and the Archdiocese of New York. Diocesan priests usually come from a church within the diocese and are educated at seminaries at diocesan expense. Once they are ordained, they come back to the diocese to become an assistant pastor at a church.

Priests who belong to an order go where the order tells them to go, which could be the jungles of Brazil or the inner city. Geography plays a limited role.

Timelies all!

As far as the new Pope goes, "Not my damn religion, monkey boy".(Which is to say, all this discussion of orders and such goes way over my head.)

Excellent! Thank you!

So they're a little like Orcas!

(I just learned about Transient and Resident populations of Orcas. Turns out whales? Sorta racist. Who knew?!? I'll come up with any excuse to talk about it. Transient and Resident Orca populations like carrots! Is billytea still here?)

So did prior popes tend to be Diocesan? Or some other order? (Though I would guess that Diocesan priests are less... politically ambitious?)

Thank you, Maria, for explaining that. I guess if a diocesan priest felt the call to an order, he could join?

One thing I noticed in the NCR article that Steph linked was the thing about him ministering to AIDS patients. 'Cuz, y'know, if you believe in strict interpretation (as he presumably does) of the Bible, it says what it says (re homosexuality, women), but it also says "judge not". So, assuming it wasn't just a publicity stunt or something, at least he's walking that part of the talk as well.

t Non-Denominational, but raised Catholic

Trudy, it depends. While they didn't belong to an order, many were more scholarly than pastoral. But on the whole, it's fair to say that most came up through a diocese. Diocesan priests are just as ambitious. There's a hierarchy and they want to move up just like anyone else.

Connie, there would be some wrangling, but yes. Many orders (like the Jesuits) look for promising seminarians and young priests and try to poach them. Just think of it like job recruiters. The Catholic Church, after all, is just as much a corporation as it is a church.

(I just learned about Transient and Resident populations of Orcas. Turns out whales? Sorta racist. Who knew?!? I'll come up with any excuse to talk about it. Transient and Resident Orca populations like carrots! Is billytea still here?)

I am, and have recently been reading about them too. (Apparently, in the northern Pacific at least, resident orcas like eating fish, while the transients go for mammals - sea lions, stray ungulates, whales. And sea lions can tell the difference between the two groups, and don't take evasive action from the residents.)

I see an opportunity for an enterprising young resident orca.

I am, and have recently been reading about them too. (Apparently, in the northern Pacific at least, resident orcas like eating fish, while the transients go for mammals - sea lions, stray ungulates, whales. And sea lions can tell the difference between the two groups, and don't take evasive action from the residents.)

Apparently resident orcas from opposite sides of the globe will get along fine in captivity as will transient orcas from opposite sides of the globe... but mix one of each? They'll know and they'll attack each other. That's hardcore.

Which to me is made extra weird by the fact that the two populations eat different things so they're not fighting over hunting rights. And its not territory, because only one group sticks around -- the other is passin' through, eating mammals nobody was eatin' anyway. They're just frikkin racist.