The function proper to the presbyterate in the catechetical task arises from the sacrament of Holy Orders which they have received. "Through that sacrament priests, by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, are signed with a special character and so are configured to Christ the priest, in such a way that they are able to act in the person of Christ the head". 158Cf. PO 8; 6; 12a; John Paul II, Post synodal exhortation Pastores dabo vobis (25 March 1992), n. 12 l.c. 675-677. In virtue of this ontological configuration to Christ, the ministry of the priest is a service which forms the Christian community and co-ordinates and strengthens other charisms and services. In catechesis the sacrament of Holy Orders constitutes priests as "educators of the faith". 159PO 6b. They work, therefore, to see that the faithful are properly formed and reach true Christian maturity. 160Cf. CIC 773. Conscious, on the other hand, that their "ministerial Priesthood" 161LG 10. is at the service of "the common Priesthood of the faithful", 162LG 10. Concerning the "two ways of participating in the single priesthood of Jesus Christ", cf. CCC 1546-1547. priests foster the vocation and work of catechists and assist them in carrying out a function which springs from Baptism and is exercised in virtue of a mission entrusted to them by the Church. Thus priests put into effect the request which the Second Vatican Council made of them: "to recognize and promote the dignity of the laity and their specific role in the Church's mission". 163PO 9b.
The catechetical tasks proper to the presbyterate and particularly to parish priests are: 164Cf. CIC 776-777. – to foster a sense of common responsibility for catechesis in the Christian community, a task which involves all, and a recognition and appreciation for catechists and their mission; – to care for the basic orientation of catechesis and its planning by giving emphasis to active participation of catechists and by insisting that catechesis be "well structured and oriented"; 165CT 64. With respect to this basic orientation which priests must collaborate in giving to catechesis, the Second Vatican Council indicates two basic requirements: "their role is to teach not their own wisdom but the word of God", (PO 4) and "to expound the word of God not merely in a general and abstract way but by an application of the eternal truth of the Gospel to the concrete circumstances of life" (ibid.). – to promote and to discern vocations to the service of catechesis and, as catechist of catechists, attend to their formation by giving the greatest attention to this duty; – to integrate catechetical activity into his programme of community evangelization; and foster the link between catechesis sacramets and the liturgy; – to secure the bonds between the catechesis of his community and the diocesan pastoral programme by helping catechists become active co-operators in a common diocesan programme. Experience bears out that the quality of catechesis in a community depends very largely on the presence and activity of the priest.