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The Ritual for the "Degradation of a Bishop" (Degradatio ab ordine pontificali), found in the
Roman Pontifical of Pope Benedict XIV, 1862.
We deprive thee of the rights and privileges of the episcopal dignity, symbolized in
this pallium, since thou hast abused them.
Then, even if the degradandus be a mere bishop, the degrading prelate removes his
mitre, saying:
We strip thy head of this miter, emblem of the episcopal dignity, since thou hast
befouled it by thy ill government.
Then one of the ministers brings the Book of the Gospel to the degradandus, which
the degrading prelate takes from his hands, saying;
Give us back the Gospel! Since thou hast spurned the grace of God and made thyself
unworthy of the office of preaching, we rightly deprive you of this office.
Then the degrading prelate removes the ring from the finger of the degradandus,
saying:
Rightly do we pull off thy ring, the sign of fidelity, since thou hast made bold to rape
God's own bride, the Church.
At this time one of the ministers brings the degradandus a crosier, which the
degrading prelate takes from his hands, saying;
Thy shepherd's staff we take from thee, that thou shalt be powerless henceforward to
exercise that office of correction, which thou hast brought to disarray.
Then the ministers take off the gloves of the degradandus, and the degrading prelate
lightly scrapes thumbs and hands with a knife blade or a shard of glass, saying:
We hereby deprive thee, to the extent of our powers, of the grace of spiritual
blessing and of sacramental anointing, that thou shouldst forfeit the office of
sanctifying and of blessing, and their effects.
With the same knife blade or shard the degrading prelate lightly scrapes the head of
the degradandus, saying:
We utterly erase and eradicate the consecration, blessing and anointing bestowed
upon thee, and we put thee out of the episcopal order, whence thou returnest
unclothed.
The ministers remove the shoes from the degradandus Thus ends the ceremony.