Replies

I find it hard to believe that American Roman Catholics view the priest as other than just another joe. They might "like" for him to represent them well, but surely they know better than to think that he's of a different nature than the rest of humanity.

Would that your statement were true. Sadly, it is not.

Check out this article written by a Roman Catholic theologian for a RCC publication...

THE AMAZING GIFT OF THE PRIESTHOOD

"By definition a priest is one who offers sacrifice. The Catholic Church teaches that the Mass is a sacrifice; it is, in a mystical sense, a re-presentation of the identical sacrifice that Jesus made of himself on the altar of the Cross on Calvary almost 2000 years ago...
...As St. Thomas Aquinas says, the proper task of the priest consists in being a mediator between God and men
...The Catholic faith teaches that the priest is another Christ, an alter Christus...
The Catholic priest is also a minister, but he is first and foremost a priest because he has been empowered by Christ to offer the sacrifice of the Mass for the salvation of all...
A Mass can be invalid for a number of reasons (we presuppose that the priest has been validly ordained): 1) because of a defect in the matter, for example, using sweet rolls instead of bread made only from wheat flour and water; 2) because of a defect in the form, for example, changing the words "This is my body" or "This is the cup of my blood" into something else; 3) because the priest positively excludes the intention to do what the Church does in offering Mass...
Thus, Masses offered by heretical priests, by schismatics, by Catholic priests who are plagued by doubts or who have false ideas about the Real Presence or transubstantiation, can be and probably usually are valid Masses. They must of course use the correct words of consecration, use wheat bread and wine made from grapes...
One becomes a priest through the power of Jesus Christ operating through the normal channels of his Church. Orders produce an ontological or real change in the one ordained. Once consecrated he is no longer a lay person and he is no longer exactly like non-priests. He has received a charism that consecrates him to continuing Christ's prophetic and sacramental ministry...
Simply stated, the Catholic priest is another Christ. Through his ordination he has been granted the amazing gift of being a channel of divine grace for the eternal salvation of those he come into contact with -- both in his official ministry and in his personal life...
He is a witness to transcendence both in what he is and what he does...
The priest is an alter Christus, another Christ. Msgr. Josemaria Escriva put it this way: "What is the identity of the priest? It is the identity of Christ himself."...

I suspect if we Protestants had said half these outrageous statements, we'd be criticized as malcontents who misunderstand and misstate the RCC and the magisterium.