Priests can be dismissed? I thought that the priesthood is permanent. Like Christ's 'in the line of Melchizedek'. Even if they do dress up like a clown and shoot water out of their plastic daisy.
Ordination causes what is called an ontological change. Nevertheless a bishop doesn't have to assign a priest to anything, or a priest can be suspended from exercising his priestly ministry or a priest can be "reduced to the lay state" but even a priest so reduced can function as a priest in emergencies for the good of the faithful (someone dying in the street, etc).
Any clergy can be dismisssed from the clerical state. It just takes a very long time and the Church court system is even more unwieldy than the American one. I don't know what the figures are, but there has been some action regarding the sex abuse scandals and clergy that participated in, or covered up for these horrific deeds.
When its convenient for them to tell the world priests can be dismissed, that’s what they say.
When it’s inconvenient for them to tell the world priests can be dismissed (as in the pederast priest sex scandals) that’s what they say.
Expediency rules Rome.