VATICAN CITY, OCT. 24, 2005 (Zenit.org).- The Vatican has reiterated that that only a priest -- that is, bishops and presbyters -- may administer the sacrament of the anointing of the sick. The Congregation on the Doctrine of the Faith emphasized that point in a Note published in response to several questions it had received in recent years. "Neither deacons nor lay persons therefore may exercise such ministry and any action in this connection is a simulation of the sacrament" and would be "invalid," said the dicastery. Canon law provides sanctions for such an action, it added. The congregation's "Note...
