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Extreme Unction 823. When a Roman Catholic dies, the priest anoints his sense-faculties with blessed oil to keep away the evil spirits, some say. Whoever asserts that to be the purpose is wrong. 824. Or perhaps it is to purify those organs from all evil. You are nearer the mark now, but not quite right yet. The last anointing is to purify the soul of those sins it has committed through the misuse of the various bodily senses. 825. Would you explain something about the Sacrament of Extreme Unction? Extreme Unction is that last of the Sacraments for the individual,...

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...