An account is given of the position of the clergy in the Catholic Church in Europe in the eighteenth century, before the Enlightenment. The following aspects are covered: numbers of clergy, private masses, the exemption of priests from taxation, dress, celibacy, training, examination before appointment to a parish, the ordination of coloured priests, confession, the residence of priests in their parishes, church repairs, the receptiva church in Italy (a form of parish administered by a college of priests and sometimes by laymen also), patronage and election, a priest's books, the clergy and...

An account is given of the position of the clergy in the Catholic Church in Europe in the eighteenth century, before the Enlightenment. The following aspects are covered: numbers of clergy, private masses, the exemption of priests from taxation, dress, celibacy, training, examination before appointment to a parish, the ordination of coloured priests, confession, the residence of priests in their parishes, church repairs, the receptiva church in Italy (a form of parish administered by a college of priests and sometimes by laymen also), patronage and election, a priest's books, the clergy and secular work, missions, the sermon, the cathedral chapter, retirement and pension, the bishop, the residence of bishops (the requirement for a bishop to remain in his see), visitations, diocesan synods, and the bishop's powers.