Declaration of Invalid Ordination: If it is proven that the ordination was invalid, the cleric loses the clerical state. Which statement is correct?

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Only bishops may declare
• D. It depends on the diocese

Answer: (A)

The essential idea is that the clerical state comes from Holy Orders. If an ordination is proven invalid, the sacramental act never truly took effect, so the person is not a cleric to begin with. A declaration that the ordination is invalid operates retroactively, removing any clerical status the person might have claimed. In other words, valid ordination creates a permanent clerical state; if validity is ruled out, there is no clerical state to maintain, so the result is that the cleric loses that status. This is why the statement is correct: the declaration of invalid ordination effectively erases the clerical state.