text: What if the Bishop decided that a lay person was fully qualified and trained and met his requirements to be his delegated person to represent him in carrying out the Sacramental functions he delegated. And ordained him as his priest delegate to celebrate Mass and even confer Sacramental absolution in confession.
  
  The only thing stopping a lay person from receiving the Sacrament of Holy Orders is our custom of restricting the Sacrament of Orders to people who first become 'clerics'.
  
  It is our choice to preserve the custom of dividing Christians into those who are 'clerics' and calling everyone else 'lay' people. In the beginning, everyone was simply 'Christian' even if they served the Community in some office.