<P> As of 31st of December 2014, the Catholic Church consisted of 2,998 dioceses or equivalent jurisdictions, each overseen by a bishop . Dioceses are divided into individual communities called parishes, each staffed by one or more priest, deacon, or lay ecclesial minister . Ordinarily, care of a parish is entrusted to a priest, though there are exceptions . Approximately 22% of all parishes do not have a resident pastor, and 3,485 parishes worldwide are entrusted to a deacon or lay ecclesial minister . </P> <P> All clergy, including deacons, priests, and bishops, may preach, teach, baptize, witness marriages, and conduct funeral liturgies . Only priests and bishops can celebrate the sacraments of the Eucharist (though others may be ministers of Holy Communion), Penance (Reconciliation, Confession), Confirmation (priests may administer this sacrament with prior ecclesiastical approval), and Anointing of the Sick . Only bishops can administer the sacrament of Holy Orders, by which men are ordained as bishops, priests or deacons . </P> <P> The bishops, who possess the fullness of orders, and therefore the fullness of both priesthood and diaconate, are as a body (the College of Bishops) considered the successors of the Apostles and are "constituted Pastors in the Church, to be the teachers of doctrine, the priests of sacred worship and the ministers of governance" and "represent the Church ." In the year 2012, there were 5,133 Catholic bishops; at the end of 2014, there were 5,237 Catholic bishops . The Pope himself is a bishop (the bishop of Rome) and traditionally uses the title "Venerable Brother" when writing formally to another bishop . </P> <P> The typical role of a bishop is to provide pastoral governance for a diocese . Bishops who fulfill this function are known as diocesan ordinaries, because they have what canon law calls ordinary (i.e. not delegated) authority for a diocese . These bishops may be known as hierarchs in the Eastern Catholic Churches . Other bishops may be appointed to assist ordinaries (auxiliary bishops and coadjutor bishops) or to carry out a function in a broader field of service to the Church, such as appointments as papal nuncios or as officials in the Roman Curia . </P>

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