Linus said:
I have an inquiry. Where do catholics believe they get authority for the clergy? I know that deacons and elders/bishops/overseers are authorized in 1 Timothy and also in Titus, but what about priests, cardinals, and others? Please let me know.
Thank you for the question, Linus.
I will address priests first and then Cardinals.
Priests are also called presbyters, if that helps. They are mentioned in the Scriptures, but a whole diagram of the differences between the hierarchy is not as clearly stated in the Scriptures as we might like.
Acts 14:
20 And when they had preached the gospel to that city and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch:
21 Confirming the souls of the disciples and exhorting them to continue in the faith: and that through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God.
22 And when they had ordained to them priests in every church and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, in whom they believed.
St. Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, who was a disciple of the Apostles and possibly had seen Christ writes, in about 107AD on his way to Rome to be martyred, a more detailed information.
St. Ignatius of Antioch,
Letter to the Smyrnaeans:
CHAPTER VIII.--LET NOTHING BE DONE WITHOUT THE BISHOP.
See that ye all follow the bishop, even as Jesus Christ does the Father, and the presbytery as ye would the apostles; and reverence the deacons, as being the institution of God. Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. Let that be deemed a proper Eucharist, which is [administered] either by the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church. It is not lawful without the bishop either to baptize or to celebrate a love-feast; but whatsoever he shall approve of, that is also pleasing to God, so that everything that is done may be secure and valid.
It is clear from this that a bishop has authority over the local church, and the presbyters and deacons (in that order) are under his authority. The presbyters are the ones that the bishops could entrust the celebration of the Eucharist to, although again, this point isn't as clear as we would like it to be.
Much of the more practical understanding of the differenciation between the clergy must be taken from Divine Tradition, in the writings of the Early Church Fathers, and the way in which the Church has preserved the sacrament of Holy Orders, the laying on of hands.
As for Cardinals, their authority, according to my understanding, is solely as representatives of the Pope, they don't really have authority aside from him. However, most cardinals also hold high ecclesiastical office, most are bishops or archbishops, and only very few are priests.