Hierarchy of the Catholic Church
The hierarchy of the Catholic Church consists of its bishops, priests, and deacons. In the ecclesiological sense of the term, "hierarchy" strictly means the "holy ordering" of the church, the Body of Christ, so to respect the diversity of gifts and ministries necessary for genuine unity.
Pope Francis, bishop of Rome since 2013
Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the Major Archbishop of Kyiv–Galicia since 2011
A cardinal (second from right) and bishops
Archbishop Robert Carlson, Metropolitan Archbishop of St. Louis. He is wearing the pallium.
Canon law of the Catholic Church
The canon law of the Catholic Church is "how the Church organizes and governs herself". It is the system of laws and ecclesiastical legal principles made and enforced by the hierarchical authorities of the Catholic Church to regulate its external organization and government and to order and direct the activities of Catholics toward the mission of the Church. It was the first modern Western legal system and is the oldest continuously functioning system of law in the West, while the unique traditions of Eastern Catholic canon law govern the 23 Eastern Catholic particular churches sui iuris.
Image of pages from the Decretum of Burchard of Worms, the 11th-century book of canon law
Gratian, the "Father of Canon Law"
Cardinal Pietro Gasparri, architect of the 1917 Code of Canon Law
Portrayal of a meeting of the Roman Rota