Your Excellency and His Excellency are still common, though the latter (such as in a written announcement, His Excellency N. will preside is more common).

Personally, as a counterpoint to Fr. D'Basio, I would argue that we should attempt to address people by their proper titles. Part of the problem in modern culture is this general disrespect that is about, for instance bank tellers calling customers by first name and priests referred to as Fr. Bobby.

Clerics, and that includes deacons, are entitled by Canon Law to a proper clerical form of address. While certainly one should not scruple over mistakes that were not out of disrespect, it should be common that Catholics use the basic titles of address.

I assume "I" stands for "illness"...but is the proper medical term an illness or disease? I would consider a flu or cold an illness.

Infection actually

What is the protocol concerning kissing the ring of a bishop or the Holy Father?

Traditionally you kissed the pope's feet, hence the traditional closing of a letter, kissing the feet of Your Holiness

That is no longer customary mind you.

The proper etiquette, formally, is for a bishop in his diocese, or an archbishop in his province, for cardinals and the pope everywhere, you genuflect (by custom on the left knee, right is for God) and kiss their ring. If the bishop is outside his jurisdiction, or in the presence of the Holy Father, you bow and kiss his ring. This would be the formal procedure.

Then since Fr. Matteo is a religious you should refer to him as such.

What is the custom when kissing the hands of a Priest. Should I genuflect?

I don't think so. But then the only times I've kissed a priest's hands is when receiving the blessing of a new priest, for which I was almost always kneeling.

This is the custom for priests of the Eastern rite.

I always freeze up when I greet my bishop. . .

I am actually good friends with him and he laughs at me because he knows I want to greet him correctly and I never remember how! He is good about itthough, he just shakes my hand or gives me a side hug and says 'Dallas! How are you?' saves me from making the initial greeting!

Do you use these titles in Confession, too? Like, would you say "Bless me Your Eminence for I have sinned" instead of "Bless me Father for I have sinned" if you were in Confession with a cardinal?

I think not. In this case, one is speaking to one's confessor as a spiritual father. The use of 'father' for diocesan priests is a relatively recent development, started by Cardinal Manning. Formerly, only reliogus (order) priests were called Father.

I don't think one would necessarily even know if a Cardinal (or bishop, etc.) were hearing one's confession.

Thanks, Katherine. That's what I was thinking.

Most of the time you probably wouldn't know who's hearing your confession, but there are occasions when you would -- for example, the bishop is celebrating Mass and is hearing confessions first, or you know and recognize him in a face-to-face confession.

Yes. I'm just guessing that even if you know your confessor, he is taking the role of spiritual father and therefore addressed as such. I'm also would guess that back before diocesan priests were titled "Father", one still said "Bless me Father..." at confesion.

You don't call the Priest Father any more?

No, other way around. Diocesan priests were not called "Father" until Cardinal Manning popularized it. Before then, only priests in religious orders were called "Father". Diocesan priests were "Reverend Mr. X"

In the Church´s legal language, when in Latin, regular priests are Dominus or Domnus and religious Pater.

I am pretty sure Reverend Mr. was for deacons, though I may be mistaken. At least in English speaking countries terms like parson, vicar, curate were common.

yes. "Parson" never made its way across the Atlantic for Catholic clergy. Vicar and Curate are specific offices, similiar (but not the same) as Assistant Pastor. "Reverend Mr." was used for diocesan priests in English speaking countries in the past. I have (somewhere, God only knows where!) an old book with manuscripts pertaining to the development of the Church in Illinois in the 19th century were the bishop writes to his priests as "Rev. Mr."

Since the modern practice of referring to diocesan clergy as "Father" did not extend to deacons (contrary to the practice of the Eastern Church, where deacons are called "Father"), nowdays, only deacons are left with the nominclature "Rev. Mr."

And mister was more reserved