Pope Francis Urges The Clergy – Stop Acting As Priests – “Be” Priests

This morning in the Clementine Hall the Holy Father received in audience the participants in the Plenary Assembly of the Congregation for the Clergy. “The vocation is really a treasure that God places in the hearts of some men, picked by Him and called to follow Him in this unique state of life. This treasure, that should be found and brought to light, is not made to ‘enrich’ somebody alone. He who is called to the ministry is not the ‘master’ of his occupation, but rather the administrator of a present that God has actually turned over to him for the good of all individuals, or rather for all mankind, even those who have actually drifted away from spiritual practice or do not profess faith in Christ”. Pope Francis included that “at the same time, all the Christian community is the custodian of the treasure of these occupations, predestined to its service, and must constantly understand its job of promoting, welcoming and accompanying them with love”.

The Pope advised the clergy that they too should play their role in development. “This involves protecting and supporting occupations, so that they bear fully grown fruit”. He remarked that Jesus did not call his disciples by saying to them “come, I will discuss to you”, or “follow me, I will certainly teach you”. “The development Christ provided his disciples instead took the type of ‘come and follow me’, ‘do as I do’, and this is the approach that today, too, the Church has to offer her ministers. … For this factor, it is a job that is never finished, since priests never stop being Jesus’ disciples; they never ever stop following him”.

Pope Francis discussed evangelisation as the aim of vocation. “Every vocation is for the mission, and the mission of ordained ministers is evangelisation”, he continued,  “the first form of evangelisation is the witness of fraternity and of communion between priests and bishop”. He concluded by stressing that it is essential for the clergy to “be priests” … free of every spiritual worldliness, aware that it is their lives that evangelise rather than their works”, instead of taking a restricted view of priesthood as an occupation.”  Likewise, Pope Francis asked the bishops to consider the good of the people of God, to study the schedule of vocations thoroughly, and not to accept priests merely because there is a shortage of them in the diocese.