Priests: Complete adherence to Christ and His Church

Solid priestly identity essential as secularism grows, Pope tells priests

Vatican City, Mar 12, 2010 / (CNA/EWTN News).-

Pope Benedict met with priests and bishops participating in an international theological convention on Friday and spoke with them on the importance of understanding what it means to be a priest. This awareness of their identity is all the more important as secularism advances and some try to reduce the priesthood to being almost a 'social worker.'

Speaking of priestly identity in the modern "policentric" context, which often fades our idea of identity, "it is important clearly to bear in mind the theological specificity of ordained ministry, in order not to surrender to the temptation of reducing it to predominant cultural models," the Pope began.

In the presence of "widespread secularization which progressively tends to exclude God from the public sphere and from the shared social conscience, the priest often appears 'removed' from common sense," Pope Benedict said, adding that it's often a result of “the most fundamental aspects of his ministry."

For this reason, he explained, "it is important to avoid a dangerous reductionism which, over recent decades... has presented the priest almost as a 'social worker,' with the risk of betraying the very Priesthood of Christ."

Reacting to this dangerous reduction of priestly identity, the Pope proposed understanding the priesthood by looking at it as the Church sees the texts of the Second Vatican Council, using a “hermeneutic of continuity.”

In the same way, the Pope explained, “there appears to be a need for a hermeneutic that we could describe as 'of priestly continuity,' one which, starting from Jesus of Nazareth, Lord and Christ, and passing through the two thousand years of history, the greatness, sanctity, culture and piety which the Priesthood has given the world, reaches our own day."

In the times in which we live, he continued,"it is particularly important that the call to participate in the one Priesthood of Christ in ordained ministry should flower from the 'charism of prophecy.'”

"There is great need for priests who speak of God to the world and who present the world to God; men not subject to ephemeral cultural fashions, but capable of authentically living the freedom that only the certainty of belonging to God can give.”

"Today," said the Holy Father, "the most necessary prophecy is that of faithfulness" which "leads us to live our priesthood in complete adherence to Christ and the Church."

Priests, said the Pope, cannot forget about this fundamental association with God which "is the right framework in which to understand and reaffirm, also in our own time, the value of celibacy which in the Latin Church is a charism imposed by Holy Orders" and "an expression of the gift of the self to God and to others."

"The vocation of priests is an exalted one, and remains a great mystery even for those of us who have received it as a gift."

He continued saying that the "limitations and weaknesses" of priests "must cause us to live and safeguard this precious gift with great faith, a gift with which Christ configured us to Himself, making us participants in His mission of salvation."

"Dear priests," the Holy Father concluded, "the men and women of our time ask us only to be priests to the full, nothing else.

"The lay faithful will be able to meet their human needs in many other people, but only in the priest will they find that Word of God which must always be on his lips, the Mercy of the Father abundantly and gratuitously distributed in the Sacrament of Penance, and the bread of new life."

Five hundred priests and 50 bishops attended the two-day convention from March 11 - 12 at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome.

Homilies should not exceed eight minutes, advises Vatican prelate

Vatican City, Mar 11, 2010 / (CNA).-

In a new book consisting of reflections based on the 2008 Synod on the Word of God, the secretary for the Synod of Bishops, Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, writes that homilies should not last more than eight minutes.

In his book, “The Word of God,” the archbishop elaborates on methods priests can use in preparing their Sunday homilies. His first suggestion – taken from Pope Benedict XVI himself – advises that clergy members begin preparing for their Sunday homilies nearly a week in advance.

Archbishop Eterovic explains that each week the Holy Father begins his Sunday homily preparations on the Monday before, so he “has sufficient time to understand the passages from the Sunday readings. The readings become the object of profound meditation, in light of specific events, at personal and community levels.”

“Improvisations must be avoided,” the archbishop continues, “since the homily is too serious of a reality to be delivered to the faithful without adequate planning.”

The preparation for Sunday homilies, Archbishop Eterovic suggests, “can also take on the form of Lectio Divina.” He adds that priests who use this method usually “see generally positive results.”

The archbishop then notes five steps for improving homilies: “Determine the main theme of the homily, inspire interest in the faithful," and "do everything possible to transmit one’s own convictions by appealing to their hearts and intellects.

He also advises priests to help the faithful to memorize the theme of the homily … and prompt an active response in the faithful by suggesting concrete actions such as prayer, readings, activities in family, in the parish, at work or in society.”

It is “useful to remember that in general the homily should not be longer than eight minutes, the average time listeners can concentrate,” the archbishop says. “The preacher can write the homily, but at the time of delivery he should use an outline, a special guide that will allow him to follow a logical line of thought while looking at the faithful.”

Archbishop Eterovic also explains that in order to keep up-to-date, the preacher should use the Bible and a newspaper in preparing homilies.

Pope gives full support to German bishops' plan for responding to abuses

Vatican City, Mar 12, 2010 / (CNA).-

Archbishop of Freiburg Robert Zollitsch met with Pope Benedict on Friday to speak of the revelations of sexual abuse against minors and measures being taken to investigate and prevent further occurrences. Pope Benedict, he said in a press conference afterward, expressed his "full support" for the steps put in place by the bishops' conference to respond to abuses.

Archbishop Zollitsch, president of the German Bishops' Conference, hosted a press conference at the Teutonic College in the Vatican after the papal audience. There, he told reporters about the content of his meeting with the Holy Father which he had come from directly.

Archbishop Zollitsch said that he had informed the Pope further about the abuses that had come to light in recent weeks. The Pope, he added, listened to his account with "great dismay, attentive interest and deep emotion." The fundamental theme of the meeting was the Feb. 25 statement devised in the Spring Plenary Assembly of the German Bishops' Conference, where the bishops laid out a plan for addressing the issue.

The bishops established a four point plan to reveal the truth, appraise current guidelines for dealing with abuses, intensify prevention measures and appoint individuals to positions of oversight and responsibility.

The archbishop said he discussed these measures with the Pope, who in turn told him they should continue with these measures, as they are "decisive" and "courageous."

"We need to bring the truth to light" out of respect for the victims, even if they are facts that took place decades ago,” said Archbishop Zollitsch.

The episcopal conference, he added, is discussing new procedural measures, based on those used in Austria, for abusive priests. Besides these punitive measures, he pointed out, they foresee health-related, therapeutic or pastoral assistance for the victims and their families.

In each diocese, he revealed, there will be "contact people" to turn to for assistance and he expressed the desire of the Catholic Church in Germany to have contact with educators from schools and people involved in youth activities to develop a means of preventing future cases.

Furthermore, the president of the bishops' conference announced that on April 23, 2010 there will be a "round table" meeting organized by the Ministers of the Family and of Education to bring together everyone involved, including the families and religious to speak of the sexual abuses and possible preventive measures.

Members of the German Bishops' Conference will be in attendance at this conference, he said.

The archbishop also expressed the intention of the Church to collaborate with state justice authorities to investigate and punish those who have committed the crimes. He explained that the Church always collaborates with state justice, except in cases where the victim decides against it.

Church procedure, he added, does not put any obstacles in the way of state proceedings, they are independent of each other.

Explaining further the contents of his meeting with the Pope, which lasted between 40 and 45 minutes, he said that the Holy Father had approved of the decision to select a bishop to oversee the process of investigating possible abuses, and had additionally approved of the individual to which the job has been entrusted, Bishop Stephan Ackermann of Trier.

German clergy are prepared to accept responsibility for confirmed abuses within the Church, said the archbishop, who used the occasion to once again ask forgiveness on behalf of the episcopal conference of Germany.

Archbishop Zollitsch said he was "thankful" that Pope Benedict has lent his support to the plan of the bishops.

The Pope, he said, "gives us the courage to seek the truth."

The archbishop added that he was "confident that we will be able to continue on our path to heal the wounds of the past and possibly avoid wounds in the future."

In his comments to reporters, the president of the German Bishops' Conference said he knew too little to say anything about Msgr. Georg Ratzinger—the Pope's brother—and the cases from the Diocese of Regensburg.

He also reiterated the words from the German bishops' statement that the abuses have nothing to do with the vow of celibacy. The statement says that being "a celibate priest can only be promised by those who have the necessary human and emotional maturity for this."

Vatican: Pope was 'completely extraneous' to Munich sex abuse decision

Vatican City, Mar 13, 2010 / (CNA/EWTN News).-

Fr. Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See's Press Office, released a statement on Saturday morning in which he made three "observations" regarding sexual abuse by people and in institutions of the Catholic Church. He also addressed dismissed as unfounded attempts to link the Pope to a decision to transfer a priest found to have committed sexual abuse when Benedict XVI was Archbishop of Munich.

The first of the three "observations" made by Fr. Lombardi was to point out that the "line taken" by the German Bishops' Conference has been confirmed as the correct path to confront the problem in its different aspects.

Fr. Lombardi included some elements of the statement made by Archbishop Robert Zollitsch at a Friday press conference following his audience with the Pope. The Vatican spokesman highlighted the approach established by the German bishops to respond to the possible abuses: "recognizing the truth and helping the victims, reinforcing the preventions and collaborating constructively with the authorities - including those of the state judiciaries - for the common good of society."

Fr. Lombardi drew attention to Archbishop Zollitsch's affirmation, without any doubts, of the expert opinion that the vow of celibacy of the priest has no relationship to cases of pedophilia.

He also reaffirmed that the Holy Father supports the German bishops in their plan and that this approach could be considered "useful and inspiring" to other episcopal conferences in similar situations.

Secondly, Fr. Lombardi referred to the interview given to Avvenire by the "promoter of justice" from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Monsignor Charles Scicluna, who explained in detail the norms of the Church for investigating cases of sexual abuse of minors.

The Vatican spokesman highlighted the most important element of the interview: that the Church has in no way promoted hiding the crimes, but has put an "intense activity" in motion to confront, judge and punish them in an appropriate manner "within the framework of ecclesiastical ordinance."

He also wrote that it is important to note that special attention was given to these themes when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict, was the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

"His line has always been that of rigor and coherence in confronting even the most difficult situations," added Fr. Lombardi.

The final observation Fr. Lombardi made was that a recent communique from the Archdiocese of Munich answers questions about a priest who was found guilty of abuses after being transferred from Essen to Munich, where Cardinal Ratzinger was archbishop at the time. The communique, he stressed, shows that the archbishop was completely "extraneous" to the decisions made after the abuses were verified.

"It's rather evident that in recent days there are those who have sought - with a certain tenacity, in Regensburg and in Munich - elements for personally involving the Holy Father in the questions of the abuses. For every objective observer, it's clear that these efforts have failed," he stated.

The Vatican spokesman concluded by reaffirming that "despite the tempest," the Church sees the course to follow "under the sure and rigorous guide of the Holy Father."

Fr. Lombardi concluded by expressing his hope that the process might help all of society to "take charge" of improving ways to protect and form children and youth.