(CWNews.com) - The prefect of the Congregation for Religious has lamented that many Catholic priests are neglecting their duties under the pressure of conforming to secular culture.
In a February 14 interview with the Italian ANSA news agency, Cardinal Franc Rode said that priests today tend to be less obedient to the Church and more responsive to the world. He cited reluctance to wear clerical dress as a symptom of this trend.
“A drift towards bourgeois values and moral relativism are the two great dangers that weaken religious life," said the Slovenian cardinal. "The biggest problem today is the climate of secularization-- present not only in Western society but also within the Church itself.”
Cardinal Rode said that young people continue to hear God's call to a vocation in the priesthood or religious life. But he suggested that a lax model of priestly or religious life is not likely to encourage vocations. As evidence the cardinal pointed to the young Catholics who are attracted to contemplative life in highly disciplined religious orders. "They are attracted because it is a radical life choice," he said.
5 comments:
Well it looks to me as though you're quite like our priests!
do you think having a blog comes under the scope of being 'too bourgeois'?
i agree with his eminence's remarks, but as a young clergyperson in the holy roman church, i do find it difficult not to give in to the pressure of the older generations who look upon those of us who wear the roman collar with distaste.
opi
BB,
No, I don't think the blog is bourgeois, but maybe lots of other aspects of priestly life are.
It is more than bourgeois to insist on roaming around in Medieval clothing in at least the Western world. If people are vowed to live in an eschatological fashion wish to show that by their style of clothing, so be it -- but it does not make sense to look like characters in historical movies.
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