Opus Bono Sacerdotii Prayer for Priests
O Lord Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest and exemplar of priestly holiness and dignity, we are grateful to You for having chosen certain men for the ministerial priesthood by which You continue to instruct, admonish, forgive, nourish and strengthen Your Church.
We are sorely awware of the great need of priests in our time to be confirmed in their sacred calling so that they may continue confidently in their ministry of mediating Your graces to men and of representing them before Your august majesty.
Relying on the intercession of Holy Mary, Mother of priests, and of Saint Joseph, Her beloved spouse, we beg Your help for the priests who are the most troubled, tempted, discouraged and suffering.
May the noble and sacred office of the priesthood, which has too often been reviled and scorned, regain its admirable stature in the sight of all men for Your greater honor and glory, and for the sanctification and salvation of Your people.
Amen
“The parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15) shows God’s love for us and models how we are to love one another. In spite of his younger son’s reckless life and squandering of his inheritance, the father celebrates his return home, recognizing that his son has shown contrition and has changed his life. The lost who have been found are to be welcomed and celebrated, not resented and rejected.”
Priests, like others, should be given due process of law. Even when it is clear that an offense has been committed, the church should not by her policies send the message that she does not care about the clerical sex offender or that she believes him to be beyond redemption. After correction offenders should be welcomed back into their order “as full participating members, to the extent feasible.” - Avery Dulles, S.J.
I think that is what Archbishop Myers of Newark has done.
The macro level of culture will not forget this period of priestly abuse because we are partly an artistic symbolic culture and the sins then become part of a play and contrasts so much with celibacy and its black artistic uniform and with a Church that puts sexual issues to the fore. The Amish probably are providentialist in sex but they don't issue encyclicals from a costly building so no one notices what they think on sex which is probably stricter than Catholicism. And media is the new constant reminder keeping
ReplyDeletealive things that would centuries ago be forgotten. St. Antoninus rejected the curia's criticism of some of his moral views and stated that most of them had mistresses and so they shouldn't
comment. Later the Borgia Pope would be right in line with what the saint alledged. People forgot or never knew in those days but now you have the History station making the past present.
It's on the micro level of Catholics impressing the worldly by
witness at work or clergy with the needy of all types etc. that God will push forward. If we are going to have one Msgr. Meth a year and one handcuffed orange jumpsuited priest every five years, the iconic macro level where we are an art work is dying and intimate witness may be the future because that can't be hurt by Msgr. Meth. Culture...non Catholic culture... gave priests a place of honor in the films of the '40's. Four and half percent of priests over four decades ( but also 66% of admin clergy) has made
culture retract the honor at our icon level.
That's not the end of witness though at the micro level.
"...to the extent feasible."
ReplyDeleteI submit that if a sexual advance on a minor is part of the story, then remaining in ministry outside of a monastery, or a prison, is not feasible.