UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter
Thomas Reese | Oct. 5, 2014
In an address to the Vatican Congregation for the Clergy, Pope Francis warned bishops against accepting men for the priesthood who are not healthy or balanced.
The Congregation for the Clergy deals with priestly vocations and formation as well as the life of priests. The pope spoke during an October 3 plenary meeting of the congregation, which includes cardinals and bishops from all over the world.
“We need priests; vocations are missing,” said the pope in departing from his prepared remarks to the congregation. “The Lord is calling but it’s not enough.” But he warned bishops, “we have the temptation to take without discernment, the young men who present themselves. This is bad for the Church.”
The pope called on bishops to study carefully the vocations of the applicants. “Examine well if that (man) belongs to the Lord: if that man is healthy, if that man is balanced; if that man is capable of giving life, of evangelizing,” exhorted the pope. “If that man is capable of forming a family, and of renouncing this to follow Jesus.”
The pope acknowledged that serious problems arise if desperate bishops accept just anyone.
“We have many problems today and in many dioceses because of this chicanery [Italian: inganno] of some bishops to take those who come – sometimes expelled from seminaries or from religious houses – because ‘I need priests,'” complained Francis. “Please, think of the good of God’s people.”
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.