Fr. Francis Mary leaves to discern vocation

[StrictCatholicGirl]

Third, even if it makes things 'better' for the priest, it won't for other people. People especially spiritual sons and daughters of the priest will feel betrayed and they have a right to. The priest's life is not his own. He does not live it for himself and his personal fulfillment, but for the salvation of souls. The departure of even a bad priest will effect in a negative way those he has ministered to.

Fourth, a word about discernment. The time for discernment is before ordination, not after.

Thank you Fr. Erik Richtsteig! I could have put in quotations his entire article. So it seems we're not alone in our feelings of "disappointment, anger, sadness, and surprise." I was beginning to wonder if I protesteth too much....but no, a priest is married to the Church and WE are the Church. When they leave, they leave us! Thank you for sharing this article!

 

Lisa (PS: One commenter on that blog called the widow a "SUCCUBUS"!!! By those standards we look TAME!)  

[QuisUtDeus]

You mean a priest committed a sin?  Stop the presses!

Fr. Malachi Martin left the priesthood, too, in a sense, keeping only his vow of celibacy.

It's better to laicize priests than have priests who don't want to be there because they will just be bad priests.   Some priests are ordained even though they don't really have a vocation, and while they are ordained and fully priests it may be that they don't belong there because God hasn't really called them.

Some of the blame should go to vocation directors.  While there is no sure thing, it seems more priests leave the priesthood in recent memory than in the history of the Church.  I don't know if this is due to poor formation or a improper discernment of vocation on the part of those guiding them, but some of this could probably be fixed at the seminary level.

I wonder if he was considering leaving the priesthood to become a fireman instead of marrying someone there would be the same uproar...

[QuisUtDeus]

WE are the Church.

I think that expression is just Modernist mind-fizzle to denigrate the role of the ordained and give the laity some false fuzzy feeling of importance.

Really, we are members of the Church, and a priest owes nothing to us.  His vow is made to Christ, not to us.

[Dewi]

Lisa (PS: One commenter on that blog called the widow a "SUCCUBUS"!!! By those standards we look TAME!)  

 

That guy makes me look like a cat person.

 

[StrictCatholicGirl]

I think that expression is just Modernist mind-fizzle to denigrate the role of the ordained and give the laity some false fuzzy feeling of importance.
Really, we are members of the Church, and a priest owes nothing to us.  His vow is made to Christ, not to us.

Wow! Kind of harsh words there! I was always taught that a nun was the spouse of Christ and that a priest was married to the Church of which we are all members. And I must respectfully disagree that a priest owes us nothing. If a priest leaves the priesthood he leaves us.. but may keep his personal faith in Christ.

 

As for laicizing, yeah, I guess it's better to leave a loveless "marriage" than stay in a relationship where there was never true love to begin with. He'll have to get a job in the real world anyway, especially if he's got a wife and family to feed.

 

- Lisa

[Dewi]

I agree with you that the slogan "We Are the Church" is annoying and inaccurate.

 

At times it's scandalous.  I was really annoyed to hear about some song or chant or something at World Immature Day... err... I mean World YOUTH Day, used those words.  I don't know about you, but the thought that the Church is a bunch of mud covered teenagers and 20something-wanna-be-teenagers-again who carry on shamelessly during Mass--is enough to make me vomit.

 

The Church is the Body of Christ.  The Body of Christ is the Church.  Or so my bible tells me so.

 

...and a priest owes nothing to us.  His vow is made to Christ, not to us.

 

I don't know about "owing" us, but the ministerial priesthood is just that, ministerial.  The parish priest is primarily there to serve the parish faithful.  All priests are called to serve, in one manner or another, the faithful, first and foremost by offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, prayer, and then all the ministerial activities that follow from and are strengthened by those primary acts of service, as pertains to a given priest's apostolate.

 

Would it be correct to say that the priest owes God a service to God's people?

 

[VetusOrdo]

Some of the blame should go to vocation directors.  While there is no sure thing, it seems more priests leave the priesthood in recent memory than in the history of the Church.  I don't know if this is due to poor formation or a improper discernment of vocation on the part of those guiding them, but some of this could probably be fixed at the seminary level.

Blame it on the "smoke of Satan" Paul VI let loose in the Church. Loss of vocations and priests leaving the priesthood are just more of those vibrant "new riches" and a wonderful fruit of the "New Springtime" that the Council brought forth.
Most of our NO seminaries are just garbage, anyway. I'm not surprised.

[loggats]

Good GOD that's adorable.

I see you're all still at it...

[QuisUtDeus]

In a sense, we all owe society at large something.  For example, we owe society a contribution in the form of work, obeying just laws, etc.

I just think it's kind of wrong to personalize this.  When someone quits work, they are leaving their job, not their friends at work.  Certainly, being a priest is more than just work, but the priest is an individual as well.  It seems a bit narcissistic to think of him leaving us rather than leaving the priesthood.

In this particular case, I believe Father is a religious (Franciscan?) and not a diocesean or priest, isn't he?  If so, who is he leaving?  TV fans?

Edit for clarity

[QuisUtDeus]

I think that expression is just Modernist mind-fizzle to denigrate the role of the ordained and give the laity some false fuzzy feeling of importance.
Really, we are members of the Church, and a priest owes nothing to us.  His vow is made to Christ, not to us.

Wow! Kind of harsh words there! I was always taught that a nun was the spouse of Christ and that a priest was married to the Church of which we are all members. And I must respectfully disagree that a priest owes us nothing. If a priest leaves the priesthood he leaves us.. but may keep his personal faith in Christ.

 
I don't think it's harsh.
 
Certainly the priest is married to the Church of which we are all members.  Married to the Church, of course, is a metaphor.  I don't think extending that metaphor to this extent works for a number of reasons, mainly because the priest's relationship is with the Church not an individual.  
 

What does a priest owe us?  He works for God, and God owes us nothing.   Sure, if we're putting coin in the baskets we expect to have Mass said for us, Confessions heard, etc., but we're not buying the priest like an indentured servant or something.