A letter to brother priests
to encourage and support them
 |
| A priest stands before the image of St John Vianney |
Pope Francis expresses his thanks for the daily service of
so many priests who accompany the people of God in every part of the world
Andrea Tornielli - Vatican City
The scandal of abuse, the cry of dismay from the victims who
have suffered unimaginably weighs like a burden on the shoulders of every
priest. There are priests who are looked upon with indignation, with suspicion,
through no fault of their own, but who remain bleeding wounds for the entire
ecclesial body.
Pope Francis writes a letter to priests on the occasion of
the 160th anniversary of the death of the saintly Curé of Ars, a model priest
who served the people of God. The Pope, who certainly did not back down in the
face of the duty to denounce and reprimand when necessary, responds by thanking
the silent army of priests who betrayed neither faith nor trust. He showed his
closeness, encouragement, support and comfort to all priests in the world. To
those priests who every day, often with difficulty, defying disappointment and
incomprehension, keep the churches open and celebrate the sacraments. To those
priests who, overcoming sadness and habituality, continue to put themselves at
risk in welcoming those who need a word, comfort and accompaniment. To those priests
who daily visit their people, giving themselves up unreservedly, crying with
those in tears and rejoicing with those in joy. To those priests who live
"in the trenches", who sometimes risk their lives to be close to
their people. To those priests who have to go through days and days of canoeing
to reach some remote village to go and visit the isolated sheep of their flock.
There is a greatness not often recounted in the ordinary
life of the Church. A greatness capable of making history even if it will never
conquer the pages of guidebooks or the lights of the limelight. It is the
greatness of service in hiding, of those who give themselves without being
protagonists, trusting only in the grace of God. It is the greatness of a life
given to others by those priests "forgiven sinners", as the Pope also
defines himself, who have experienced and continue to experience mercy, who
leave the initiative to God and follow him in the service of their communities.
There was a need for a word of encouragement, esteem,
closeness. There was a need for thanksgiving like that contained in the pages
of the papal letter. So that the pain caused to the ecclesial body by the
infidelities of a few - as happened with the tremendous plague of abuse - would
not risk forgetting the fidelity of many, experienced despite the many labours
and human limitations.
For this reason Pope Francis wanted to give thanks to those
who still today offer their entire existence to God by serving him in his
people, and renews that initial "yes" of their vocation by
remembering the call received.
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét