Our future priests
Writing in our special focus on vocations this week, Anthony Gathambiri IMC argues that poor conduct by clergy has the undesirable consequence of inhibiting young men in following the path to the priesthood.
“More complicated.. is the function of discerning whether the applicant indeed has a genuine calling to the consecrated life, and also whether he can fruitfully relate to congregations.” (CNS photo/Karen Callaway, Catholic New World)
This means that the reverse must also be true: the example of a good priest living his vocation with joy and integrity should stimulate young men with a calling to the priesthood to seek sacerdotal ordination.
Indeed, most clergy will recall one or more priests whose good Christian example, holiness and energy inspired them to follow in their footsteps.
At a time when the reputation of the Catholic priesthood is diminished by scandal and a culture that is losing esteem for clerics and religion in general, the Church needs young men who can represent a positive alternative to a discouraging public understanding of the clerical office.
New and recent vocations especially have the opportunity, and obligation, to give witness to the inherent goodness of their office. The commitment and aptitude for good leadership exhibited by younger priests is perhaps the best advertisement for the priestly vocation.
It is therefore imperative that the youth ministry—on national, diocesan and parish levels—should take a place of priority in the life of the local Church.
Priests who show a knack for connecting with young people—and this is a specialised ministry to which not every priest is suited—must be supported and their ministry be nurtured.
The creative use of the Internet, and the social media in particular, offers the Church opportunities to reach a broader audience than ever before.
These already are hugely important fields of mission and ministry; there is no reason why modern technology cannot be employed to promote and foster vocations.
Lay people also have a role to play in encouraging vocations, by prayer and by presenting the priesthood (and consecrated life in general) as an ideal that is still worth aspiring to, the offences of a minority of priests notwithstanding.
Parents must not stand in the way of a genuine vocation, even if the consecrated life fails to realise their dreams for their children.
Young people must be shown that the consecrated life is a radical but viable option, and that is fulfilling.
However, as the Church promotes vocations, and prays for them, there are also good reasons to be cautious.
For example, experts in the field of formation say that vocations tend to leap in environments of economic uncertainty, such as it is in South Africa. To some, the priesthood may represent an avenue towards a secure future. It may be a poorly paid job, but nevertheless one that offers protected employment and some social status.
A priest who enters the ministry for utilitarian purposes may not embody the ideal, but he will not necessarily be a bad priest.
At the same time, if the vocation is subject to calculation—cynical or just misguided—rather than a genuine desire to serve God and his people, then the product of formation might well be of poor quality.
In the past decades, dioceses worldwide have adapted and fine-tuned the processes by which candidates to the priesthood are selected or rejected.
The criteria usually include the applicant’s physical and mental health, his capacity to live a life of celibacy, and his orthodoxy. (Candidates are also supposed to be screened for homosexuality; many vocations directors circumvent that controversial requirement.)
More complicated than these yardsticks, however, is the function of discerning whether the applicant indeed has a genuine calling to the consecrated life, and also whether he can fruitfully relate to congregations.
While the Church must be cautious in choosing its priests—and the People of God have a reasonable expectation that all new ordinations are indeed a source of joy, not of future disappointments—it must also allow for imperfections.
The day before he announced his abdication, Pope Benedict explained that “human weakness shouldn’t make people afraid if God calls”, but people must trust in the power of God’s mercy, “which transforms and renews”.
Let us trust in God and pray that he will continue to provide us with sufficient vocations.
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