News Briefs

Seminary faculty: Spiritual fatherhood central to priestly identity

June 13, 2019 CNA Daily News 0

Washington D.C., Jun 13, 2019 / 03:09 pm (CNA).- Faculty at US seminaries have emphasized that spiritual fatherhood is an essential component of priestly identity, amid calls in some corners for priests not to be referred to as “Father”.

“Priests [are] like the father of a family – the spiritual family of the Church. It [is] a reminder to priests that they [are] to be like a father to a family,” said Fr. Pius Pietrzyk, O.P., chair of the pastoral studies department at St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, Calif.

The priest “exercises authority in a paternal that is a loving way and does so in a way in which God the Father himself exercises his authority over creation, that is, out of love,” he told CNA.

Cardinal John Dew of Wellington has said he no longer wants to be called “Father”, but “John”, suggesting that dropping the title Father could combat clericalism: “All I am trying to do is get guys to look at what clericalism might look like and what attitudes might need to change.”

Cardinal Dew, who in an Oct. 4, 2005 intervention at the Synod on the Eucharist suggested that the divorced-and-remarried could be admitted to sacramental Communion, cited an article by a French priest written in La Croix International suggesting that not using “Father” could “transform” the Church amid the clerical abuse crisis.

The New Zealander cardinal also noted the increasingly egalitarian aspect of society.

By contrast, the Second Vatican Council’s decree on the ministry and life of priests, Presbyterorum ordinis, while acknowledging priests’ role as disciples of the Lord in common with all the faithful, emphasized that “priests of the New Testament … exercise the most outstanding and necessary office of father and teacher among and for the People of God.”

The Vatican II document added that the faithful “should realize their obligations to their priests, and with filial love they should follow them as their pastors and fathers.”

And the newest edition of the Congregation for the Clergy’s ratio fundamentalis on priesthood – which was issued in 2016 and guides priestly formation around the world – noted that priests are called “to exercise a true spiritual fatherhood in the communities entrusted to them,” and that the priest should exercise “his pastoral responsibility with humility as an authoritative leader, teacher of the Word and minister of the sacraments, practising his spiritual fatherhood fruitfully.”

“Consequently, future priests should be educated so that they do not become prey to ‘clericalism’, nor yield to the temptation of modelling their lives on the search for popular consensus. This would inevitably lead them to fall short in exercising their ministry and leaders of the community, leading them to think about the Church as a merely human institution,” the ratio continued.

Neither Presbyterorum ordinis nor the ratio called for or suggested that priests no longer to be called “Father”.

Father John Kartje, rector of Mundelein Seminary outside of Chicago, told CNA that referring to a priest as “father” was first seen in the epistles of St. Paul, who identified himself as a father to the new believers of the Church in Corinth.

He said the use of the word ‘father’ is not meant to express tyrannical authority or abuse of power, but it is to be used as it was by St. Paul.

“The Church of Corinth was a Church that [Paul] founded. I think it was a Church of great endearment to his own heart and he refers to them as his beloved children. He writes in verse 15: ‘Even if you should have countless guides to Christ, you do not have any fathers, for I became your father.’”

“It’s a term of endearment and affection that [St. Paul] really cares for these people, but also that he does provide them with a servant leadership,” Fr. Kartje said.

He also said that in the early centuries of the Church bishops were referred to as “papa” and abbots of monasteries were referred to as “abba”, both of which are forms of “father”.

Fr. Pietrzyk said a priest is a spiritual leader of the community. He said authority is part of the Church and scripture, but it is not despotic ascendancy. As seen in Christ’s washing of the apostles’ feet, he said it is exercised paternally and lovingly.

“Christ tells his disciples on more than one occasion that they are to exercise authority… but he reminds them that they are not to exercise that authority in a way that lords it over the people,” he said.

“The apostles exercise authority, but they do it in a way different from the world, different from civil authorities. They do it out of service to the people of God. I agree with the cardinal [that] that needs to be at the forefront of the bishop’s understanding, but you don’t do that by not calling yourself father. You do that by being a father.”

Fr. Pietrzyk noted that St. Patrick’s Seminary renewed its curriculum recently. In doing so, the faculty compiled a list of characteristics to emphasize in priestly formation.

Spiritual fatherhood was at the top of the list.

“At St. Patrick’s Seminary, our primary goal in forming men to be priests is forming them to be spiritual fathers. It runs in everything that we do. That means they are fathers, that they exercise authority within a family, but they do so mindful always of the spiritual good.”

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Francis tells his ambassadors not to criticize him behind his back

June 13, 2019 CNA Daily News 0

Vatican City, Jun 13, 2019 / 02:04 pm (CNA).- Pope Francis sent a message to apostolic nuncios Thursday informing his ambassadors that they have a responsibility as papal representatives not to criticize the pope or to join groups hostile to the Roman curia.

“It is therefore irreconcilable to be a pontifical representative criticizing the pope behind his back, having blogs or even joining groups hostile to him, to the curia and to the Church of Rome,” Pope Francis said June 13 in remarks distributed to more than 100 nuncios meeting in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace.

Pope Francis said that he desired to share some simple precepts to help the papal diplomats live out their mission, calling the 4,000 word document a “Ten Commandments” of sorts for nuncios and their co-workers throughout the world.

One of the ten precepts outlined in the document is titled, “The Nuncio is a man of the Pope.” The section states that “certainly every person could have reservations, likes and dislikes, but a good nuncio cannot be hypocritical.”

“As a Pontifical Representative, the nuncio does not represent himself but the Successor of Peter and acts on his behalf at the Church … the Representative is a link, or better, a bridge of connection between the Vicar of Christ and the people to whom he was sent, in a certain area, for which he was appointed and sent by the Roman Pontiff himself,” Pope Francis said.

Other exhortations included in the document are to be merciful, obiendent, prayerful, charitable, humble, and to have initiative and apostolic zeal.

“The man of God does not deceive nor deceive his neighbor; he does not let himself go into gossip and slander; it preserves the pure mind and heart, preserving eyes and ears from the filth of the world. He does not let himself be deceived by worldly values, but looks to the Word of God to judge what is wise and good,” he said.

“The Nuncio who forgets that he is a man of God ruins himself and others; he goes off the track and also damages the Church, to which he has dedicated his life,” Francis warned.

Current papal nuncios have been caught in scandal. The apostolic nuncio to France, Archbishop Luigi Ventura has been accused of sexual misconduct against an adult male while he was nuncio in Canada. The Vatican diplomat is already under investigation for alleged sexual assault in Paris.

Archbishop Francis Chullikatt, apostolic nuncio to Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan has recently been accused of financial and personal misconduct during his time of service as the Vatican’s chief diplomat at the United Nations.

Some have pointed to Pope Francis’ comments about “having a blog” as alluding to the apostolic nuncio to Switzerland and Liechtenstein, Archbishop Thomas Gullickson, because he has a blog, which was linked to a Twitter account in which he shared articles critical of some of Pope Francis’ comments.

In 2015, the nuncio tweeted a National Review article entitled, “The Pope Got It Completely and Utterly Wrong,” which called Pope Francis’ comments in an in-flight press conference “imprecise, poorly judged.” The nuncio’s Twitter account has since been deleted.

Former nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Carlo Vigano, set off a flurry of debate last August by penning a public letter alleging that some Vatican officials knew of Theodore McCarrick’s sexual misconduct for years yet restored McCarrick’s place as a papal advisor to Pope Francis.

The former nuncio issued additional letters calling for Pope Francis to resign and gave an extended interview to the Washington Post published this week.

Francis’ document to nuncios quotes Saints Maximilian Kolbe, Paul, Augustine, and Paul VI on living the Christian life. It concludes with the “Litany of Humility” written by Servant of God Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val, Vatican Secretary of State from 1903-1914.

“The nuncio – and all of us – without a life of prayer, risks failing to meet all the aforementioned requirements. Without prayer we become mere officials, always unhappy and frustrated. The life of prayer is that light that illuminates everything else and all the work of the nuncio and his mission,” Pope Francis said.

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Chartres Pentecost pilgrimage draws 14,000

June 13, 2019 CNA Daily News 0

Chartres, France, Jun 13, 2019 / 03:01 am (CNA).- More than 14,000 Catholics walked 62 miles from Paris to Chartres Cathedral in three days in an annual Pentecost pilgrimage of prayer and penance.

Pilgrims from across the globe trekked through the French countryside June 8-10 praying the rosary, singing, and talking together, stopping only for Mass and to camp for the night.

“Each year it is a great moment because we can leave our work, leave Paris, leave everything to concentrate on our faith and prayer. I think it is the spiritual summit of our year,” 31-year-old Parisian Raphaëlle de Feydeau told CNA.

Feydeau has walked the Chartres pilgrimage together with her family over Pentecost weekend annually for the past thirty years. Her mother carried her along the way when she was an infant.

“When we walk sometimes we are in silence, sometimes we sing, we pray, and we have time to speak to each other,” Raphaelle’s mother, Sybil Feydeau, added. “It is a good place to meet Christ, and to look at one’s life and decide what I could do better … What does God want me to do with my life?”

The tradition of walking from Notre Dame to Chartres Cathedral dates back to the 12th century as a stage in the route of the Camino de Santiago. Chartres Cathedral, built between 1194 and 1220, has been an important pilgrimage destination throughout French history due to its relic of the Virgin Mary’s veil and its blue rose window depicting Mary holding Christ.

Today the Pentecost Chartres pilgrimage is the largest of its kind in Western Europe, in both number of participants and distance covered.

The pilgrimage’s opening Mass, traditionally held in Notre-Dame de Paris, was moved this year to Paris’ second largest church, San Sulpice, due to the damage caused by a fire that destroyed Notre-Dame’s spire and timber roof in April.

The pilgrimage is divided into four age groups with varying difficulty and pace, including a “family group” in which parents with children 6 and under camp and walk a portion of the route together.

Many of the pilgrimage participants were part of youth groups or Catholic scouting troops, who walked together carrying flags representing their country or region, crosses, and banners with the image of their chosen patron saint.

A 16 year-old from Ireland carried the Irish flag with babies’ feet painted on it to represent her prayer intention for the unborn after abortion was legalized in her country. An engaged couple from Portugal walked the pilgrimage together to consecrate their state of life to Mary. A delegation from New Zealand carried the banner of a French saint, Peter Chanel, who was martyred as a missionary in Oceania.

Catholics from Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and other Middle Eastern countries walked the pilgrimage with a group representing the French organization SOS Chrétiens d’Orient. The humanitarian group also organized two coinciding pilgrimages for Catholics in Iraq and Syria over Pentecost weekend in solidarity with the Chartres walk.

Twenty-six year old Majd Kassouha, a Syrian, said his intention for his pilgrimage was a prayer for peace.

“I have prayed for peace, especially in Syria, and in all the world because I don’t want other people to live what I have lived, my experience,” Kassouha told CNA. He and his family remained in Aleppo throughout the country’s civil war and said he witnessed the death of many of his friends and family.

“We have to pray … we cannot do anything without praying. We are so weak. That is my experience,” Kassouha, a 26 year-old Melkite Catholic, said. “We need this time to think about our lives and make a meditation.”

Priest chaplains could often be seen walking behind the pilgrimage groups hearing confessions of the young participants. Each group had a chaplain who provided meditations on the saints and catechesis on the social doctrine of the Church and this year’s pilgrimage theme, “The Peace of Christ through the Reign of Christ,” as they walked.

Since 1983 the Pentecost pilgrimage has been organized by Notre-Dame de Chrétienté, currently led by layman Jean des Tauriers and chaplain, Father Alexis Garnier of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter.

Because so many people come out in the streets to watch the pilgrimage pass by, this year the organizers added an “evangelization team” to engage with curious onlookers, Notre-Dame de Chrétienté Vice President Hervé Rolland explained.

“Each year we have people asking if they can follow us,” Rolland told CNA. “Two years ago there was a lady who was struck by the children walking … she asked, ‘Can I follow you?’ She did, and six months later she asked to be baptized.”

Rolland said that many vocations have also been discovered or confirmed for young people as they prayerfully walk the pilgrimage.

Three Masses took place over the course of the pilgrimage, each in the extraordinary form, though many private Masses were said as well. On Pentecost Mass took place in a field in the countryside midway through the day’s 20 mile walk.

The culminating Mass was celebrated in Chartres Cathedral by Archbishop André-Joseph Léonard, the emeritus Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussel.

“I want to tell the pilgrims something: the Catholic Church, no matter what anyone says, remains the most beautiful multinational of the world, that is the multinational of faith, hope and charity. Even if we are going through difficult times, we must always say the creed with conviction: I believe that the Church is one, holy, Catholic and apostolic. We must remember it is holy,” Archbishop Léonard told EWTN.

“In troubled times like ours, everywhere but especially in countries like France or Belgium, my country, there is a lot of confusion after the series of scandals we’ve faced, people definitely need to hang on to something sound. I think that an initiative like the Chartres Pilgrimage helps people to become stronger in faith and hope.”

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