Vatican City, Feb 15, 2008 / 12:05 pm
A top Vatican cardinal complained on Thursday that members of Catholic religious congregations are perceived as worldlier, less obedient and increasingly reluctant to wear a cassock due to the influence of secular values.
Absorbing the values of western society, many religious are also less and less interested in prayer and community living and more interested in personal freedom, said Cardinal Franc Rodé, Prefect of Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, said in a conversation with ANSA.
"A drift towards bourgeois values and moral relativism are the two great dangers that weaken religious life," said Rodé, who heads the Vatican Dicastery which is in charge of monks, nuns and priests not attached to parishes.
The often-cited fall in vocations to the priesthood was actually not the main worry, the Slovenian prelate continued, noting that in 2006 vocations fell only 0.7%.