Vatican City, Aug 11, 2008 / 08:55 am
The Holy See’s Press Office released the transcript this weekend of a question and answer session Pope Benedict XVI held with priests from Bolzano-Bressanone, where he is spending his vacation. Among the issues addressed by the Holy Father was the way in which priests should address tensions within their ministries, as well as the administration of the sacraments of First Communion and Confirmation to nominal Catholics.
During the meeting, which took place at the local Cathedral, Pope Benedict XVI said in response to the tensions priests experience in their ministry, “two fundamental aspects” need to be considered: “On the one hand, the irreplaceability of the priest,” who is “completely dedicated to the Lord and therefore totally dedicated to man,” and “on the other hand—and this is even more important today—the multiplicity of charisms and the fact that together they make up the Church.”
After explaining the need to show young people that priests can “serve others in an important way,” the Pope emphasized that celibacy only has meaning “if we truly believe in eternal life and if we believe that God helps us.”
He also said that faced with very busy schedules, it is important that priests “have the courage to limit themselves and the clarity to set their priorities,” the most important one being “the time a priest spends with the Lord and therefore having time for prayer.”