Vatican City, Apr 5, 2004 / 22:00 pm
During the presentation on Tuesday morning of Pope John Paul’s Letter to the Priests, Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy and Archbishop Csaba Ternyak –Secretary of the same dicastery- said that priests who are faithful to their vocation are an inspiration for new vocations among young people.
During the presentation of the Letter, which the Pope traditionally releases on Holy Thursday, Cardinal Castrillon emphasized “the intimate connection of the sacrament of the Eucharist with the ordained priesthood,” as well as “the irreplaceable nature of the ordained ministry.”
The Cardinal then said that the Pontiff also wants to stress in his letter the need of a “vocational pastoral” care.
Prayer for vocations “must be accompanied by pastoral care with the purpose of understanding life is a vocation and that God calls some of us to follow Him more closely in communion with Him and in self-giving.”