Do you feel more at ease with priests/religious who wear street clothes?

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Many priests/religious who wear street clothes instead of their clerics or habits claim that they do it because it makes other people more comforable around them.

Do you feel more at ease with priests/religious who wear street clothes rather than those who wear clerics or habits?
 
lepanto said:
Many priests/religious who wear street clothes instead of their clerics or habits claim that they do it because it makes other people more comforable around them.

Do you feel more at ease with priests/religious who wear street clothes rather than those who wear clerics or habits?
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Absolutely not! Priests and religious who won’t dress in clerical clothes or habits are ashamed of their vocation and are an embarrassment to the Church.

I am fairly certain that somewhere in Church documents there is a reference to the fact that priests and religious are supposed to dress in their identifiable clothing.
 
I feel very uneasy and have little respect for a Priest who is ashamed of his Roman collar and a nun who is ashamed of her habit.
 
It makes no difference to me one way or the other. I work with religious priests who never wear clerical clothes. 2 previous pastors wore their collars only when they went to do hospital visits or to ministerial meetings.

The Order of sisters I deal with don’t wear a habit, although a veil is still worn by some of the much older ones – the youngest member of their order in Canada is over 40.
 
Clothing makes absolutely no difference to me.
The priests and nuns (and I know many) conduct themselves the same no mattter if they are in casual attire or in their habit.

Clothes do not make the man (or woman).
 
N0 I do NOT and feel as did Pope JPII the Great that the clericalclothing and habit of the religious is a visible sign of their vocation and a witness of heir committment to God. When speaking to a Priest or Religious who wear their habit or clerics, there is no ambiguity as to who you are speaking with and what they beleive. I have also found that they also tend to be happier and more zealous to share Christ with you. The Dominicam Sisters in Nashville and Michigan are examples that come to mind. I also found that for whatever reason,a Priest in cassock tends to be more available, prayerful, and willing to share on a spiritual level- maybe because I’ve always seen theme in cassock while in Church. The clerical suit tends to make the Priest seem more administrative, business like. The old saying “the clothes make the man” may apply here.
 
I understand the need to dress according to the activity, such as jogging/hiking/gardening and so on. But when a priest is shopping (just using that as an example), his clerical attire sends a message that he has dedicated his life to serving God in His Church.

I personally like seeing a priest LOOK like a priest outside of the parish setting, even though I once heard a priest say it was like wearing a Bulls Eye on your back.
 
lepanto said:
Many priests/religious who wear street clothes instead of their clerics or habits claim that they do it because it makes other people more comforable around them.

Do you feel more at ease with priests/religious who wear street clothes rather than those who wear clerics or habits?
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It’s not a matter of feeling comfortable. But I take them more seriously when they were their habbits or clerics.
 
I voted for clerics/habits, but it’s a conditional vote. Living and working in a monastery, it’s common to see the priests and brothers around the house in regular clothes. That doesn’t bother me.

But that’s only when they’re working or relaxing around the house. They never go out in public or see people in anything but clerics or a cassock.
 
Growing up around the Church, and with Priests in my family, I can tell you this…Priests (and nuns) are people too!

Yes, they took the Sacrement of Holy Orders. But that does not make them zombie-robots.

Don’t you think it gets old, having the apple-polishers come around all the time? Don’t you think it gets old, that everyone that sees them in “clerical dress” feels the need to carry on conversation limited to church or religion?

Think about it…

They can’t hang out with guys, or they’re accused of being gay.

They can’t hang out with gals, or they’re accused of having an affair.

They can’t hang out with parishoners, or they’re accused of showing favoritism.

Sometimes, their only escape is their families, or getting into street clothes and getting out a little and hoping they aren’t recognized.

Several months ago, I was on a service call at a supermarket in a nearby town. I saw one of our priests there, in jeans, sweatshirt, and ball cap. I deliberately avoided him, but our eyes met, and you could see it in his eyes…“dang, I just can’t escape…”

Give 'em a break. You expect them to be perfect, and in perpetual prayer. You make your expectations so high, they can’t help but not meet them.

Off my soapbox
 
Uncle_Norbert said:
Growing up around the Church, and with Priests in my family, I can tell you this…Priests (and nuns) are people too!

Yes, they took the Sacrement of Holy Orders. But that does not make them zombie-robots.

Don’t you think it gets old, having the apple-polishers come around all the time? Don’t you think it gets old, that everyone that sees them in “clerical dress” feels the need to carry on conversation limited to church or religion?

Think about it…

They can’t hang out with guys, or they’re accused of being gay.

They can’t hang out with gals, or they’re accused of having an affair.

They can’t hang out with parishoners, or they’re accused of showing favoritism.

Sometimes, their only escape is their families, or getting into street clothes and getting out a little and hoping they aren’t recognized.

Several months ago, I was on a service call at a supermarket in a nearby town. I saw one of our priests there, in jeans, sweatshirt, and ball cap. I deliberately avoided him, but our eyes met, and you could see it in his eyes…“dang, I just can’t escape…”

Give 'em a break. You expect them to be perfect, and in perpetual prayer. You make your expectations so high, they can’t help but not meet them.

Off my soapbox
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When they need to get away for awhile, they go on retreats. They need to be a visible sign in the world. People need to see them living their daily lives, and doing good for God and the Church and the world. They need to be visible so that if someone is having a rough time and needs confession, they will recognize the one to ask for it. They need to be visible so that if someone is hurt and someone else goes looking for help, they can ask the priest and the sick person can be anointed.

A good priest makes his life into a sacrifice. That doesn’t mean he can’t have fun, or spend time hanging out with friends or family- but he must always be conscious of his vocation. How would you feel if a man or woman decided to take off their wedding ring whenever they went out?

I find it very difficult to be at ease around priests/religious without their appropriate dress. I can relate to them as people- in matters other than religious ones- either way. Still, they are priests and/or religious- there is something that sets them apart from me, and I want them to act like it- and dress like it. That shouldn’t be a cold, distant kind of separation though.
 
m134e5 said:
When they need to get away for awhile, they go on retreats. A good priest makes his life into a sacrifice.

That doesn’t mean he can’t have fun, or spend time hanging out with friends or family- but he must always be conscious of his vocation. How would you feel if a man or woman decided to take off their wedding ring whenever they went out?
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Oh great, a retreat. More time with religion. I’ve seen life from the other side. I’m guessing you haven’t. Give 'em a break. Let them recharge their batteries, so they can better recharge yours.

Instead of inviting them over for pot roast on Sunday afternoon, try inviting them out to Chili’s for a beer and nachos, and to catch the ball game. They might turn you down, but at least recognize them as a PERSON rather than just a VOCATION that’s here for YOUR needs.

And, NO, I don’t wear my wedding ring. I stick my hands in electrical panels all day long, and a ring is a shock hazard. It doesn’t make me any less married, any more than not wearning a collar makes a priest less a priest.

You know, priests (and nuns) are human too. They get gas when they eat beans like the rest of us. They like Reba McEntire CDs. They like the Cubs. My cousin Tom (a priest) used to take us to Pensacola Beach when we were teens. Oh, the scandal! A priest in swim trunks!

And you wonder why the number of priests is dwindling? You hold them to a standard they can never meet. I’d rather have a good priest in street clothes, than a pedophile in a cassock.
 
Uncle_Norbert said:
Oh great, a retreat. More time with religion. I’ve seen life from the other side. I’m guessing you haven’t. Give 'em a break. Let them recharge their batteries, so they can better recharge yours.

Instead of inviting them over for pot roast on Sunday afternoon, try inviting them out to Chili’s for a beer and nachos, and to catch the ball game. They might turn you down, but at least recognize them as a PERSON rather than just a VOCATION that’s here for YOUR needs.

And, NO, I don’t wear my wedding ring. I stick my hands in electrical panels all day long, and a ring is a shock hazard. It doesn’t make me any less married, any more than not wearning a collar makes a priest less a priest.

You know, priests (and nuns) are human too. They get gas when they eat beans like the rest of us. They like Reba McEntire CDs. They like the Cubs. My cousin Tom (a priest) used to take us to Pensacola Beach when we were teens. Oh, the scandal! A priest in swim trunks!

And you wonder why the number of priests is dwindling? You hold them to a standard they can never meet. I’d rather have a good priest in street clothes, than a pedophile in a cassock.
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Wow. There are so many fallacies of logic in this post that I’m not even sure where to begin. :confused:

So I take it you feel more at ease with a priest dude in jeans and T-shirt then? :rolleyes:
 
Uncle Norbert, I think the question referred to whether you feel comfortable with a Priest or Religious wearing street clothes. Obviously you have no problem with that. But others like myself are more comfortable when we are interacting with them, as a Priest or Religious, when they wear the garment that distinguishes them as such. I would be unfomfortable going to confession if I saw the priest enter the confessional in jeans and a T-shirt; sorry that’s just the wayI feel. Being married, I am not required to dress in a certain manner that says “hey I’m married”, but I am expected to conduct myself every second of the day as a married man. The Priest and Religious have the added advantage in living their vocation to wear distinctive clothing that says “this is who I am, set apart for a apecial purpose for God.” It sets relational boundaries, without words. I guess the question that I would have is, if you are a Priest or Religious, why wouldn’t you want other to know?
 
Would you feel more comfortable having a physical done by a doctor who instead of wearing a lab coat, wore street clothes?

:eek:

So why would I prefer to confess my sins to a guy in blue jeans?
 
mschrank said:
Would you feel more comfortable having a physical done by a doctor who instead of wearing a lab coat, wore street clothes?

I only care that my doctor wears gloves as required, other than that I couldn’t care less if he/she is wearing shorts/t-shirt/birkenstocks.
Come to think of it, the last 5 doctors I’ve seen were wearing regular clothes as were all the ones I ran into in the hospital.

So why would I prefer to confess my sins to a guy in blue jeans?

Not a matter of preference, the last two I saw in the Reconciliation Room were in fact wearing jeans and t-shirts under their stoles. Not a problem.
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So, you’re more interested in appearances than substance?

Whatever. Twenty years from now, when all our priests are from foreign countries, speaking broken English. At least you’ll know why. But, will even THEY dress to suit your sense of appropriateness?
 
I have traveled with several priests on vacations and none of them wore the clericals (well except when we went to a papal audience). They said mass with shorts on under their albs and heard confessons in jeans and T shirt. It never seemed to bother any of us. We hung out at the pool with them in bathing suits. I will agree that the one priest who wore a Speedo was a bit much, but he did have the body for it. Ihave been to conventions where none of the priests wore clericals and it didn’t affect my respect for them one bit.
 
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