I’m reminded of the life of Msgr Robert Hugh Benson, of whom the Holy Father is known to be fond. An Anglican clergyman and son even of an Archbishop of Canterbury, he knew quite well the culture of mediocrity that prevailed among the clergy of the Church of England, which pushed him happily into the arms of Mother Church.
All too often, I’ve compared some contemporary Catholic clergy to lower-rent versions of the Anglican clergy of Benson’s time. The Holy Father’s statement is certainly something to which many priests who have forgotten their first love truly ought to take to heart.
Aside, Benson’s Lord of the World is to be highly commended as a shockingly prescient vision of the results of mediocrity among clergy and laity alike.
God bless.
