Priests Lost Among The Secular World

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Dang_Nguyen

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It deeply saddens me to see religious priests not wearing their habit and diocesan priests not wearing their collar. It saddens me to see that increasingly secular world that we are living in starting to effects those who suppose to have the strongest of faiths. Clerical clothing exists so that priests and other clerics would stand out of the rest of the people, it is part of their identity as a diocesan or religious priest. Furthermore, the priest’s clerical clothing is also part of their mission as it allows laities to come to them where ever they are and seek spiritual help. I have seen so many great priests who hang up their clerical shirt, put away their collar and don a T-shirt instead; they just decide not to be a priest so they put on their invisible cloak and hide amongst the public. A priest is a priest forever, in and out the chapel; their mission never stops. Faithfuls are losing faith constantly and often they are not found in the chapel or at mass. A priest who wears their collar to Walmart could unexpectedly save a soul of someone who approaches him because they know that he is a priest. Their mission doesn’t just end as they leave the chapel.
The cassock is something that is rarely seen worn but I am glad that there are still some priests wearing it. The cassock is not anything special, priests wore it as street clothes in the past but now it is only seen at mass underneath the vestment and alb or hardly seen at all. I know that fashion had changed throughout times, my classmates in highschool now only wear clothes to add some color to their fleshy outfit, but it sucks to see that priests just dismiss the beautiful cassock to go with the boring long sleeve shirts and trousers. I’ve heard most priests or religious brothers argued that they don’t wear the cassock because it’s uncomfortable. To me, this argument is a huge cop-out for the fact they don’t want to wear a “dress” when they are not required to. “Comfortable life” is nowhere seen on the description of priesthood and they should have known this during their discernment. I understand that the cassock draws a lot of eyes but most of the people who are intrigued by it have nothing bad to say. The cassock is able to plant a seed into the heart of one who has been disconnected from their faith, and this seed may be able to bring them back to the church. It is more than just clothes.
For religious brothers and priests, their habit is a part of who they are, it is a part of their identity. You can clearly recognize Franciscans or Redemptorists on the street and you can strike a conversation about their mission or their ministry without having to ask what order they belong to. It is not right when religious brothers and priests look exactly like diocesan priests because they are not the same.
Clerical clothing is so important, so much more important than some priests think they are. They have to potential to save souls, they are not just clothes. I know that its hard to wear the archaic cassock, you don’t have to, but please don’t put your Roman collar away and wear T-shirts. A priest is always a priest and forever a priest; your mission never ends, nomatter you are.
 
Keep them, I pray Thee, dearest Lord, keep them, for they are Thine -
Thy priests whose lives burn out before Thy consecrated shrine.

Keep them, for they are in the world, though from the world apart;
when earthly pleasures tempt, allure - shelter them in Thy heart.

Keep them, and comfort them in hours of loneliness and pain,
when all their lives of sacrifice for souls seems but in van.

Keep them, and O remember, Lord, they have no one but Thee,
yet they have only human hearts, with human frailty.

Keep them as spotless as the Host, that daily they caress;
their every thoughts and word and deed, Deign, dearest Lord, to bless.

http://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?p=2672
 
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I think you need to be fair, here, depending on what part of the country you are in.

I am nearby the dioceses that had one of the worst sex-abuse cases. Priest, especially older ones, were considered guilty by association. It was not uncommon for them to get tires slashed when they went to a market for food, or be spat on when walking the streets or be “passively” refused service at a restaurant (ie told they were “too busy” and never seated). This is only some of the complaints. One priest had his brake line cut in the church parking lot. After that, they paid for a locking garage (city parish)

The dioceses then allowed these men to go about their out-of-church lives without their collars. It probably saved some of their lives.

As far as cassock vs pants…can we not let these men who serve God have a personal preference? Especially diocesan priests? I know Franciscans and Jesuits who wear robes as a matter of course, but even they will come in long pants and a button up collar when attending a family BBQ.

But again. I think those who did not live in areas where the sex abuse scandals were rampant fail to understand the real danger to life and limb that priests faced.
 
Keep them, I pray Thee, dearest Lord, keep them, for they are Thine -
Thy priests whose lives burn out before Thy consecrated shrine.
Keep them, for they are in the world, though from the world apart;
when earthly pleasures tempt, allure - shelter them in Thy heart.
Keep them, and comfort them in hours of loneliness and pain,
when all their lives of sacrifice for souls seems but in van.
Keep them, and O remember, Lord, they have no one but Thee,
yet they have only human hearts, with human frailty.
Keep them as spotless as the Host, that daily they caress;
their every thoughts and word and deed, Deign, dearest Lord, to bless.
 
Can you verify that the priests in your diocease were convicted by a jury? Do you have case numbers and the county names so we can see for ourselves these “rampant abuses”?

Or is this great scandal more rumor and/or exaggeration than fact?
 
There are many substantiated cases of abuse that never went to trial. That standard really doesn’t apply here.
 
OK. What were the pleas? And give us the case numbers, so we can determine why the DA didn’t follow through. Surely, there must be a reason.
 
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Bon_Croix said:
Can you verify that the priests in your diocease were convicted by a jury? Do you have case numbers and the county names so we can see for ourselves these “rampant abuses”?

Or is this great scandal more rumor and/or exaggeration than fact?
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The priests targeted were NOT the ones who had been convicted. They had not been accused. I am not giving out the diocese nearby my home. Nope. Sorry.

The problem was not the legal system but the court of public opinion. Perfectly innocent men were targeted for harassment. THAT is the issue. The men who had tires slashed, who had brake lines cut, who were spat on, who were harassed, etc, were NEVER accused, Never associated with them, NEVER were part of a leadership cover-up and Never would have thought of harming a child or adult for that matter.

Public opinion, on the other hand, was that anyone who was even tangentially associated with the Catholic Church was guilty and that vigilante justice was their right.

And before you say ILLEGAL and COPS and LAW.

The law was just as guilty as the court of public opinion in turning a blind eye to the priests being harassed.
 
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I’m not “hounding” on anything. There are a number of Charter violations that were either reported after the statute of limitations had run, or were not reported to law enforcement. This isn’t exactly news.
 
Bon_Croix said:
You all continue to hound on the issue. So, show us the facts.
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The police didn’t care that priests were harassed. The Bishop gave word that they didn’t have to wear their color for their own safety.

I’m sure if you asked the USCCB or perhaps the CARA they’d offer you the dioceses where this was permitted.
 
Surely, you aren’t suggesting that the problem of reporting after statute of limitations is greater in the C.C. compared to other sectors of American Society?
 
Bon_Croix said:
Surely, you aren’t suggesting that the problem of reporting after statute of limitations is greater in the C.C. compared to other sectors of American Society?
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It’s an issue everywhere. Its terrible in public schools. Yet society gives teachers a wide benefit of the doubt.

Two years ago we heard all about domestic violence and how high it was among football players? Did they lose any fans? Not according to TV stats.

Just look at the entertainment industry with Harvey Wienstien. Are people turning off their TV’s and cancelling cable in droves now that the industry has been seen as corrupt?

No.

People still trust teachers and coaches even after Jerry Sanduski, people still watch football even after several woman had their heads bashed in, and people are still watching TV in drove despite Harvey Wiensten.

But churches? MANY, MANY people hate those terrible, sinful churches.

We should be hated for what happened. It was unacceptable.

But now we have the most cutting-edge child protection available. That is something to be proud of as other places writhe in their filth.

Yet, society STILL brings up the scandals EVER DARN CHANCE they get.
 
I’m more interested in what is going on in a priest’s heart than what clothes he has on his back.
Being a priest is like being a judge or a police officer. Some people will revere you and some will hate you. If you think it’s prudent to blend in for your safety, especially when you’re going around by yourself and not in a crowd of other priests, do what you think is prudent.
 
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I said it wasn’t my concerns if you are referring to the scandals. I don’t even know why you all just spin away from my original point and go on a tangent about priests trying to be safe.
 
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Dang_Nguyen said:
I said it wasn’t my concerns if you are referring to the scandals. I don’t even know why you all just spin away from my original point and go on a tangent about priests trying to be safe.
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It’s not a tanget.

In the US, and it appears according to @Roseeurekacross AUS, it was a very real issue of priests being attacked.

So much so that the Bishop made allowances.

It is easy to say, “Oh, they should be willing to die for their faith. Oh they should be happy they could face Martyrdom. Oh, they are so weak.”

Except as you point out these are NOT priests who are doing mission work. These are priests going to buy their dinner.

The DO want to be Priests, and the Holy Mother Church, in her infinite wisdom–through the USCCB has ALLOWED them to remove their identifiers in order to remain safe…at least in some places.

Are you really going to sit here and tell me that you know better than the Holy Mother Church? That you somehow have come to a more noble conclusion? That perhaps your opinion somehow is more valid based on history?

I think anyone who declares they know more than Bishops is rather arrogant. I, for one, do not think that opposing the words of Bishops with priests in their care is “shameful weakness”. I think those who sit around offering pharasitical judgment are shameful.
 
Not every diocese has the same scandal, in my original post, I said nothing of them… I live in a place where priests are respected and yet they are still hiding their collar. I am not saying that once you are ordained a priest, the collar is glued to you forever, I offered my support in #17, did you just skip that?
“Declare that I know more than the church”? Just because I disagree?

You all just assumed that I’m here to attack priests for trying to hide from scandal when I was originally talking about something so much more casual and simple. The time of scandal was in the past, stop living in it.

What concerned me is that priest just decides to take off their collar and blend into the public for no good reasons. It’s like they have an option to decide whether they want to be priest or not.
 
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It’s honestly shameful to treat the collar as just an accessory. Priests in the past took pride it and wore it proudly nonstop. Now, it is just a part of their closet.
 
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