Priests out of uniform

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fkb said:
I would say that the “Dominican Friar in civvies (Bluejeans and plaid work shirt) with his rosary hanging from his belt and a Dominican Cross on his collar” is in fact a type of uniform that is appropriate for the ministry. Ask the locals how one could locate a Dominican Friar and they probably wouldn’t forget to mention rosary, belt, or collar.

Thanks.

FKB
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The friar in question almost never wore the roman collar, despite being a priest-friar, and multiple doctorate holder. Around the office, a flannel work shirt, usually blue, blue jeans, belt and rosary. When in habit, he still had the jeans and a t-shirt on under it…

And almost always, a cigar or pipe. Often not lit.

One would be hard pressed to identify him as a religious, let alone a priest, were it not for the dominican cross and the rosary.
 
StTommyMore said:
Maybe i just hae an odd sense of humor, but I found this untintnetioned pun funny: It is incorrect to say that a priest who refuses to wear his collar
is a bad priest. We are afraid that some of our brother priests have
simply slipped into a bad habit :nun1:
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You are not the only one…:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
 
FidesSpesCarita said:
I apologize if I came across judgmental. That was not my intent.

Again, if I offended you I apologize. I hold priests in very high regard and would not want to come across as having been or as being derogatory towards a member of the clergy.
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I wasn’t offended at all. I didn’t think you were being derogatory. Different parts of the country/world have different environments for these kinds of things. I was just trying to let people see it from another perspective.
 
GwenL said:
Precisely because people react to a collar is why priests should wear one in public. (Of course, when participating in sports, it might not be appropriate.) (notice that I didn’t say 24/7)

A few evenings ago, at about 7 p.m., I walked with our rector and two other laywomen from our downtown cathedral a few blocks to a brewpub for a cup of tea and dessert and chat. He was wearing his Franciscan habit, with a Rosary on his belt. We walked into a restaurant/bar full of people and everyone looked. Most smiled and nodded, some looked astonished, some had no idea what they were seeing. I heard one woman ask another, “is that a monk?” What a powerful witness to Christ in the public square! When people in public see a priest in a collar or religious in a habit, they have to react and take a stand (even if it’s in the silence of their hearts).

Yes, a priest in a collar or religious in a habit will be ridiculed, stared at, questioned, and possibly harassed. But that is no more than the Lord promised. Wearing a collar or habit in public is NOT about the person wearing it–it is about the witness provided to the world.
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This brought back to me a story I’ve heard about my priest, but first some background.

He doesn’t always wear his collar in public. As much as I like the collar, all I can say is nobody has been better for my spiritual growth than he has, and nobody is more willing to be there for anybody when they need him (not just parishioners.) He always goes the extra mile. 1/3 of the new priests from our very large diocese came from our parish last year alone. I’m not sure I’ve ever met anybody who wants to bring people to God more than he does.

Some people mention their priest’s day off. He doesn’t have one. He does, however, take a couple of weeks for vacation.

One year he was on vacation in an entirely different state, in a restaurant, without his collar. This is a man so in love with God that the waitress approached him…to ask if he was a priest.

Collars in public are great, but living the life is more important.
 
As someone who is a new Catholic I’m always fascinated when I see nuns, monks or priests in their “uniforms”. Ok, I still get excited when I see a bishop wearing his miter on tv! I think its awsome when the priests wear the old cassocks that flow in the wind (they look like samurai or something 🙂 ). Anyway, I suppose its up to each person when they should wear the uniform or not.

Although I believe that when going out in public, the collar presents an awesome chance to witness. There are way too many people these days who don’t get enough of the transcendent in their lives. Seeing a preist reminds people that God exists and calls us to him…and that we are not the masters of ourselves.
 
catholictiger said:
i don’'t know if this is in cannon law but Its my personal opinion anytime you will be in public meaning you should be wearing your uniform whatever that may be. There could be minor exceptions but mainly if you are going into a public place you sould be wearing your uniform again what ever that may be.
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Prior to the Vietnam era, all military personnel were required to wear military uniforms to remind them of who they serve. I’m not quite sure exactly when and how long that existed. But today, personnel are required to remove their uniforms unless on duty or traveling.

Years ago people were much more civil than they are today. The more evangelical people become the more hostile the treatment of religious and clerics. I agree that they should be strong enough to wear their clerics/habits as much as possible. But it’s difficult to blame them for a short break from everyone flocking to them. Even Jesus maintained distance from the crowd at times. But, a counter argument could easily be synthesized to express that it would help them to control themselves by remembering who they are. Argument can go both ways.
 
Well, my priest doesn’t even wear clerical attire— ever. He doesn’t even wear them at Mass, he just throws his vestments on over casual clothes.

Irks me to no end…
 
PbloPicasso said:
Years ago people were much more civil than they are today. The more evangelical people become the more hostile the treatment of religious and clerics. I agree that they should be strong enough to wear their clerics/habits as much as possible. But it’s difficult to blame them for a short break from everyone flocking to them. Even Jesus maintained distance from the crowd at times. But, a counter argument could easily be synthesized to express that it would help them to control themselves by remembering who they are. Argument can go both ways.
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Fr. Corapi always wears his clerical attire, even when he’s been confronted by anti-Catholics. Similarly, the Franciscans in the Holy Land are spat upon routinely by Palestinians and others, but they always wear their habit which reminds people of Christ.

If they can do that, any priest should be able to wear his clothing in modern America.
 
Matariel said:
Fr. Corapi always wears his clerical attire, even when he’s been confronted by anti-Catholics. Similarly, the Franciscans in the Holy Land are spat upon routinely by Palestinians and others, but they always wear their habit which reminds people of Christ.

If they can do that, any priest should be able to wear his clothing in modern America.
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While these two examples are great, they are not the whole story.

As a religious I respectfully disagree with your opinion.

This thread seems to be just another case of the laity trying to push their wants and needs onto religious rather than respecting us and our ways of life.
 
my thoughts is as long as they are clearly breaking cannon law then we don’t need to worry about it. Personal opinion is personal opinion you don’t want to take personal opinion and force it upon people when it doesn’t affect their holiness
 
Matariel said:
Fr. Corapi always wears his clerical attire, even when he’s been confronted by anti-Catholics. Similarly, the Franciscans in the Holy Land are spat upon routinely by Palestinians and others, but they always wear their habit which reminds people of Christ.

If they can do that, any priest should be able to wear his clothing in modern America.
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Great examples but on the opposite end of the spectrum sometimes wearing a collar in public can be a cry for attention. I know of priests who wear their collars to certain restaurants because they know if the owner sees them s/he’ll comp all or part of their meal. Some priests wear them because they’d rather spend an hour talking to the mentally unstable person that sees the collar and runs over to them like a heat seeking missle than doing the administrative work of their parish. Some priests wear the collar in public simply because they enjoy being the center of attention.

Wearing a collar in nonministry situations can either be a great witness or a selfish escapism. Its wrong to automatically think a priest who doesn’t wear a collar at all times is a bad priest just as its wrong to automatically think a priest who always wears it is doing so for purely spiritual reasons (although atleast the latter is a charitable thought).

There’s a type of priest that corresponds to every type of personality that exists. As long as they’re doing their best to serve the Church and fulfill their vocation then let’s not sweat the details…
 
In my considering returning to Catholicism, The wearing of the cleric was particlarly meaning for me in that it showed me the man truly loved or at least respected his position as a priest. It would have been very cool to see him wearing a habit though. For some reason he, unlike to other Friars, seemed to always wear the roman collar over the habit. But he was also my favorite priest of the bunch. He showed me compassion hearing my story, which was a prelude to finally realizing I needed to come home. After working with my wife and me he chose to get licensed in counseling and now takes care of his brothers up north. We miss him, but he continues to interact with us through this fascinating technology called “email”.

Opinions are just what they are. I’d like to see our deacons where the clerics too when not on their regular lay jobs, of course, unless they feel particularly pious enough to live up to the character publicly. But, then again, that’s one opinion that just don’t count. Thank God. If people took me serious we’d go back to the stone ages of the Church and I’d end up getting stoned to death voicing my opinion at the wrong time with the wrong people…
 
Just for cnsideration…

My dad was ordained some 28 years ago, a Deacon within the Archdiocese of Anchorage, Roman Church Sui Iuris. Archbishop Hurley, following with the advice of the USCCB, didn’t allow his permanent deacons to wear the Roman Collar.

Archbishop Schweitz, however, decided, several years in, that my dad has need of a Roman collar… for his prison ministry, as a minimum. So, after 27+ years, Dad finally got permission, and in fact, orders, to get a clerical collar shirt.

The irony: you can’t see the collar past his beard, at least not from the front.

Dad wears it for his prison ministry, and when conducting certain classes.
 
Along the lines of this topic…

I live in the South. Protestant ministers greatly out number the Catholic Priests. It can be confusing. When you visit a hospital there are plenty of clergy/ministers wearing their ‘blacks’ on sick calls, so it is easy to call a minister ‘Father’ and vice versa. What really freaks me out is a lady minister wearing the ‘blacks’.
 
This thread seems to be just another case of the laity trying to push their wants and needs onto religious rather than respecting us and our ways of life.
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The laity has a tremendous reverence and love for its clergy and the position they hold. There is room in our church for diversity, that is obvious or we would not be having this conversation.

I haven’t read an opinion on this forum yet that was belligerent or even close to being pushy. Instead, the overwhelming spirit of the thread has been an expression of concern and a call for reflection and moderation. This thread has little ability but to raise awareness, which apparently some members of the clergy have previously done. We certainly respect the privacy and individuality of the clergy; the same should be extended towards the perspectives of the laity which are nonetheless as real.

Can the clergy still be effective outside of uniform? Without a doubt.

Can the clergy dress-down during on certain occasions and at their discretion? Why not, and they already do.

On the remaining occasions, shouldn’t the members of the church expect some minimum dress standard of their leaders? Of course, otherwise why have uniforms, vestments, and other garments that are outward signs of who we are and what we believe. Even the secular world recognizes this (pilots, doctors, policeman) – and even when they are off-duty and happen to have their uniforms on, the public views them differently from anyone else on the street (ie. automatic respect).

God bless you all. This has been a very insightful thread.

FKB
 
///What really freaks me out is a lady minister wearing the ‘blacks’. //

Yeah tell me about it. I saw a female bishop on tv, shouted “Noooooo!” and turned the tv off . :eek:
 
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