Priests out of uniform

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ciero said:
Once again “Br. David” taking things personal. Get a grip man!
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Perhaps you should start by showing this man, who has decided to give hos life over to God in a very real way, a bit of respect
 
ByzCath said:
What did you expect? IMHO the title of the thread can be viewed as an opinion and an attack, that priests are “out of uniform”.

I don’t really think this topic can ever be discussed in a neutral manner except for stating what the Church does which is when a priest is working in a ministerial capacity he should be wearing clerical dress, out side of that the Church is silent and leaves up it up to the individual to decide for himself.

Also sometimes, as the Church recognizes, a priest who is not working in a ministeral capacity may be called in to do so and may not be dressed in such a manner.

Other than that, all we have is personal opinion and when **some are of the opinion that a priest and/or religious should be dressed in a certain manner 24/7 then it is a personal attack on those who do not do so **and on those who disagree, as has been evidenced by this thread.
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That is not at all true. I am in no way insulting religious who do not wear their habit all the time I just don’t understand how I am supposed to identify them if they are not in a habit.
I also don’t understand why everyone is acting like the collar is so awful … i think that the habits are so pretty and i can’t fathom not wanting to wear them in public … i know non-Christians who own habits because… religious are so … fascinating … and beautiful…
i wish you could see what some of us see or feel what we feel when we see a man in a collar or a woman in a habit … it’s more than … a uniform … it’s hope walking down the street in the flesh.

these people are a living embodiment of faith … and i know that it is a great deal of pressure to be placed on a persons shoulders …i get the weight of the collar … and that is part of my fears for them … (see previous posts)
but even at my lowest point when i despised Christ, the bible, and all things having to do with Christians… a religious always got treated with as much respect and good manners as i could muster … because i knew in my heart the kind of sacrifices they were trying to carry.
 
mackk said:
That is not at all true. I am in no way insulting religious who do not wear their habit all the time I just don’t understand how I am supposed to identify them if they are not in a habit.
I also don’t understand why everyone is acting like the collar is so awful … i think that the habits are so pretty and i can’t fathom not wanting to wear them in public … i know non-Christians who own habits because… religious are so … fascinating … and beautiful…
i wish you could see what some of us see or feel what we feel when we see a man in a collar or a woman in a habit … it’s more than … a uniform … it’s hope walking down the street in the flesh.
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My comments are not directed at you.

When I am not in my habit or clerics I do not expect to be noticed or identified as a religious. If I go anywhere that I have that expectation I dress appropriately. I also have no problem with the Roman collar or the habit. I actually love my habit, especially when I get to wear the white mantle. What I have issues with is other telling me when I should be wearing it or questioning why I don’t wear it as often as they feel I should.
 
ByzCath said:
My comments are not directed at you.

When I am not in my habit or clerics I do not expect to be noticed or identified as a religious. If I go anywhere that I have that expectation I dress appropriately. I also have no problem with the Roman collar or the habit. I actually love my habit, especially when I get to wear the white mantle. What I have issues with is other telling me when I should be wearing it or questioning why I don’t wear it as often as they feel I should.
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Bring back the TONSURE thats what I say!! 😃
 
mackk said:
I also don’t understand why everyone is acting like the collar is so awful …
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I don’t think anyone is saying wearing a habit or collar is awful. From what I understand the “problem” is that a habit/collar can pretty much be an open invitation for any and everyone to tell you about their problems and ask for help. While this can be a great thing, priests/religious are people too and have their own emotional needs, and one of these needs is the occasional break.

I love seeing priests/religious in their collar/habit as much as the next person, the is something comforting about that. But at the same time, I can imagine that after a LONG day, it might be nice to go out for coffee or something and be able to just sit in the corner and enjoy the quite without people coming up and talking.

The other problem with these threads is that people tend to be “more Catholic than the Pope.” The Church/specific religious congregation has rules about when priests/religious should be wearing their collar/habit. But there are also times where it is up the the discretion of the priest/religious and shouldn’t we trust these people enough to believe that they are following the conscience in these matters?

I don’t think the priests/religious have a problem with us, as the laity, expressing the opinion that we like to see priests/religious in their collar/habit, it just become an issue when people say, either directly or by implying, that they are not “good” priests/religious because they choose (within the rules that apply to them) not to wear their collar/habit. 🤷
 
mackk said:
That is not at all true. I am in no way insulting religious who do not wear their habit all the time I just don’t understand how I am supposed to identify them if they are not in a habit…
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I can tell you this…I would know my priest without the collar…because I see Christ in him.👍

But there are down times for priest…at which time it is not about your “need”…but about giving our priests a little bit of space and not acting like we “own” them.
 
FrCorey said:
I thought the shorts were for under the cassock?
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Only so long as the socks are tall enough!

As an Altar Server, way back when (1977-1986), T-shirt and Bermudas, with black dress shoes and calf-length black socks were the norm for Midnight Mass… but since it was televised, the ABp. always OK’d it, even if it did annoy the Vicar General…

Generally, tho’, we were required to wear slacks. Unless it was over 80°. But always, black shoes and black socks.
 
I have been reading this forum for a few years now, but have never posted before.

After reading this particular post and thinking about it for a few day I felt the need to coment.

I have been a priest for over 25 years, and with all due respect to Br. David OCD I must disagree with him. A priest or religious should always wear his habit or clerical dress. For over 25 years now I have never gone out in public without a cassock or at least a suit with Roman collar. A priest or religious is never off duty, that is the difference between a vocation and a job. In my opinion over the last few decades more and more priests have started seeing the priesthood as just another job. How many times have I heard from parishoners that Fr. X could’nt come to offer the last rites because it was his day off. I’m not saying that a priest or religious should never have a day off, but even on that day off they are still a priest or religious and should dress as such.

If you are going somewhere where clerical attire is not approprate maybe you should’nt be going there.

I would’nt agree with the previous poster who said it is modernism, but 50 years ago you would never see a priest or religious without their clerical dress.

Just my $.02 from many years in the trenches.

Blessings during this Holy Advent season.
 
padreb said:
I have been reading this forum for a few years now, but have never posted before.

After reading this particular post and thinking about it for a few day I felt the need to coment.

I have been a priest for over 25 years, and with all due respect to Br. David OCD I must disagree with him. A priest or religious should always wear his habit or clerical dress. For over 25 years now I have never gone out in public without a cassock or at least a suit with Roman collar. A priest or religious is never off duty, that is the difference between a vocation and a job. In my opinion over the last few decades more and more priests have started seeing the priesthood as just another job. How many times have I heard from parishoners that Fr. X could’nt come to offer the last rites because it was his day off. I’m not saying that a priest or religious should never have a day off, but even on that day off they are still a priest or religious and should dress as such.

If you are going somewhere where clerical attire is not approprate maybe you should’nt be going there.

I would’nt agree with the previous poster who said it is modernism, but 50 years ago you would never see a priest or religious without their clerical dress.

Just my $.02 from many years in the trenches.

Blessings during this Holy Advent season.
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That is your opinion and you are entitled to it. I ask that you respect me and my opinion. I am not forcing my opinion on you but it seems that you feel that you can force yours on me.

I follow what my superiors, rule, constitutions, and the Church says so I feel there is nothing wrong.

As for having a day off, I do not know how that entered into the discussion. I do not believe a priest is at the beck and call of the laity 24/7 but for emergencies they should be available or there should be a priest that is “on-call” so that they are covered but how they dress has nothing to do with this.

You say a priest/religious should be dressed in habit/clerics all the time because they might be called on in the case of an emergency? That is impracticable and unrealistic.

By the way, I am in the Order of Carmel (O.Carm.) not the Discalced (OCD)
 
ByzCath said:
That is your opinion and you are entitled to it. I ask that you respect me and my opinion. I am not forcing my opinion on you but it seems that you feel that you can force yours on me.

I follow what my superiors, rule, constitutions, and the Church says so I feel there is nothing wrong.

As for having a day off, I do not know how that entered into the discussion. I do not believe a priest is at the beck and call of the laity 24/7 but for emergencies they should be available or there should be a priest that is “on-call” so that they are covered but how they dress has nothing to do with this.

You say a priest/religious should be dressed in habit/clerics all the time because they might be called on in the case of an emergency? That is impracticable and unrealistic.

By the way, I am in the Order of Carmel (O.Carm.) not the Discalced (OCD)
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Br. David;
I was only stateing my opinion, not trying to force it on anyone. If you feel what you are doing is right then go for it.

Nowhere did I state that a priest should always wear clericals because he might be called out on an emergency, itis my opinion that a priest wears his clericals as part of his vocation, and no it is not impractical. At the monastery where I make my retreat the monks also wear their habits all the time, when cooking, cleaning riding the tractor whatever work they are doing, it is hardly impractical.

I have read a number of things both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI have written encouraging the clergy and religous to wear their clerical garb. I will try to post it here when I have the time.

Please forgive me for having offended you.

padreb
 
padreb said:
Br. David;
I was only stateing my opinion, not trying to force it on anyone. If you feel what you are doing is right then go for it.

Nowhere did I state that a priest should always wear clericals because he might be called out on an emergency, itis my opinion that a priest wears his clericals as part of his vocation, and no it is not impractical. At the monastery where I make my retreat the monks also wear their habits all the time, when cooking, cleaning riding the tractor whatever work they are doing, it is hardly impractical.

I have read a number of things both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI have written encouraging the clergy and religous to wear their clerical garb. I will try to post it here when I have the time.

Please forgive me for having offended you.

But I do have to say it is impractical in some cases. I only have one habit. Thats it, it gets dirty, I wear clerics until I have the time to clean it. I only have one clerical shirt, it gets dirty it stays so until I have the time to clean it.

I hope to get a second habit soon but it is hard to do so as the color brown for the fabric we wish our habits to be made of seems to be hard to find.

There is a cost to this and when one has the vow of poverty one tries not to go over board on spending the order’s money.

padreb
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Not that offended.
 
padreb said:
Br. David;
I was only stateing my opinion, not trying to force it on anyone. If you feel what you are doing is right then go for it.

Nowhere did I state that a priest should always wear clericals because he might be called out on an emergency, itis my opinion that a priest wears his clericals as part of his vocation, and no it is not impractical. At the monastery where I make my retreat the monks also wear their habits all the time, when cooking, cleaning riding the tractor whatever work they are doing, it is hardly impractical.

I have read a number of things both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI have written encouraging the clergy and religous to wear their clerical garb. I will try to post it here when I have the time.

Please forgive me for having offended you.

padreb
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Help me to understand. Everything that is being stated here is really mostly opinion…correct? The church does not require that a priest were his collar ALL the time…right? If a priest wants to then he is certainly encouraged to but if a priest does not wear it on his day off then that does not make him a “liberal”…right?
 
Annabelle_Marie said:
Help me to understand. Everything that is being stated here is really mostly opinion…correct? The church does not require that a priest were his collar ALL the time…right? If a priest wants to then he is certainly encouraged to but if a priest does not wear it on his day off then that does not make him a “liberal”…right?
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Right.
 
Annabelle_Marie said:
Help me to understand. Everything that is being stated here is really mostly opinion…correct? The church does not require that a priest were his collar ALL the time…right? If a priest wants to then he is certainly encouraged to but if a priest does not wear it on his day off then that does not make him a “liberal”…right?
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Depends. Most traditional priests that I know ( I do not mean SSPX or Latin Mass priests) would not go out in public without their clerics on. Also the more traditional religious orders wear habits at all times as well, when traveling on their day off even when cutting the grass. I am not saying that a priest is liberal for not wearing his clericals, just not very traditional in my opinion.
 
padreb said:
Depends. Most traditional priests that I know ( I do not mean SSPX or Latin Mass priests) would not go out in public without their clerics on. Also the more traditional religious orders wear habits at all times as well, when traveling on their day off even when cutting the grass. I am not saying that a priest is liberal for not wearing his clericals, just not very traditional in my opinion.
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So not another requirement for being traditional is doing more than is required by the Church.

I am sorry but it is attitudes like this that really offend others.
 
In the Philippines its more normal to see a priest wear a plain white t-shirt, pants, and sandals. Its a hot country. Imagine temperature in the 30s (celcius) for much of the year, and most of the parishes have no airconditioning. Being in a white shirt actually means they’re more ready to put on their vestments. Anything thicker would have the priests pass out before the Gospel is read.
 
ConstantineTG said:
In the Philippines its more normal to see a priest wear a plain white t-shirt, pants, and sandals. Its a hot country. Imagine temperature in the 30s (celcius) for much of the year, and most of the parishes have no airconditioning. Being in a white shirt actually means they’re more ready to put on their vestments. Anything thicker would have the priests pass out before the Gospel is read.
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I was last in the Philippines in 1965, this was certainly not the case then. I guess things have changed. I found it inspiring to see so many priests in cassocks, even in the heat.
 
Padreb–

Thank you for chiming in. I greatly appreciate having another clergy member contribute to the discussion, in addition to Br. David. The article looks very similar to the one referenced earlier and echoes some of the opinions made by the laity.

Can you cite where I can view the documents or speeches made by our two recent Popes?

Thank you.

FKB:)
 
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