Should a priest wear clericals when out for some recreation?

[Lepanto]

I believe that a priest should ALWAYS wear his clericals when “on the job” so to speak. Moreover, he should always wear them when doing mundane things out in public like grocery shopping or taking his car to get fixed so as to be a witness to Christ.

But what about if he has some free time and wants to attend a concert, go to a car show, or just go out for dinner?

Although there is nothing intrinsically wrong with doing any of these things or other wholesome entertainment, and priests do need some recreation time, I’m not sure if he should wear his clericals.

I say this not because I think it is a good idea to blur the distinctiveness between the priesthood and the laity–that only harms the image of the priesthood. Quite the contrary, I say this because it may appear unseemly for the image of the priestood for a priest to be out for some worldly activity, even if it is wholesome.

(Obviously, I’m not talking about athletic entertainment that requires different clothes.)

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

I think that a cleric should look like a cleric except when he should look like a golfer, tennis player, or sailor.

 

[malta]

Priests should wear clericals when they are engaged in ministry and when in the office during office hours. I agree that it is preferable to wear them in public settings as a witness, but we should realize that priests are adults who should be allowed to make their own decisions about how to dress. Would you allow anyone else to meddle in your life to the point of telling you what to wear?

 

[Dr.Colossus]

Br. Rich SFO:

I think that a cleric should look like a cleric except when he should look like a golfer, tennis player, or sailor.

And when, pray tell, should a cleric ever look like a sailor?

…seriously, I’d like to know!

 

[pnewton]

Dr. Colossus:

And when, pray tell, should a cleric ever look like a sailor?

…seriously, I’d like to know!

When sailing!

Clerical clothing should not be worn when swimming unless a specialized priestly swimsuit is authorized.

 

[Dr.Colossus]

pnewton:

When sailing!

I suppose that was too obvious. I just got this mental picture of the old-time sailor suit, with the white hat and blue scarf, and I have no clue when a priest should ever wear anything like that, LOL!

Clerical clothing should not be worn when swimming unless a specialized priestly swimsuit is authorized.

A skilled tailor could probably outfit a wetsuit with a roman collar

 

[pnewton]

Dr. Colossus:

I just got this mental picture of the old-time sailor suit, with the white hat and blue scarf, and I have no clue when a priest should ever wear anything like that,

I guess the blue sailor suit would be appropriate for playing Popeye in a liturgical production illustrating the names of God. (I am what I am).

 

[Dr.Colossus]

pnewton:

I guess the blue sailor suit would be appropriate for playing Popeye in a liturgical production illustrating the names of God. (I am what I am).

It’s really scary how many allegories I just came up with to link Popeye and Catholicism…very scary indeed.

 

[baltobetsy]

Times when a priest should not wear his clericals: Sleeping, painting the house, heavy cleaning, pursuing a sport as a participant, any activity where a non-ordained person would change out of street clothes to prevent damage to the clothing.

Times when a priest should wear his clericals: All the rest of the time, including going on errands, going out to dinner or a show, visiting friends, traveling on a plane or train, etc, etc.

A priest can’t “change out of” the character he receives at ordination, so why put off the outward sign of that character unless absolutely necessary? It’s not “You are a priest forever, except on your vacation and your day off.” If he goes somewhere where being dressed as a priest makes him uncomfortable, maybe he shouldn’t go there. If he’s dressed as a priest, anyone in need can approach him and souls can be saved. It’s a burden he willingly picked up when he was ordained.

Yes, I’m a hardliner when it comes to this. I value our priests, and I want them to be visible, both so they can be useful and so they can be honored.

As a side note, our archdiocese has had sports teams made up of priests from time to time, with the baseball team called the Padres and the basketball team called the Men In Black. Priestly and fun at the same time!

Betsy