Why are Priests not poor?

[136831]

I’m just wondering why Diocesan priests are entitled to make money and have possessions, and why do people kneel before the Pope as a sign of respect?..I just sometimes wonder, have members of the Catholic church allowed their own self serving glory to creep in?And isin’t the Church set up in such a way that in facilitates this? I want to feel the authority of God…not people.

 

[Fr.Vincent_Serpa]

Hi,

Diocesan priests do not make of vow of poverty, but are to live a simple life style.
Most do. Theirs is not an easy life, but it is a most spiritually rewarding one.

When the judge enters the courtroom everyone stands in respect for the authority of his office. We salute the flag as a sign of our respect for that which it represents. We humans need such signs and symbols.

So we kneel and kiss the pope’s ring as a sign of respect for his office as the Vicar of Christ on earth. How fortunate we are to have the priesthood and the sacraments it offers us. How fortunate we are to have the Holy Father to teach and guide us. The more grateful we are, the less resentful we are. The two are mutually exclusive.

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.