YEAR FOR PRIESTS - Priests ‘challenged’ by consumerism

Published Date: June 29, 2009

Priests today face challenges from growing materialism and need the support of the laity in carrying out their mission and vocation in the Church, Thai clergy say.

“The priest is not a priest for himself. He must live for Christ and for others, especially the poor,” Cardinal Michael Michai Kitbunchu, administrator of Bangkok archdiocese, said during a Mass to launch local celebrations of the Year for Priests.

Cardinal Michael Michai
Kitbunchu celebrates a Mass
to launch the Year for Priests

The June 28 Mass also aimed to mark the end of the Year of Saint Paul and celebrate the fourth anniversary of the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, which fell in April. June 29 is the feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul.

Cardinal Michai presided at the ceremony, accompanied by Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio, apostolic nuncio to Thailand, and other bishops and priests, at Assumption Cathedral. About 500 people attended.

Pope Benedict XVI had designated a Year for Priests to run from June 19, 2009. The special year also commemorates the 150th anniversary of the death of Saint John Mary Vianney, patron saint of parish priests.

UCA News spoke with some clergy on the special year.

Bishop-elect Phibul Visitnonthachai of Nakhon Sawan said although “the priest is the representative of Jesus, many priests are enthralled with consumerism and are looking for an easy life.”

“The priest must not forget his three vows of poverty, chastity and obedience,” he insisted. In celebrating the Year for Priests, he advised clergy to support laity in their roles in the Church and cooperate with bishops in evangelization.

Father Pipat Rungruangkanokkul, deputy secretary general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Thailand, agreed that priests today face challenges from secularism.

“The special Year of Priests is a time to reflect on the priest’s vocation,” he said, adding that simply praying for priests is not enough. Lay members of the Church need to support priests in their vocation by bearing their share of responsibilities in parish and mission work.

Father Vorayuth Kitbamrung, secretary of the Catholic Commission for the Clergy and director of the Catholic Social Communications Commission of Thailand, said that although the number of Thai priests has increased, “we also have to emphasize the quality of priests.”

The clergy commission and bishops’ conference have planned activities throughout the Year of Priests in every diocese to make all Catholics aware of the identity, mission and vocation of priests.

Among them are a seminar for priests from across the country July 13-17 themed “The priest: the challenges of life and the pastoral care”; a sabbatical retreat program for priests at the end of the year; the reprinting of a book on the life of Saint John Mary Vianney; distributing prayers for priests to all dioceses and parishes and screening films that feature priests, such as the 1986 movie “The Mission.”

This movie, starring Robert de Niro and Jeremy Irons, tells the story of 18th-century Spanish Jesuits trying to protect a remote South American Indian tribe.

According to Church records, as of last year, Thailand had 750 priests across the country, serving 334,937 Catholics out of a total population of 64 million.

Rate this article