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Pope says bishops should be 'servants', not vain careerists

'The episcopacy is a service, not an honor to show off'
Pope says bishops should be 'servants', not vain careerists

Pope Francis delivers a blessing during his general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on Wednesday (Photo by Paul Haring/CNS)

Published: November 06, 2014 06:58 AM GMT
Updated: November 05, 2014 06:58 PM GMT

The world's bishops are called to be servants and shepherds who use their position to care for people and the faith, not to seek power and boost their pride, Pope Francis said on Wednesday.

The church has no place for men with a "worldly mentality" who are seeking a career, he said at his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square.

"It's sad when you see a man who seeks this office and who does so much to get there and when he makes it, he doesn't serve, but struts like a peacock, living only for his own vanity," the pope said.

The pope continued a series of talks on the nature of the church, focusing on the Holy Spirit's gift of the ordained ministries, especially the role of the bishop.

The catechesis began with a reading from St. Paul's Letter to Titus (1:5-9) in which the apostle lists the virtues the bishop must hold and the vices he must avoid, such as arrogance, irritability and greed.

"We all heard that, right?" the pope said, looking around him with a smile at the bishops who were attending the audience.

"There must be no place in the church for the worldly mentality," the mindset where men are seeking an "ecclesiastical career," Francis said.

"No, the church must not be a place for this mentality," he said. "The episcopacy is a service, not an honor to show off."

 

Full Story: Pope: Bishops must be servants, not vain careerists after power, honor

Source:Catholic News Service 

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