ROME,
SEPT. 3,
2009 (Zenit.org).-
It is
hard for
priests
to
fulfill
the role
that God
has
entrusted
to them,
but
there
are
tools to
help
both
parishes
and
their
pastors
to stay
focused
on true
priorities,
according
to the
assistant
promoter
of
justice
at the
Supreme
Court of
the
Apostolic
Signature.
ZENIT
spoke
with
Franciscan
Father
Nikolaus
Schöch
about
the
challenges
priests
face and
traits
that
should
characterize
parishes.
He gives
advice
on how
to
organize
schedules
and the
importance
of
fostering
intergenerational
friendships
among
priests.
Part 2
of this
interview
will be
published
Friday.
ZENIT:
Nowadays,
what is
the main
service
a parish
priest
should
provide
the
faithful?
Father
Schöch:
In their
ministry
today,
priests
seem to
suffer
from
being
spread
too thin
amid
increasing
pastoral
activities
and,
faced
with the
issues
of
present
day
society
and
culture,
they
tend to
reconsider
their
lifestyles
and the
priorities
of
pastoral
work,
all the
while
seeing a
growing
need for
permanent
formation.
In this
respect,
one must
bear in
mind
that the
parish
itself
-- and
sometimes
the
diocese,
too --
despite
its
autonomy,
cannot
remain
isolated,
particularly
in these
times
when so
many
means of
transportation
and
communication
are
available.
Parishes
are
living
members
of the
one and
only
Body of
Christ,
the one
and only
Church,
which
welcome
and
serve
both the
members
of local
communities
and all
those
who, for
any
reason,
approach
it at
any
given
time --
perhaps
bringing
the
action
of God's
grace to
someone's
conscience
or to
someone's
life.
Naturally,
this
should
not give
way to
disorder,
nor
irregularities
in terms
of canon
law,
which
are also
intended
to serve
pastoral
activity.
Also,
the
parish
priest's
role as
shepherd
guiding
the
community
stems
from his
particular
relationship
with
Christ,
the Head
and
Shepherd.
It is a
sacramental
role.
It is
not
entrusted
to the
priest
by the
community
but,
rather,
by the
Lord
himself,
through
the
bishop.
ZENIT:
What
guidelines
should
there be
in a
parish
to
ensure
appropriate
organization
and
attention
of the
faithful?
Father
Schöch:
In a
parish's
liturgical
celebrations
and
services,
attention
must be
placed
on
people's
mobility,
the
coming
together
of many
people
in
certain
places,
and the
new
general
assimilation
of
trends,
habits,
fashions
and
timetables.
In
establishing
the
timetables
of
parish
Masses
and
confessions,
the
parish
priest
should
consider
the most
appropriate
schedule
for most
of the
faithful,
while
also
allowing
those
with
special
time
limitations
easy
access
to the
sacraments.
Timetables
should
be based
not so
much on
priests'
convenience,
but on
people's
needs,
considering
work and
school
hours.
For
example,
there is
not much
point in
offering
the
sacrament
of
penance
only
during
work
hours,
if this
means
that
exclusively
elderly
people
will be
able to
attend.
ZENIT:
What
criteria
should
parish
priests
take
into
account
in
administrating
a parish
efficiently
while
endeavoring
to save
souls?
Father
Schöch:
Insofar
as he
shares
in the
directive
action
of
Christ,
Head and
Shepherd,
over his
Body,
the
priest
is
specifically
endowed
with the
capacity
to be
the
"point
of
communion"
from a
pastoral
viewpoint:
"To make
the
Church
the home
and the
school
of
communion:
that is
the
great
challenge
facing
us in
the
millennium
which is
now
beginning,
if we
wish to
be
faithful
to God's
plan and
respond
to the
world's
deepest
yearnings."
("Novo
Millennio
Ineunte,"
No. 43).
At a
time
when
there is
an
abundance
of
councils,
it is
necessary
to bear
in mind
the
parish
priest's
personal
responsibility
in
moderating
the
parish.
On the
other
hand,
this
governmental
function
requires
that he
be the
point of
communion;
in other
words, a
man who
unites
the
entire
parish
and who
is not
--
separately
--
friendly
with
certain
faithful
or
groups.
He must
be a man
who
unites
the rich
with the
poor,
intellectuals
with
simple
people,
young
people
with the
elderly,
mothers
with
single
women,
religious
with
laypeople,
conservatives
with
progressives,
etc.
No
parish
priest
can
fully
carry
out his
mission
in an
isolated
or
individual
manner,
but only
joining
forces
with
other
priests,
under
the
direction
of
Church
authorities.
In the
future,
cooperation
will
become
increasingly
important
between
priests
of
several
parishes;
parish
priests
and
their
vicars;
diocesan
clergy
and the
members
of
institutes
of
consecrated
life;
clergy
and
laypeople.
Mutual
understanding
and
assistance,
and even
relationships,
between
older
priests
and
younger
ones,
are
desirable
and
should
be
especially
fostered:
Both
stages
are
equally
necessary
for the
Christian
community
and are
appreciated
by the
bishops
and the
Pope.
The
Second
Vatican
Council
recommends
that
older
priests
show
understanding
and
sympathy
toward
younger
priests'
initiatives;
and it
advises
young
ones to
respect
the
experience
of older
priests
and to
trust
them; it
suggests
that
both
treat
each
other
with
sincere
affection,
following
the
example
of so
many
priests
of
yesterday
and
today;
the
parish
priest
and
other
priests,
including
the
religious,
are
called
upon to
testify
to
communion
in
everyday
life.
Super-priests and 21st Century Challenges (Part 1)
Interview With Official From Apostolic Signature
