Argentinean archbishop stresses supernatural dimension of priesthood

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jul 29, 2009 / 15:25 pm

Archbishop Hector Aguer of La Plata, Argentina encouraged the faithful this week to focus on the supernatural dimension of the priesthood in response to a culture that only sees the priest as “a person devoted in generic terms to the service of others.”
 
During his weekly radio program, the archbishop said the Year for Priests is an occasion for emphasizing the religious and supernatural dimension of the priesthood amidst the influence of today’s culture which leads people to see the priest as “simply a person devoted in generic terms to the service of others, as an agent of social promotion,” and not as a man of God.
 
Archbishop Aguer recalled that the role of the priest is “to teach, sanctify and pastorally guide the people of God,” which is a ministry proper to bishops, as successors of the apostles.
 
However, he warned that modern society not only fails to appreciate the spiritual dimension of the priesthood, but also seeks to “gleefully highlight the bizarre,” and the scandals and failings of some members of the clergy, without acknowledging “the exemplary life and generous commitment of so many priests, the silent majority, who faithfully carry out their ministries.”
 
For this reason, he called on the faithful to not only pray for more vocations to the priesthood, but also for the holiness of priests. “I think it is important that we all take advantage of this time, especially in order to acquire a more clear conscience about exactly what the priest is and about what can and should be expected of him,” the archbishop said.