JOHN PAUL II PROFILES THE PARISH PRIEST

VATICAN CITY, NOV 23, 2001 (VIS) - Pope John Paul today received participants in the plenary assembly of the Congregation for the Clergy, which is meeting in the Vatican on the theme "The Priest, Pastor and Guide of the Parish Community."

In his speech to the congregation members, the Pope stressed that only an ordained priest can be appointed as a valid pastor and that parishioners may collaborate but may never take a priest's place. He also underscored the importance, in a pastor's life, of good preaching, of the vital nature of the Sunday celebration of the Eucharist and keeping holy the sabbath, of teaching the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist and of not allowing canonically approved consulting bodies to go beyond their duties as consultants to a pastor.

Remarking that "the priest in persona Christi celebrates the Sacrifice of the Mass and administers the Sacraments," the Holy Father then affirmed: "For a parish to have a priest as its own pastor is of fundamental importance. The title of pastor is one specifically reserved to the priest. The Sacred Orders of priesthood represent, in fact, for (the priest) the indispensable and necessary condition to be appointed as a valid pastor. Other faithful may actively collaborate with him, even full time, but, as he has received the ministerial priesthood, they can never take his place as pastor. ... The ecclesial community absolutely needs the ministerial priesthood to have Christ Head and Pastor present in it."

John Paul II emphasized that "Christ is present in the Church in an eminent way in the Eucharist, source and culmination of ecclesial life. He is truly present in the celebration of the Mass, as well as when the consecrated bread is kept in the tabernacle."

Then, turning to the importance of keeping holy the sabbath, he quoted his 1998 Apostolic Letter "Dies Domini": "'Among the many activities of a parish, none is so vital or as community-forming as the Sunday celebration of the Lord's Day and His Eucharist'. Nothing will ever take its place."

"Where there are no priests," declared the Pope, "with faith and perseverance, prayers must be offered, beseeching the Lord for numerous and holy vocations. ... It would be a fatal error to resign ourselves to the current difficulties and behave as if we must prepare the Church of tomorrow, envisioned as deprived of priests. In this way the measures adopted to remedy the current lacks would end up being, despite every good intention, seriously detrimental for the ecclesial community."

"The parish is a privileged place for the proclamation of the Word of God," said the Pope. A pastor should "have great personal familiarity with the Word of God" and should try to be as efficacious as possible in his preaching ministry.

"The collaboration of others, who are not ordained to the priesthood," he concluded, "is to be hoped for and is often necessary." However, "they must be faithful to their proper function as consultants" and care must be taken that no office or person "deprive the parish priest of his authority."

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