Pope Holds Two Hour Meeting with Roman Clergy

While many newspapers have reported solely on comments regarding 'married priests', there is much more to Pope Francis' address during his annual meeting with the clergy of Rome today. The Bishop of Rome spent almost two hours with hundreds of priests, speaking briefly on homiletics and the Ars celebrandi (the art of proper celebration). However, he spent most of the time engaging in an open discussion with the clergy saying: "I am more interested in your questions." The Pontiff's intentions weren't on giving a lecture, but in conversing directly with "his priests."

After the opening greetings given by Cardinal Agostino Vallini, the Vicar General of Rome, the meeting began with discussions on an address given by the Holy Father to the plenary assembly of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments on the theme of the Ars celebrandi on March 1st, 2005. The text was distributed to the participants and was republished today by L'Osservatore Romano. Still, the centerpiece of today's audience were the questions by several priests, including some not programmed, to which the Pope did not hold back and was ready to respond. Furthermore, in order to allow for more freedom to speak, the Holy Father requested that no television cameras be present in the Paul VI Audience Hall.

However, some excerpts of the Pope's discourse were released thanks in part to several priests who spoke to the press following the meeting. Some even managed to record the Pope's words. In addition to several phrases reported by a few Italian news agencies this morning, the 78 year old Pontiff touched upon the theme, for example, on the "traditional rite" with which Benedict XVI granted to celebrate Mass. Through the Motu Propio Summorum Pontificum, published.........

However, the Pope noted that there are priests and bishops who speak of a "reform of the reform." Some of them are "saints" and speak "in good faith." But this "is mistaken", the Holy Father said.

Paging Cardinal Burke.......

1 posted on 02/20/2015 10:29:33 AM PST by marshmallow

Meeting with clergy. Wow.

Isn’t that part of his job?

2 posted on 02/20/2015 10:56:52 AM PST by WayneS (Barack Obama makes Neville Chamberlin look like George Patton.)

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