[NYer]

Ping!

[aMorePerfectUnion]

"What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you love to sit in the seats of honor in the synagogues and receive respectful greetings as you walk in the marketplaces."

Jesus, Luke 11:43

[elcid1970]

Upon his receiving the honorific of Monsignor, I asked our pastor how many priests gain that title.

He replied, “We have a saying: for every one who wears the purple, four will have the blues.”

As for Pope Francis, does the movie “Shoes of the Fisherman” apply here?

[Alex Murphy]

In a new move aimed at reforming the clergy and eliminating careerism in the Catholic Church, Pope Francis has abolished the conferral of the Pontifical Honor of ‘Monsignor’ on secular priests under the age of 65. Henceforth, the only Pontifical Honor that will be conferred on ‘secular priests’ will be that of ‘Chaplain to His Holiness’ and this will be conferred only on ‘worthy priests’ who are over 65 years of age. (‘Secular priests’ are priests in a diocese, who are not monks or members of religious institutes or orders).

PFL

[I want the USA back]

Good. I want to see the ring-kissing go away too. It has nothing to do with religion. It’s from the times when bishops were a secular power.

If someone is truly great, as is Francis, he doesn’t need artificial trappings that once belonged to princes and princesses.

[Cicero]

My first reaction was, what, more changes? But on further consideration, I agree with him here.

This was a late development in the Church, stemming from the time when Popes tended to think of themselves as the height of the nobility.

[DPMD]

Eliminating careerism?

Term limits in the Catholic Church?

[CdMGuy]

Interesting. I grew up in the New York Archdiocese. Just about every parish pastor was made a monsignor, especially if they had built a new church building or school.

Now, I have lived in California for over 40 years. Monsignors are few and far between out here. In our Diocese of San Bernardino, which is the 4th or 5th largest diocese in the US, there are only a handful of priests with the monsignor title. I only know of two, so perhaps there are a couple more, and one of those two passed away last year at a very old age. We have some very successful parish pastors here who have accomplished a great deal in establishing new parishes. None are monsignors.

[markomalley]

I really don’t object to this at all as it was a novelty.

Interestingly, though, the honorific title originally disappeared when the pope who granted it died, such as the Honorary Chaplains to the Pope and the Honorary Chamberlains to the Pope.

So, frankly, I’d love to see him expire the commissions of the supernumerary chaplains who were appointed by his predecessors!

[arthurus]

Is not being a priest necessarily a career? The Church does not hire priests off the street for temporary jobs.

[Coleus]

my bishop hasn’t made a msgr. since he took over about 10 yrs. ago...the reason is financial, it’s in their contract that they get a raise in salary and a diocese that’s in debt must practice proper stewardship......