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# I listened yesterday to Pope Francis opening a conference on the priesthood, and tried to look at the pontiff afresh
- URL: https://theparnassian.com/en/poslushal-vchera-papu-frantsiska-na-otkrytii-konferentsii-po-sviashchenstvu-i-poproboval-posmotret-na-pontifika-po-novomu/
- Published: 2022-02-18T08:20:58.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-01T05:39:22.000Z
- Author: Alexandr Radayev
- Tags: Faith, Observations, Society, Rome

I listened yesterday to Pope Francis opening a conference on the priesthood, and tried to look at the pontiff afresh. We have grown used to the Pope saying, almost invariably, the right things, the things that many would like to hear in their progressive secrecy. But alongside these things, expected of him as a Pope of a new format, we see some dubious reforms that do not always fit our notion of the interests of the Church and of Christians. Let us work out together what Francis chose this time to sound from the rostrum.

He began his speech by saying that he did not wish to theorise, but to share the experience of more than fifty years of service as a priest. This is, of course, interesting, given that the audience consists of no less experienced clergymen, who also have something to share from their own practice.

“Perhaps this is the ‘swan song’ of my own priestly life, but I assure you that they are the fruit of my own experience.” Thank you for telling us of your experience, but, as a narrative about the past, it too remains, so to speak, theory, not quite passing into practice in the future.

The Pope speaks of cases where spiritual life is reduced to mere religious practice. It is sad that this is indeed a very common phenomenon. “Without closeness to the Lord in prayer, the priest is merely a weary hireling.” In this connection it would be interesting to discuss who, exactly, the employer is.

The Pope paid particular attention to the priesthood as a brotherhood. And he said that in the Church, it turns out, there is also “bullying”, although priests, on the contrary, ought to support one another.

Once again he touches on the topic of celibacy, so popular in society. The Latin Church, according to Francis, is a gift which, in order to be lived as a means of sanctification, requires healthy relationships, relationships of true respect and true kindness, deeply rooted in Christ. “Without friends and without prayer, celibacy can become an unbearable burden and a counter-witness to the very beauty of the priesthood.”

“Our vocation is above all a response to the One who loved us first. Therein lies the source of our hope, for even in sorrow the Lord never ceases to love us and to call us.” The Lord does not cease, but what of the Church? Surely I am not the only one who remembers how at the start of the pandemic the Catholic Church distanced itself from Christians suffering everywhere, shedding light on the migrant agenda rather than the pandemic one.

In my view, it was precisely 2020 that proved so telling for those who waited in fear for some participation on the part of the Church, but were obliged to watch the deaths of their loved ones, seeing them fade away over Zoom, without sacraments, without the possibility of going to church and lighting a candle. Did you not have the feeling that we had been abandoned at the darkest moment of recent history? Well, and words remain only words.