Priests urged to have ‘lifestyle check’

MANILA — A Catholic prelate has called on members of the clergy to do their own “lifestyle check”.

San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza wants priests to assess their activities everyday and to know how much time and resources they devote to “cultic, prophetic, administrative” activities.

He said that cultic activities are administering of the sacraments, house blessings, etc, while prophetic activities include helping the needy through organizing livelihood projects or cooperatives, helping resolve conflict situations, violations of justice, human rights cases, and the like while administrative work involves fund-raising for church needs, doing church repairs, and beautification.

Likewise, Alminaza asked priests to check how they socialize and with whom.

“How many of our friends are among the rich, the middle class, the poor? … How many houses of the poor have we visited? … What socializing activities do I engage in? In what places and with whom? … Which places do we frequent for rest and recreation?,” asked the prelate during his talk on “Perspectives and Direction to the Ongoing Formation of the Clergy” he said in an article posted on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) news website.

The Catholic prelate spoke to some 120 priests at the National Discernment of Priests on their Prophetic Role organized by the National Clergy Discernment Group last week.

At the same time, the chairman of the Episcopal Commission on Seminaries also brought up the question of finances and priests.

“How much of the people’s money do I spend for the education of my nephews, nieces?” asked Alimanaza.

Also, he would want the gadgets used to be looked at. “Are we satisfied with a workable phone or should I have the latest Blackberry or iPhone?”

Alminaza noted how much a priest’s monthly financial statement reveals.

“For me, every month, a financial statement is a spiritual document. It reveals my values, my priorities… Does it go to food, recreation, to helping somebody?” he added.

Aside from seminary and priestly formation, the gathering also focused on EJKs (extra judicial killings), Charter Change, the CBCP’s declaration of 2018 as the Year of the Clergy and Consecrated Persons, the 6th year celebration of the Church in the Philippines’ 9-year “spiritual journey” towards 2021, the 500th year after the arrival of Christianity in the Philippines.