Priest Should Be Experts in Spiritual Life

WARSAW, Poland, MAY 25, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI showed his desire to stimulate the Church's faith by meeting with priests in Warsaw's cathedral shortly after he had landed today in Pope John Paul II's homeland. "The faithful expect only one thing from priests: that they be specialists in promoting the encounter between man and God," the German Pontiff said. "The priest is not asked to be an expert in economics, construction or politics," he added. "He is expected to be an expert in the spiritual life." It was 12:30 p.m., on the first day of his four-day apostolic visit to Poland, when the Holy Father was welcomed in the Cathedral of St. John by Cardinal Jozef Glemp, primate of the Church in this country. In his address to priests, Benedict XVI said: "In the face of the temptations of relativism or the permissive society, there is absolutely no need for the priest to know all the latest, changing currents of thought; what the faithful expect from him is that he be a witness to the eternal wisdom contained in the revealed word." The Pope's advice to priests was that they live intensely the administration of the sacraments, in the name of Christ, and "personal prayer." "Solicitude for the quality of personal prayer and for good theological formation bears fruit in life," the Holy Father said. "Living under the influence of totalitarianism may have given rise to an unconscious tendency to hide under an external mask, and in consequence to become somewhat hypocritical." Affective maturity Benedict XVI explained to priests that "in reality, we grow in affective maturity when our hearts adhere to God. Christ needs priests who are mature, virile, capable of cultivating an authentic spiritual paternity." At the end of the meeting, before leaving the cathedral, the Holy Father paused in prayer before the tomb of two of Warsaw's deceased archbishops, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski (1901-1981) and Cardinal August Hlond (1881-1948). Later in the afternoon, the Pope visited the president of Poland, Lech Kaczynski, in Warsaw's Presidential Palace. After the private meeting, he greeted the prime minister and the two presidents of Parliament. In the evening he visited the Lutheran church of the Most Holy Trinity in Warsaw to take part in an ecumenical meeting with representatives of seven churches of the Polish Ecumenical Council and representatives of other religions.