Archbishop Willem Jacobus Eijk of Utrecht, Netherlands, voiced his concern about priests' spiritual lives when he gave an address titled "Between the Spiritual Vocation and the Social Role" at a conference held this month in the Pontifical Lateran University on the occasion of the Year for Priests.
He lamented that priests often fall into the error of stressing an "extrinsic identity," that is, their role as leaders of functions in society and Catholic organizations.
One of the causes of this "must be sought in the growing difficulty to dedicate themselves to the care of souls, an activity threatened by secularization," Archbishop Eijk reflected.
The Dutch bishop recalled how the Second Vatican Council emphasized the priest's vocation to be another Christ.
"The council did not introduce a discontinuity in the identity of the priest," he said.
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