Pope Francis Takes Aim at Seminaries.

Pope Francis form a Wednesday audience in October, 2013.
(R.Wasilewski photo)

Pope Francis is strongly urging superiors general to make sure their seminaries are turning out priests who are devoted to the poor.  In an article in La Civilta Cattolica, Pope Francis is quoted as calling some of the recently ordained clergy nothing more than "little monsters."









He reminded the heads of  religious orders and  congregations that priests should be ministering to those on the margins of social life.  His address,  "Wake up the World," challenged them to be prophetic witnesses just as he has told other groups of priests to get out of their sacristies and be with their people.






Clericalism has infected many Roman seminaries and causes Pope Francis to break out in "goose bumps."  He dislikes clericalism as much as he dislikes hypocrisy.







My guess is that there will be a strong reaction to Pope Francis' words, especially to the "little monsters" epithet. I expect resistance to simplicity and service in the ministry because that is not what many clerics signed up for.









It's no secret that many seminaries in Rome are where the elite go to meet.  Pope Francis knows that seminaries in the queen of cities are often bastions of clericalism.  If you thought cufflinks and clericals were going out of style, just drop into any of the major seminaries in Rome to see the flowering of a neo-clericalism that would make the good fathers of the pre-Vatican Church blush for shame.









Expect a huge reaction to Pope Francis' words from Catholic conservatives.