VATICAN CITY
The Journal (Ireland)
POPE FRANCIS TODAY described some Catholic priests as so scary and neurotic he keeps well away from them.
In comments at a conference on training for the priesthood, the 78-year-old pontiff revealed he is instinctively suspicious of overly pious candidates.
“I will tell you sincerely, I’m scared of rigid priests. I keep away from them. They bite!”
His remarks drew laughs from the audience, but Francis was making the serious point that some people drawn to a clerical career are fundamentally unstable, and that this inevitably creates problems for the church if they are not weeded out.
“If you are sick, if you are neurotic, go and see a doctor, spiritual or physical. The doctor will give you pills. But, please, don’t let the faithful pay for neurotic priests. ‘
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As well as assessing the spiritual state of candidates, seminaries should also seek to judge their physical and psychological condition, the Pope argued.
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