{"id":3440,"date":"2013-06-06T16:22:00","date_gmt":"2013-06-06T16:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/pope-to-future-diplomats-dont-be-ridiculous\/"},"modified":"2013-06-06T16:22:00","modified_gmt":"2013-06-06T16:22:00","slug":"pope-to-future-diplomats-dont-be-ridiculous","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2013\/06\/pope-to-future-diplomats-dont-be-ridiculous\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope to future diplomats: ‘don’t be ridiculous’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Vatican City, Jun 6, 2013 \/ 10:22 am (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Pope Francis warned priests studying to serve in the papal diplomatic corps and the Vatican\u2019s Secretariat of State not to be career-driven and end up looking ridiculous.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cPlease don\u2019t be ridiculous, either be saints or go back to the diocese and be a pastor, but don\u2019t be ridiculous in the diplomatic service, where there is so much danger of becoming worldly in spirituality,\u201d Pope Francis said June 6.<\/p>\n

\tWhen there is a secretary or a nuncio that doesn\u2019t strive for sanctity, the pontiff added, he \u201cgets involved in so many forms, in so many kinds of spiritual worldliness\u201d and \u201che looks ridiculous, and everyone laughs at him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tIn his address to 45 members of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in the Clementine Hall, he also warned against focusing on their service as a career and trying to climb the ranks.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThis freedom from ambition or personal aims, for me, is important, it\u2019s important!\u201d he exclaimed.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cCareerism is leprosy! Leprosy! Please, no careerism!\u201d he pleaded.<\/p>\n

\tThe academy trains priests to be official representatives of the Pope. The intensive formation process takes four years: two earning a licentiate in canon law and two obtaining a doctorate in canon law.<\/p>\n

\tThey also learn diplomatic history, multiple languages and diplomatic writing, as well as other practical skills needed to work as an official papal emissary.<\/p>\n

\tThe Pope emphasized to the students that they are being prepared for a ministry, not a profession.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThis ministry calls you to go out of yourself, to a detachment from self that can only be achieved through an intense spiritual journey,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\tHe explained it also involves \u201ca serious unification of your life around the mystery of the love of God and of the inscrutable plan of his call.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tPope Francis then asked them to cultivate their spiritual life for the inner freedom that is necessary for their careers.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe work that is done in the pontifical diplomatic service requires, like any type of priestly ministry, a great inner freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIt means being free from personal projects, from some of the concrete ways in which perhaps one day you had thought of living your priesthood,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n

\tThe pontiff added it also means being free from the possibilities of \u201cplanning for the future, from the perspective of remaining for a long time in a 'your' place of pastoral action.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tAnd \u201cabove all, it means vigilance in order to be free from ambition or personal aims, which can cause so much harm to the Church.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tBeing free, he counseled, means trying not to put first \u201cyour own self-fulfillment or the recognition that you could get,\u201d but rather \u201cthe greater good of the cause of the Gospel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIt means freeing yourself, in some way, even with respect to the culture and mindset from which you came,\u201d said the Pope.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cNot by forgetting it, much less by denying it, but by opening yourself up, in charity, to understanding different cultures and meeting with people even from worlds very far from your own.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe Holy Father also advised the future diplomats to take \u201cgreat care\u201d of their spiritual life, which he called the \u201csource of inner freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWithout prayer, there is no interior freedom,\u201d the Pope remarked.<\/p>\n

\tHe told them to \u201ccultivate a life of prayer\u201d and make their daily work their \u201cgymnasium of sanctification.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cDiplomacy should always be permeated by a pastoral spirit, otherwise it counts for nothing and makes a holy mission ridiculous,\u201d he remarked.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cI ask you to pray for me \u2026 may the assurance of my prayers and of my blessing, which I cordially extend to all your loved ones, go with you,\u201d he finished.
\n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vatican City, Jun 6, 2013 \/ 10:22 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Pope Francis warned priests studying to serve in the papal diplomatic corps and the Vatican’s Secretariat of State not to be career-driven and end up looking ridiculous.<\/p>\n

\t“Please don&…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vatican"],"yoast_head":"\nPope to future diplomats: 'don't be ridiculous'<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Vatican City, Jun 6, 2013 \/ 10:22 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- Pope Francis warned priests studying to serve in the papal diplomatic corps and the Vatican’s Secretariat of State not to be career-driven and end up looking ridiculous. “Please don&...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2013\/06\/pope-to-future-diplomats-dont-be-ridiculous\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" 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