Priest pushback on Pope letter?

Does anyone really believe that Benny lives in THIS century? He has proven many times that he doesn't. Thus his example of what a priest should be doing. I hope he reminded them that they are to keep their hands off children!!!!

Father Middleton's comment,"I often get the feeling that John Vianney was a tortured soul." From what I have read and reading between the lines, it appears that he saw human sexuality as a curse from the devil. Having a hatred for one's own sexual nature is not really a healthy place to be in today's society.

I'm frankly confused by the bickering over the Cure of Ars. Yes, he was a rural priest in a country whose Catholic faith had been brought to its knees by persecution by a revolutionary government. And perhaps, for suburban priests who are living their lives of faith in England and America in relative harmony with civil leaders, there isn't much to find in common with St. John Vianney. But are externals all that we look for to find solidarity in the communion of saints? If so, there is precious little I can find in common even with saints perhaps considered more "lovable", including my own patron St. Therese of Liseux. St. John Vianney has long been invoked as a patron for parish priests and it was natural of Benedict to have invoked his name. It would have been equally appropriate had he invoked St. Therese, patroness of the missions, had this been a 'Year for Missions'. If priests have patrons other than the Cure, so be it; from his vantage point I'm sure he won't take it personally. But the charges of irrelevancy or being a tortured soul are superfluous. They are also misleading. For all the attempts to paint Vianney as an aloof priest, his biographies, including contemporary ones, are replete with accounts of his devotion to his parishioners both in matters of faith and temporal affairs.

pagansister:

Did I say baseball games aren't allowed for priests? I don't recall that. I think I said, "Sorry, but I don't believe that going to Camden Yards from Albany is an essential part of being a priest." Which if you read my post is exactly what I said. It seems that the apparent priority which Father Doyle places on driving from Albany to Camden Yards to see a baseball game (an 8.5 hour roundtrip drive and around $60 in gas, depending on what SUV one drives) outweighs the priority that caring for his parishioners should have.

As far as taking a break from "being" a priest, sorry, but in my view that's impossible. A break, a vacation, yes, but not from being who and what he is. The priestly character is indelible; once the bishop's hands have been laid on his head, there is a new man there which he cannot escape. A priest has married the Church and he can't take a vacation from that vocation anymore than a married man can vacate from his vocation. I can't take a break from being married, unless I'm someone like Mark Sanford. Being a faithful husband to my wife and a father to my children is something to be done 24/7/365 (and 366 in leap years) for as long as I am alive. The priestly vocation is exactly the same.

So is the argument that if a Priest takes a sabbatical or a retreat they are not being true to thier vocation? Is it the time away or the activity that is objectionable? My husband takes a five day trip every year, which he rightly needs and earns, I take a two day one (imbalance I know) that I likewise need and earn, at no time are we shirking our vocation or responsibility. But we do have fun and I hope that Fr. Doyle does too.