A non -formal meeting even if all played on written texts. The first time of Pope Leo with the Roman clergy underlines the passion and grace that must always accompany the ordered ministry. Cardinal Vicar Baldo Reina, in the initial greeting, immediately clearly puts in the clear that “the difficulties are not lacking”, but “his presbytery, Holy Father, is a generous presbytery, with a strong sense of belonging and with a very marked pastoral passion. Faced with the difficulties, it reacts in a positive way; frank in recognizing problems or critical issues, with a strong sense of humor and always ready to start again for the good of the Church and the individual communities “. And to this composite clergy, also because it comes from several parts of the world because of the different pontifical units in which they come to study priests of many countries, Pope Leo indicates three “notes”. The first is that “of unity and communion, because the presbyter is called, first of all, to” be the man of communion, because he first lives it and continually feeds it “. The second “is that of example”. On this, he asks “with the heart of Father and Pastore: we are all committed to being credible and exemplary priests! We are aware of the limits of our nature and the Lord knows us in depth; But we received an extraordinary grace, we were entrusted to us a precious treasure of which we are ministers, servants. And loyalty is asked to the servant. None of us is exempt from the suggestions of the world and the city, with its thousand proposals, could also move away from the desire for a holy life, inducing a leveling down where the profound values of being presbyters are lost. Let yourself be attracted to the master’s call, to hear and live the love of the first hour, the one that prompted you to make strong and courageous renunciations. If together we will try to be exemplary in a humble life, then we can express the renewing strength of the Gospel for every man and for every woman ». Finally «a look at the challenges of our time in a prophetic key. We are worried and grieved for everything that happens every day in the world: the violence that generate deaths are wounded, they interpose the inequalities, poverty, many forms of social marginalization, the widespread suffering that takes on the traits of a discomfort that no longer spares anyone. And these realities do not happen only elsewhere, far from us, but also affect our city of Rome, marked by multiple forms of poverty and serious emergencies such as the housing “. He recalls the analysis of Pope Francis who noticed that Rome is a city in which, “great beauty” and the charm of art must also correspond to “simple decoration and normal functionality in the places and situations of ordinary, weekday life. Because a more livable city for its citizens is also more welcoming for everyone” “. A city where the Church is very present. Cardinal Reina had already explained that in total in Rome there are “809 priests. The permanent deacons are 149, the clergy of other dioceses present in the parishes for study reasons is made up of 500 priests, the clergy of other dioceses at the university colleges 2347, the clergy of clerical associations and prelature 211, the religious clergy 3914 for a total of 8020 between priests and deacons. In particular, the Roman clergy is configured as follows: 579 perform a service in the diocese (including parishes, offices, teaching, chaplains and other services), 15 have an office outside Diocese, 132 in various capacities they are carrying out a missionary activity, over 50 have decided to stop for a reflection stop or for other suffering. The parishes of the diocese are 333, 174 rectors, over 100 chaplains of hospitals and cure houses, 18 the chaplains of migrants, 3 the chapels of the district houses, the presence in public schools and in the pontifical universities. In addition, we have over 50 elderly priests and with health problems that are cared for at the S. Gaetano house in Divine Love (we also welcome priests of other dioceses). The seminarians for the diocese of Rome are distributed as follows: 40 at the Pontifical Roman Seminary, 40 at the Diocesan College Redemptoris Mater and 4 at the Almo Collegio Capranica “.
Numbers that also say “multiple origins, cultures and sensitivity, of different training models with the consequent pastoral work that sometimes struggles to compose and transmit a unitary vision”. But also of a wealth to rely on.
Also walking in the footsteps of three figures that the Pope indicates as witnesses: Don Primo Mazzolari, Don Lorenzo Milani and Don Luigi di Liegro. “” We had the example of holy priests who have been able to combine the passion for history with the announcement of the Gospel, such as Don Primo Mazzolari and Don Lorenzo Milani, prophets of peace and justice. And here in Rome we had Don Luigi di Liegro who, in the face of many poverty, gave life to seek streets of justice and human promotion. We draw on the strength of these examples to continue throwing holiness seeds in our city, “he underlined. Priests opposed by the hierarchy. Don Mazzolari, in particular, for his libel “you do not kill” against every pseudo-giusta war, Don Milani for having fought against the discrimination “of the merit” with his letter to a professor and for his commitment against military service with his “obedience is no longer a virtue. Don Luigi di Liegro, finally for all his commitment against social marginalization and for the battle of the For the “Villa Glori” terminal patients opposed by the “good” neighborhood of the city.
