The work is recommended for priests, bishops, religious, and others interested in deepening their understanding of the main concerns and guidelines of the Church for priestly ministry.
Newsroom (03/09/2022 1:30 PM, Gaudium Press) With the purpose of inviting Catholics to reflect on priestly ministry and its importance for the Catholic Church from its community dimension, Paulus Publishing House is launching a book entitled “The Community Dimension of Priestly Ministry: Reflections on the Decree Presbyterorum Ordinis“.
Exercising the Priestly Ministry in Communion, Fraternity and Unity
Father Sandro Ferreira, author of the book, explains in the publication that priests, together with bishops and lay Christians, must exercise their ministry in communion, fraternity and unity. Despite this, the author recognizes the many challenges faced by priests within the socio-ecclesiastical and cultural context, which favor individualistic attitudes.
In addition, priests also suffer the temptations of isolation, of closing themselves to the pastoral work of the whole, of resistance to the experience of fraternity, of clericalism, of authoritarianism. Faced with this, he presents the following reflections: How can priests live this ministry in a community dimension? And how can they relate to others in a fruitful way, in the light of faith, of the magisterium of the Church and of society?
Reflecting on Priestly Ministry in an Aspect of Communion
The work is divided into three parts, in which the following themes are discussed: “The Decree Presbyterorum Ordinis and the new paradigms of the priesthood”, “The theological-ecclesial understanding” and “Relationships in priestly ministry from the perspective of the Decree Presbyterorum Ordinis”. All these themes are approached in the light of the Second Vatican Council.
The author emphasizes that the purpose of the work is to look at the reality of priestly ministry and think about it based on the “Decree ‘Presbyterorum Ordinis'” of the Second Vatican Council. The book, which is the result of Father Sandro Ferreira’s doctoral research, invites the reader to reflect on priestly ministry in an aspect of communion. (EPC)
Compiled by Florence MacDonald
