Fr. Bill Peckman: Is the Priest a Father or Business Manager? (4-13-22)

By Fr. Bill Peckman, Roman Catholic Man, April 13, 2022

I am still thinking and praying about the who family dynamic vision versus the transactional vision of how parishes and dioceses live their mission.

My premise is that so many times we have adopted the transactional/retail/mercantile/secular vision in how we live out our parish mission.

I believe one of the particularly devastating effects this vision has had is in priestly vocations.

Let me explain.

Most people in our churches see the role of the priest and the role of a husband/dad as disconnected. They are seen as either/or propositions. I can see that.

There is nothing terribly familial about a business manager. Even a good manager. I was one at one time. I might have been friendly with my employees, but it was nowhere near the same as being a member of a family. As a business manager, it was about income. My job was to sell a product and get people to see how they needed and should want what we were selling. It was something that I turned off when I left the store. It wasn’t a vocation…it was a job. …

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