The Pastors of Tomorrow
The Profile of the Future Priest
Abstract
The article reviews the main conceptions of the ordained ministry in the history of the Church. First of all, it deals with ‘priesthood’, which is the category by which the priest is usually defined, although it should not be overused. The category of ‘mediator’ and the view of the ‘sacerdos alter Christus’ are even less adequate because of their too vertical orientation. The idea of the priest-leader is equally inadequate, because it risks adopting a purely democratic vision of the community. The expressions used by the Second Vatican Council (in persona Christi, in nomine Christi and the like) express the Christological dimension of ministry ‘before’ the Church, but could perhaps be understood not as an ‘extension’ of Christ the Prophet, Priest and Shepherd, but as an ‘efficacious sign that Christ is the Prophet, Priest and Shepherd’.
References
Vanhoye, A., Sacerdoti antichi e nuovo Sacerdote secondo il Nuovo Testamento, Leumann 1985 (versión cast.: Sacerdotes antiguos, sacerdote nuevo según el Nuevo Testamento, Salamanca 52002).
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Lutero, M., Scritti politici, ed. G. Panzeri Saija - L. Firpo, Turín 1959, 328-334.
Lutero, M., Scritti religiosi, ed. V. Vinay, Turín 1967, 639-651.
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