Clean up your act, Cardinal Vithayathil tells clergy

Catholic Bishops' Conference of India president and Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church, Mar Varkey Cardinal Vithayathil, has regretted the 'declining image' of priests among the faithful of late.In a letter to all the priests under his jurisdiction on the occasion of the Church observing the 'Year of Priests’, the Cardinal said it was painful that the status and prestige enjoyed by priests down the ages were now taking a knocking. This should be viewed seriously, he said and exhorted the pastoral community to take a vow not do anything to "tarnish the brightness of priesthood" under any circumstances.The Pope, Benedict- XVI, had declared the year beginning on the day of the Feast of the Sacred Heart (June 19, 2009) and ending the same day next year as the Year of Priests of the Universal Church. The basic objective is to 'renew and purify’ the life of priests the world over.The attitude and behavior of certain priests were not in conformity with priesthood. Unprincipled and non-transparent acts led to the faithful losing their respect for them. The Cardinal asked the clergy not to run after material benefits, reminding the priests that, out of the 12 apostles, only St John had a natural death and all the others courted martyrdom to uphold the path of Jesus Christ.He also regretted the lack of interest in reading among priests, resulting in serious erosion of their knowledge base.