"We are strongly called to make Jesus Christ present."

We priests "are strongly called to live our sacramental mission statement to make Jesus Christ present," said Msgr. Luis Argüello, recently appointed president of the Spanish Episcopal lecture . His discussion paper, entitled "The priest facing the temptations of the Church", was given at the framework of the IXconference of update Pastoral organized by the School of Theology of the University of Navarra.

He began the discussion paper by stressing that to speak of temptation means to become aware of the other side: vocation. Arguello explained, temptation exists as a withdrawal from the wound, as result also that the devil wants to prevent us from living our life as a vocation. He explained that the renewal of the Church consists essentially in growing in fidelity to her vocation. As a consequence of putting the focus on vocation, we recognize the existence of temptations, which always have the same source (to move away from God's plan) in each period of history appear with particular features.

The Second Vatican Council highlighted the being and vocation of the Church by defining it as a "common ministry" of human beings with God and among themselves. At the same time, Bishop Argüello pointed out, when it comes to understanding and explaining this reality, temptations arise: sometimes in the form of a Church thought of in terms of humanity alone, as an organization of values and social action; at other times, as if the Church could be understood on the basis of an exclusive reference letter to the divine. However, the being and the mission statement of the Church are found precisely in the communion of the human and the divine. There is an indissoluble relationship between the two aspects.

Among the temptations that arise, he also pointed to functionalism. functionalism, which can appear with great force. A functionalism that leads to losing sight of the raison d'être of the Church as a sign and instrument of the union of men and women with God, in order to evaluate what it should do or the role it should play according to the imbalances caused by the complex economic-political system in which we live. The Church's functions are then sought to "match the furniture of the dominant cultures and powers", instead of responding to the proper horizons that are at the very foundation of the Church. 

The relevant mission statement of the priest

Regarding the figure of the priest, he stressed that "they are strongly called to live their sacramental condition, to go beyond all functionalism, to try to make Jesus Christ present". He emphasized the priestly condition as a ministry to build a people that is all priestly. Building that has an extraordinary social and political relevance, at a time when the right to have rights, autonomy and detachment predominate.

He also encouraged those present to make the apostolic ministry shine, and to defend the faith of the simple, a sometimes arduous priestly exercise, in the face of the powers of opinion groups.

He explained a strong temptation that has visited us especially in the last decades: to confuse kingdom and progress; the kingdom of God as a mystery of communion and progress as something merely human. He concluded his discussion paper by speaking of the need for grace to God in order to carry out the mission statement entrusted to the priest in the Church. "The missionary challenge in this era is to rely on the power of grace, a grace that dwells in the flesh, an incarnate grace."

IX conference of update Pastoral - Priest for the 21st century: compassionate and worthy of faith

The conference of update Pastoral is an occasion for reflection, a framework to share ideas and experiences on the being and the mission statement of the priest in today's context. This year's conferences, with more than a hundred participants, have revolved around the topic "Priest for the 21st century: compassionate and worthy of faith", and have meant a few days of meeting and dialogue among the attendees.