(ZENIT News / Rome, 01.14.2024).- Four years after his last meeting with the clergy of the diocese of which he is the bishop, Pope Francis met with «all» the priests and deacons of the diocese of Rome at the Cathedral of St. John Lateran on Saturday, January 13, 2024.
During the closed-door meeting, various topics were discussed, including the length of homilies (the Pope requested them to be between 7 and 8 minutes), the young clergy («I see many young people trying to lock themselves into formalities, to disguise themselves. You see these young people going to Euroclero, Barbiconi, looking for birettas,» said the Pope), the unnecessary use of ecclesiastical insignia for permanent deacons (on deacons, the Pontiff noted: «Deacons have a temptation: the temptation of the altar! I always say to bishops: keep deacons away from the altar. Deacons were created for the proclamation of the Gospel. It’s ugly to see the clericalization of deacons. They should be among the people»), blessings for irregular couples, the response of the Catholic Church in Africa, and even the closure of the minor seminary in Rome. There was also discussion about the need for evangelization in a time of paganism, emphasizing the role of testimony.
Pope Francis arrived at St. John Lateran after 9 a.m. and was received by the vicar for the diocese of Rome, Cardinal Angelo De Donatis. The central hour prayer was followed by the cardinal’s greeting, and then the dialogue between the priests and Francis. It was «a confidential meeting, as is tradition in appointments with the Roman clergy, which concluded around noon,» according to the press office of the diocese of Rome.
At one point during the nearly three-hour meeting, the Pope announced that he will resume visits to the parishes of the diocese.
The clergy, who not provide a unanimous attendance response (there were many empty seats in the back of the cathedral), had three meetings with the Pope in the last few months, but in the diocesan prefectures, where Francis could hear about the territory’s issues and discuss them with «his» priests.
