MORE than 500 priests and religious renewed their priestly vows with Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral yesterday morning.
Vidal, in his homily, urged his fellow priests to be faithful to their vows as though they are serving like Jesus Christ.
“(Jesus Christ’s) service is not like a corporation’s obsequious and profitable ‘How we may serve you?’ But rather it is a self-forgetfulness that shows true greatness in genuinely wanting to help others,” said Vidal.
“In short, it is service in the manner of Jesus the suffering servant of Isaiah, who though alone, offered himself for all people. Though rich, he emptied himself to serve, not in his own way, but in the Father’s and not to exalt himself, but to humble himself,” Vidal said.
Vidal, in an interview with reporters yesterday, said one challenge that he and his fellow priests face is staying faithful to their priestly vows and service without thinking of one’s self.
He said that as of now, although there is no shortage of priests in the parishes in the Archdiocese, they still welcome more candidates to the priesthood.
As of now, about 500 seminarians await ordination, Vidal said.
Despite the recent controversies affecting the priesthood, Vidal urged his fellow priests to remain strong and live together as a community.
Recently, the Catholic Church under Pope Benedict XVI was rocked by scandals when the church was blamed for 20 centuries of allegedly covering up child abuse cases against the Catholic clergy in Ireland.
Benedict, who had issued an apology to the Irish Catholic population for the scandal, was criticized for failing to reveal the Papacy’s alleged cover-up on the abuse cases.