I had a good laugh when I came across a statement in a letter written jointly by the Formation councillor and Economer General. The statement reads 'Rome is not the place to 'park' out of the province for a few year difficult confreres'.
What an expression!! Park confreres! Very very apt and direct. Couldn't agree better!
I remember almost two decades ago when I was in a student community comprising of priests and religious from various congregations, there were a couple of priests who certainly were there purely because their congregations had 'parked' them there!! No other reason! Not for studies. Not for their growth. Not for the mission. But purely for those back in their own Province or Diocese, to breathe easy for a couple of years... at the cost of that student community! The only good thing the rest of the community felt because of their presence in our religious house was that the lives of two families (if these two gentlemen were to have got married and had families of their own) were saved!
I guess that's one of the serious drawbacks of priestly and religious life: when someone is absolutely an unfit - even by his or her own judgement - in the community, province/diocese, anywhere and everywhere, no one can do anything other than bear and bear (the patience to grin is long evaporated!). Neither will the person himself/herself have the moral conscience to walk out; nor can others throw him/her out.
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