"23 Reasons Why A Priest Should Wear His Collar"

From Homiletics and Pastoral Review

By Msgr. Charles M. Mangan & Father Gerald E. Murray

Photo at left: Pope John Paul II after his ordination to the Priesthood

1. The Roman collar is a sign of priestly consecration to the Lord. As a wedding ring distinguishes husband and wife and symbolizes the union they enjoy, so the Roman collar identifies bishops and priests (and often deacons and seminarians) and manifests their proximity to the Divine Master by virtue of their free consent to the ordained ministry to which they have been (or may be) called.

2. By wearing clerical clothing and not possessing excess clothes, the priest demonstrates adherence to the Lord’s example of material poverty. The priest does not choose his clothes – the Church has, thanks to her accumulated wisdom over the past two millennia. Humble acceptance of the Church’s desire that the priest wear the Roman collar illustrates a healthy submission to authority and conformity to the will of Christ as expressed through his Church.

3. Church Law requires clerics to wear clerical clothing. We have cited above number 66 of the Directory for priests, which itself quotes canon 284.

4. The wearing of the Roman collar is the repeated, ardent desire of Pope John Paul II. The Holy Father’s wish in this regard cannot be summarily dismissed; he speaks with a special charism. He frequently reminds priests of the value of wearing the Roman collar.In a September 8, 1982 letter to Ugo Cardinal Poletti, his Vicar for the Diocese of Rome, instructing him to promulgate norms concerning the use of the Roman collar and religious habit, the Pontiff observed that clerical dress is valuable “not only because it contributes to the propriety of the priest in his external behavior or in the exercise of his ministry, but above all because it gives evidence within the ecclesiastical community of the public witness that each priest is held to give of his own identity and special belonging to God.”In a homily on November 8, 1982 the Pope addressed a group of transitional deacons whom he was about to ordain to the priesthood. He said that if they tried to be just like everyone else in their “style of life” and “manner of dress,” then their mission as priests of Jesus Christ would not be fully realized.

5. The Roman collar prevents “mixed messages”; other people will recognize the priest’s intentions when he finds himself in what might appear to be compromising circumstances. Let’s suppose that a priest is required to make pastoral visits to different apartment houses in an area where drug dealing or prostitution is prevalent. The Roman collar sends a clear message to everyone that the priest has come to minister to the sick and needy in Christ’s name. Idle speculation might be triggered by a priest known to neighborhood residents visiting various apartment houses dressed as a layman.

6. The Roman collar inspires others to avoid immodesty in dress, words and actions and reminds them of the need for public decorum. A cheerful but diligent and serious priest can compel others to take stock of the manner in which they conduct themselves. The Roman collar serves as a necessary challenge to an age drowning in impurity, exhibited by suggestive dress, blasphemous speech and scandalous actions.

7. The Roman collar is a protection for one’s vocation when dealing with young, attractive women. A priest out of his collar (and, naturally, not wearing a wedding ring) can appear to be an attractive target for the affections of an unmarried woman looking for a husband, or for a married woman tempted to infidelity.

8. The Roman collar offers a kind of “safeguard “for oneself. The Roman collar provides a reminder to the priest himself of his mission and identity: to witness to Jesus Christ, the Great High Priest, as one of his brother-priests.

9. A priest in a Roman collar is an inspiration to others who think: “Here is a modern disciple of Jesus.” The Roman collar speaks of the possibility of making a sincere, lasting commitment to God. Believers of diverse ages, nationalities and temperaments will note the virtuous, other-centered life of the man who gladly and proudly wears the garb of a Catholic priest, and perhaps will realize that they too can consecrate themselves anew, or for the first time, to the loving Good Shepherd.

10. The Roman collar is a source of beneficial intrigue to non-Catholics. Most non- Catholics do not have experience with ministers who wear clerical garb. Therefore, Catholic priests by virtue of their dress can cause them to reflect – even if only a cursory fashion – on the Church and what she entails.

11. A priest dressed as the Church wants is a reminder of God and of the sacred. The prevailing secular morass is not kind to images which connote the Almighty, the Church, etc. When one wears the Roman collar, the hearts and minds of others are refreshingly raised to the “Higher Being” who is usually relegated to a tiny footnote in the agenda of contemporary culture.

12. The Roman collar is also a reminder to the priest that he is “never not a priest.” With so much confusion prevalent today, the Roman collar can help the priest avoid internal doubt as to who he is. Two wardrobes can easily lead – and often does – to two lifestyles, or even two personalities.

13. A priest in a Roman collar is a walking vocation message. The sight of a cheerful, happy priest confidently walking down the street can be a magnet drawing young men to consider the possibility that God is calling them to the priesthood. God does the calling; the priest is simply a visible sign God will use to draw men unto himself.

14. The Roman collar makes the priest available for the Sacraments, especially Confession and the Anointing of the Sick, and for crisis situations. Because the Roman collar gives instant recognition, priests who wear it make themselves more apt to be approached, particularly when seriously needed. The authors can testify to being asked for the Sacraments and summoned for assistance in airports, crowded cities and isolated villages because they were immediately recognized as Catholic priests.

15. The Roman collar is a sign that the priest is striving to become holy by living out his vocation always. It is a sacrifice to make oneself constantly available to souls by being publicly identifiable as a priest, but a sacrifice pleasing to Our Divine Lord. We are reminded of how the people came to him, and how he never turned them away. There are so many people who will benefit by our sacrifice of striving to be holy priests without interruption.

16. The Roman collar serves as a reminder to “alienated” Catholics not to forget their irregular situation and their responsibilities to the Lord. The priest is a witness – for good or ill – to Christ and his Holy Church. When a “fallen-away” sees a priest, he is encouraged to recall that the Church continues to exist. A cheerful priest provides a salutary reminder of the Church.

17. The wearing of clerical clothing is a sacrifice at times, especially in hot weather. The best mortifications are the ones we do not look for. Putting up with the discomforts of heat and humidity can be a wonderful reparation for our own sins, and a means of obtaining graces for our parishioners.

18. The Roman collar serves as a “sign of contradiction” to a world lost in sin and rebellion against the Creator. The Roman collar makes a powerful statement: the priest as an alter Christus has accepted the Redeemer’s mandate to take the Gospel into the public square, regardless of personal cost.

19. The Roman collar helps priests to avoid the on duty/off duty mentality of priestly service. The numbers 24 and 7 should be our special numbers: we are priests 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We are priests, not men who engage in the “priest profession.” On or off duty, we should be available to whomever God may send our way. The “lost sheep” do not make appointments.

20. The “officers” in Christ’s army should be identifiable as such. Traditionally, we have remarked that those who receive the Sacrament of Confirmation become “soldiers” of Christ, adult Catholics ready and willing to defend his name and his Church. Those who are ordained as deacons, priests and bishops must also be prepared – whatever the stakes – to shepherd the flock of the Lord. Those priests who wear the Roman collar show forth their role unmistakably as leaders in the Church.

21. The saints have never approved of a lackadaisical approach concerning priestly vesture. For example, Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787), Patron Saint of Moral Theologians and Confessors, in his esteemed treatise The Dignity and Duties of the Priest, urges the wearing of the appropriate clerical dress, asserting that the Roman collar helps both priest and faithful to recall the sublime splendor of the sacerdotal state instituted by the God-Man.

22. Most Catholics expect their priests to dress accordingly. Priests have long provided a great measure of comfort and security to their people. As youths, Catholics are taught that the priest is God’s representative – someone they can trust. Hence, the People of God want to know who these representatives are and what they stand for. The cherished custom of wearing distinguishable dress has been for centuries sanctioned by the Church; it is not an arbitrary imposition. Catholics expect their priests to dress as priests and to behave in harmony with Church teaching and practice. As we have painfully observed over the last few years, the faithful are especially bothered and harmed when priests defy the legitimate authority of the Church, and teach and act in inappropriate and even sinful ways.

23. Your life is not your own; you belong to God in a special way, you are sent out to serve him with your life. When we wake each morning, we should turn our thoughts to our loving God, and ask for the grace to serve him well that day. We remind ourselves of our status as His chosen servants by putting on the attire that proclaims for all to see that God is still working in this world through the ministry of poor and sinful men.
Msgr. Charles M. Mangan & Father Gerald E. Murray. “Why a priest should wear his Roman collar.” Homiletic & Pastoral Review (June, 1995).

Founded over one hundred years ago, Homiletic & Pastoral Review is one of the most well-respected pastoral magazines in the world. HPR features solid articles on every aspect of pastoral life and eloquent weekly sermons that illuminate through exposition of Scripture. Subscribe to HPR here.

THE AUTHORS

Msgr. Charles M. Mangan has been appointed by His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, to a position serving the Vatican’s Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. Ordained in 1989, Msgr. Mangan formerly served the Diocese of Sioux Falls in several parishes.

Father Gerald E. Murray is a priest of the Archdiocese of New York. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College and was ordained in 1984 after completing studies at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Dunwoodie, N. Y. Currently he is studying canon law at the Gregorian University in Rome.

Bring Back Men in Black

By Father Damian J. Ference
Posted in U.S. Catholic Magazine

Religious clothing allows Catholics to make a fashion statement about their faith, says a young priest who dons the wardrobe that the previous generation put away.

Like it or not, religious garb and clerical dress are making a comeback. This phenomenon can be hard to swallow for a generation of priests, religious, and laity.

It may seem that younger Catholics are attempting to undo all their hard work and are intentionally heading backward into a church that placed a greater emphasis on distinctions between the clergy and the laity, rather than celebrating the common priesthood of the baptized. Some have even accused wearers of religious garb of being insecure, out-of-touch, and intellectually second-rate. But today I find the youngest, brightest, healthiest, and most joyful consecrated religious and clergy seem perfectly at home in religious garb. What happened?

When asked how she reconciled her Catholicism with using violent, grotesque imagery, the great fiction writer Flannery O'Connor, herself a young Catholic who was often misunderstood, said: "To the hard of hearing you shout, and for the almost blind you draw large startling figures." It seems that the same philosophy is at work in the minds of young Catholics who are drawn to religious garb; they desire to communicate the gospel through sign and symbol to a world whose senses have been dulled. And if their clothing can help people to hear and see Christ, then it's a no-brainer.

The history of religious garb directs our attention to two important elements: identity and simplicity. Some religious orders pattern their habit on the garb of St. Anthony of Egypt (251-356), who most often prayed and worked in the desert and wore a simple robe with a thick leather belt. St. Francis of Assisi's garb looked like the cross when a friar stretched out his arms, and he added sandals and a cord with knots symbolizing the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Mother Teresa adopted the traditional dress of Indian women for the Missionaries of Charity. These three prominent examples were easily identifiable by their dress, which also pointed to the simplicity and poverty of Jesus.

Clerics, too, could be identified by what they wore. According to The Catholic Encyclopedia, the cassock and collar were responses to clerical extravagance. In the 13th century many priests were dressing like knights, with bright colors and ornate embroidery, so a mandate was issued that the cope of a cleric would be simple, ankle length, and buttoned closed in front. Thus the cassock was born. In the 17th century clerics would cover beautifully decorated collars with a white band to prevent wear and tear. The ornate collars caused scandal and were eventually forbidden, but the white protective band remained and became the Roman collar. Religious garb marked a person as a disciple of Christ.

The pastor at my first parish assignment was ordained in 1968, and he used to tell me stories over dinner of life before, during, and after the Second Vatican Council. In his seminary years the cassock was the dress code, and with the exception of recreation, the seminarian was expected to be in it. He often reminded me that he resented the fact that he had to put his cassock on to use the restroom in the middle of the night. I don't think he's worn a cassock since his seminary days, and I understand why.

Friends in religious communities also have told me about their orders' task of renewal after Vatican II. In terms of religious garb, the council stated that the religious habit was an outward mark of consecration to God and it should be simple, modest, and poor. The habit was to meet the requirements suited to the time and place and to the needs of the ministry involved, and, moreover, habits that did not conform to these norms were to be changed. For women's orders, some needed no changes, others simplified their garb, many modernized by sporting a simple veil, blouse, and skirt, and others opted to dress like the laity, as was the practice of their founder. Many of those orders that did away with religious garb thought it to be a good move since it was following the gospel mandate of not bringing attention to oneself. It was also thought that abandoning the habit would lead to greater approachability and help the religious focus on the internal life rather than being distracted by externals.

The years immediately following a church council tend to be disorienting. The post-Vatican II years were no exception. In the '60s even Father Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, was wearing a tie, if that gives any indication.

In a U.S. Catholic interview last year, Father Ronald Rolheiser said, "I don't think wearing a collar in public converts anybody. A lot of people in my generation don't feel that public witness should be in anyone's face." Reflecting on all that Rolheiser's generation has gone through, such a reaction is predictable. However, it has been more than 40 years since Vatican II. Now is the time for memories to be healed, purified, and reconciled, to move into the new millennium with a fresh perspective. As Benedict XVI stated in his first homily as pope, "The church is alive and the church is young!"

Generation X and millennial Catholics have never experienced a pre-Vatican II church and don't carry around the baggage of the previous generation when dealing with the issue of religious garb. Habits and collars are not oppressive or clerical, but courageous, especially in the post-scandal era. As a matter of fact, the first time I ever wore my cassock at a youth gathering at my first parish, the young people thought I looked like Neo from The Matrix. Rigid seminary formation was the last thing on their minds.

A great blessing of Vatican II was a greater awareness of the importance of sign and symbol. Miniature baptistries have been replaced by large baptismal pools, the holy oils have been given a more prominent place in glass ambries, paschal candles are to fit the size of the church, and even the principal host consecrated at Mass is to be big enough so that all can see it.

If being a visible, sacramental, and incarnational church is so important, doesn't it follow that religious garb has an important contribution to make as well? Young people think so. (And so do the folks who create the annual poster promoting the religious retirement fund, which consistently depicts elderly sisters in religious garb.) Unfortunately, many religious communities miss this crucial point, and they are going extinct in part because of it.

Today's youth live in a culture that forces them to say something about who they are and what they believe. The tattoo and body-piercing craze gives perfect witness to this condition. It's even hard to find a young person wearing a T-shirt that doesn't have words, numbers, or images on it. This is why more Catholic youth are wearing crosses, medals, and devotional bracelets. It should come as no surprise that younger Catholics would rather see priests in clerics than clothes from J. Crew and would rather see sisters in a habit than a pantsuit with a lapel pin. They want priests and religious to be recognizable, just as police officers and firefighters are recognizable by their uniforms.

Now I'm not suggesting that every priest and religious must live in their religious garb, although I have great respect for those who do. I dress down when I am in the rectory, on my day away, as well as when I exercise, but I have never seen the need to change out of my clerics when I am engaged in activity that isn't strictly pastoral. I have never been embarrassed to be recognized as a Roman Catholic priest. Sure, I have been persecuted at times because of my clothing, but the gospel tells us that such is to be expected. I can't begin to count the number of times I have heard Confessions, anointed the sick, or simply reminded someone that God is not dead precisely because I was wearing my clerics.

The John Paul II and Benedict XVI generations have been accused of wanting to wear religious garb in order to bring attention to themselves. I am sure that in a few situations this is true. Unfortunately, in every way of life there are folks who love attention, honor, and power. For the majority of young Catholics, however, this simply isn't the case.

They desire to bring attention to Christ with their whole lives, including their wardrobe. These young people want to be part of something greater than themselves. And they are willing to give up their lives to do so. They want to imitate saints like Anthony, Francis, and Teresa in their love of Jesus and service of the community. And yes, even in their dress. They want their habits to manifest their being.

So, in the spirit of the late Flannery O'Connor, the next time you see a young priest dressed in his Roman collar and you feel that he is shouting at you, or you judge a religious in her medieval habit to be a large startling figure, well, maybe that's the point. A thank you may be in order.

By Father Damian J. Ference, a young priest from the Diocese of Cleveland. He is currently a graduate student in the School of Philosophy at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Priests becoming too worldly, Vatican prelate says

From Catholic World News:

Rome, Feb. 15, 2008 (CWNews.com) - The prefect of the Congregation for Religious has lamented that many Catholic priests are neglecting their duties under the pressure of conforming to secular culture.

In a February 14 interview with the Italian ANSA news agency, Cardinal Franc Rode said that priests today tend to be less obedient to the Church and more responsive to the world. He cited reluctance to wear clerical dress as a symptom of this trend.

“A drift towards bourgeois values and moral relativism are the two great dangers that weaken religious life," said the Slovenian cardinal. "The biggest problem today is the climate of secularization-- present not only in Western society but also within the Church itself.”

Cardinal Rode said that young people continue to hear God's call to a vocation in the priesthood or religious life. But he suggested that a lax model of priestly or religious life is not likely to encourage vocations. As evidence the cardinal pointed to the young Catholics who are attracted to contemplative life in highly disciplined religious orders. "They are attracted because it is a radical life choice," he said.

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The picture below is of the Jesuits at their "conclave" as they recently came together to elect their new minister general. Look hard. Not a clerical collar in sight. Why I wonder? Do the Cardinals come "dressed down" like this to elect the Holy Father (rhetorical question)?

Contrast that picture with the one below of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal...

Or this one of a group of Priests from the FSSP...

Or this one of the Holy Father with Cistercians of Heiligenkreuz in Austria...

You tell me which picture(s) more readily says "radical life choice"? This is not to say that the Jesuits have not made a radical life choice, or that other orders and even diocesan Priests that choose not wear clerics have not made a radical life choice, but the outward visible sign is simply not the same.

I can certainly attest to the fact that most young men, that I speak with any way, are not attracted to a model of the priesthood or religious life (at least not in the United States) wherein it appears to be a life of relativism, comfort and worldliness. From the outside looking in, many young men see priests and religious that seem to be doing "whatever they want". In their dress, in their lifestyles, in the Mass, in their homilies, in their teachings, etc. - they see moral relativism and they are not attracted to it. A young man that is attracted to a counter cultural life of orthodoxy, deep spirituality, poverty and simplicity finds it hard to reconcile with some of the Priests and Religious he sees today.