杏MAP导航

By Joseph Tulloch
鈥淭he Church, and every baptized person, is in the world, is for the world, but is not of the world.鈥�

Those were 杏MAP导航 Francis鈥� words on Thursday morning as he met with members of the Secular Institute of the Missionary Priests of the Kingship of Christ.

Members of the Institute are diocesan, or secular 鈥� rather than religious 鈥� priests who live in various parts of the world under the jurisdiction of local bishops.

Their encounter with the 杏MAP导航 took place as part of the Institute鈥檚 70th anniversary celebrations, and members presented 杏MAP导航 Francis with the floor plan of a new training centre under construction in Burundi.

Secularity vs secularism

In his prepared remarks, 杏MAP导航 Francis began by underlining 鈥渢he value of secularity in the life and ministry of priests.鈥�

鈥淪ecularity (secolarità),鈥� he stressed, 鈥渋s not synonymous with secularism (laicità).鈥�

Secularity, he said, is rather 鈥渁 dimension of the Church," having to do with its mission to 鈥渟erve and bear witness to the Kingdom of God in this world.鈥�

If, said the 杏MAP导航, secularity is a dimension of the Church, then it follows that priests, as well as lay people, are called to live it out.

Inspiration from St Francis

杏MAP导航 Francis went on to praise the priests' way of living out their secular vocation.

Members of the Institute, he said, live 鈥渁ccording to the Franciscan charism" and are thus formed for 鈥渉umble, available, and fraternal service.鈥�

They also live, he said, 鈥渁ccording to the model of the kingship of Christ, which consists in serving, in giving oneself generously, and in solidarity with the poor and the excluded.鈥�

杏MAP导航 Francis brought his speech to a close by quoting a line from the Institute鈥檚 prayer to the Sacred Heart, which members recite every day.

鈥淢ay we be in solidarity with, and friends of, the people, apostles of kindness and truth, so that the Gospel might become the heart of the world.鈥�

Institute's Project in Burundi

The Secular Institute of the Missionary Priests of the Kingship of Christ was established in October 1953 in the Church of San Damiano in Assisi.

During their audience with the 杏MAP导航, members provided the 杏MAP导航 with the floor plan for their new Spiritual Formation and Interreligious Dialogue Center, which the Institute is constructing in Burundi.

The Center will be dedicated to Archbishop Michael Courtney, who served as Apostolic Nuncio to Burundi from 2000 and was shot to death there in 2003. He played a significant role in national reconciliation in the country.

Among its aims is the goal of teaching the local population rainwater harvesting and wastewater filtration techniques.