Vanity,
Envy, and defamation… Oh my!
That is what the Cardinal was talking about recently to members of the clergy:
The former archbishop of Milan, Carlo Maria Cardinal Martini, warned fellow Jesuits at a meeting near Rome that the most common sins in the Church (speaking about and to clergy on the occasion) were vanity, envy and defamation. He said, “We think, why did someone else receive what rightfully belongs to me? There are people eaten up by envy, thinking, ‘why has he been made a bishop and not me?’
So there we have the envy thing - who didn’t know that? For instance, after parish assignments are announced, someone may say, “Why did he get St. So and So and not me?” Or, “They made him a bishop? Who does he know?” Or, “He was given his own diocese? Good riddance - but how does he rate?” That’s just dinner conversation, with a bit of defamation possibly thrown in - along with cigars and brandy. Ah! That was the old days though.
But vanity?
Vanity could be encountered frequently, too: “Vanity is great in the Church, it shows in the vestments. In the past, cardinals wore an 18-foot silk cape. Constantly, the Church decorates itself with pointless ornaments, it has a tendency towards vanity.” - Source: Cafeteria- News story translation by Gerald Naus
Now that could be coming back.
Photo credit: Dappled Photos - Cappa magna.
