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Benedict Gerard Hegarty was Fr Benedict Hegarty OP born in Passage West, Co Cork on February 13, 1937. He attended Christian Brothers Colleg... -
John O’Rourke was born in Newry on November 14, 1939. He joined the Dominican Order in September 1958 and was ordained a priest in July 1965... -
Below is the response from the United States Episcopal Church to President Donald Trump’s apology demand from the bishop on X. It's qui...
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Michael, I am unsure of the context in which you raise this question. My initial response is no, on the basis that there is no empirical evidence to suggest that this is the case. Experiential evidence, so to speak, will differ from person to person. On that basis, I think some priests can exhibit particular traits, which while not attibutable as a class, may fit a number of individuals of whom one has experience. My own belief is that priests, almost universally, are inspired by generosity in the first place when considering a vocation. There may well be many other motives, but I do think generosity is in there. How else can one account for the decision to forsake marriage, family, career for something as ephemeral as priesthood. Equally, motives can become distorted over the course of a life, and priests are not immune from that. The difference is that in marriage one must account for oneself to another. Priests generally do not have to account, for example, for their time, use of money, choice of holiday, size of car, let alone their most intimate thoughts and actions. But I do believe that generosity remains a strong motivation for most, but not all.
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