Guide to Ongoing Formation for Priests (Ascension)

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Chapter 3: Human Formation

129 Restraining alcohol and tobacco consumption, too, has both a personal and an apostolic benefit. The number of priests in the grip of substance dependency is not negligible. Curbing the desire for nicotine and alcohol will lead to longer, more active, and happier lives. It will also ensure that substance abuse does not become an obstacle to a priest’s ministry, as it has, sadly, in too many cases. Often living alone, sometimes in isolation from brother priests and other friends, a priest is particularly susceptible to the excessive use of alcohol and nicotine and must make concrete resolutions to keep its use in healthy bounds. 130 Another area for temperance is the proper use of digital media and personal devices. Apart from the need to avoid offensive and inappropriate content, temperance means that these technologies do not become a form of bondage for the priest. Many people today, even those who have embraced digital media for good purposes, find themselves attached to digital media and devices that cultivate compulsive behavior. The priest, like everyone else who uses these tools, must offset these pressures with equally deliberate choices. He might, for instance, limit his daily usage of certain content sources, install accountability software, refrain from carrying his digital device on him at the rectory, or make his living space a digital-free zone. In addition, a temperate priest considers regulating which websites and news sources he engages with, particularly those that are irresponsible, inflammatory, or disingenuous. 106 Temperance is a way of humbly acknowledging that concupiscence is real, that we are weaker than we might imagine, and that we are susceptible to bad influences. Excessive technology use can be a distraction that consumes time, energy, and attention. It can become an impediment 106 Priests should be aware that online activity—email, browsing, texting, social media, and so on—is never absolutely private. The prudence and integrity the priest exercises in using such media are for the sake of not only his own soul, but also the reputation of the priesthood and the Church as well as the good of the faithful.

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