Nowadays, what is the main service a parish priest should provide the faithful?
Father Schöch: In their ministry today, priests seem to suffer from being spread too thin amid increasing pastoral activities and, faced with the issues of present day society and culture, they tend to reconsider their lifestyles and the priorities of pastoral work, all the while seeing a growing need for permanent formation. In this respect, one must bear in mind that the parish itself — and sometimes the diocese, too — despite its autonomy, cannot remain isolated, particularly in these times when so many means of transportation and communication are available. Parishes are living members of the one and only Body of Christ, the one and only Church, which welcome and serve both the members of local communities and all those who, for any reason, approach it at any given time — perhaps bringing the action of God’s grace to someone’s conscience or to someone’s life. Naturally, this should not give way to disorder, nor irregularities in terms of canon law, which are also intended to serve
