Vatican City — Pope Francis on Friday described some Catholic priests as so scary and neurotic he keeps well away from them. In comments that had his audience chuckling at a conference on training for the priesthood, the 78-year-old Pontiff revealed he is instinctively suspicious of overly pious candidates. “I will tell you sincerely, I’m scared of rigid priests,” he said. “I keep away from them. They bite!” Francis resorted to humour to make a serious point that some people that are drawn to a clerical career are fundamentally unstable – and that inevitably creates problems for the church if they are not weeded out. “If you are sick, if you are neurotic, go and see a doctor, spiritual or physical,” he added. “The doctor will give you pills. But, please, don’t let the faithful pay for neurotic priests.” As well as assessing the spiritual state of candidates, seminaries should [...]
