Msg Base:  AREA 5  - ASK FATHER            CIN ECHO   AMDG
  Msg No: 225.  Mon  1-06-92 20:29  (NO KILL)  (MAILED)
    From: Father Mateo
      To: John George
 Subject: Priesthood, etc.

+-
| Dear Father(s)
|  
|        I was just wondering. Are priest like your selves really
| neaded to commune with  "God?"
| Why is Christ worshiped? I know he saved sins and all that but,
| doesn't it say somewhere not to worship any idols?
|        In the past the Church has used force to "convert" people of
| other faiths to their belief system, were these actions justified.
+-[JG=>F]
 
Dear John,
 
There is only one Priest in the Catholic Church, and He is Jesus
Christ.  Others, like me, are only instruments in His hand.  We share
in His one priesthood and are empowered by Him alone.
 
He is necessary: He is the only access we have to the Father, the One
Mediator between the Father and humankind.
 
Priests function in the Church to bring Christ's saving action to the
here and now.  For example, he is the Savior from sin, but we apply His
forgiveness (see John 20: 21-23).  We do not interrupt the individual's
communion with God; we expedite that communion.  For example, a priest
offers Mass, in which bread and wine become the Communion of the Body
and Blood of Christ.  He gives Holy Communion to the worshipers.  They
are in possession of their God within their very selves, and pray to
Him.  The priest explains the Gospel, preaches.  The hearers
internalize the Gospel.  Their minds and hearts interact with God's
word in the silence of their deepest selves.
 
Christ is worshiped because He is God.  He is the Second Person of the
Trinity, equal in divinity to His Father.  He has become Man in the
womb of the Virgin Mary, so he is One Divine Person in two natures,
both divine and human.  Because He is man, he is our Brother and could
offer His life for our salvation.  Because He is God, His offering is
infinite value and efficacy for us.
 
Wherever force has been applied to "convert" people, that is sinful no
matter who has done it.
 
                                Sincerely in Christ,
 
                                Father Mateo