Letter 5001: I must address a practice that has been reported to me and that I regard as problematic: the appointment of clerics...

I must address a practice that has been reported to me and that I regard as problematic: the appointment of clerics who are actively serving parishes or churches to positions of oversight in monasteries. These are two distinct vocations requiring two distinct kinds of commitment, and a man cannot properly serve both simultaneously. The monastery requires the kind of focused, resident leadership that a parish priest engaged in his own ministry cannot provide. Separate these roles. If a cleric wishes to take up monastic leadership, he must first be properly released from his parish responsibilities. Let this be the rule in your diocese going forward.