In Persona Christi, Or Impersonating Christ

"In persona Christi  is a Latin phrase meaning 'in the person of Christ.'" [1]

Based on subjective observations, there are many clerics who wear clerical clothing, wanting the public to believe that they are acting in persona Christi when in fact they are just plain acting.

For them, priesthood is merely a profession which can be entered into without true faith, without living like Christ and without taking their vows seriously, especially the vows of poverty and chastity.

If a cleric doubts his faith, has little or has no faith, and lives like a well-to-do businessman has no business being in persona Christi whether or not they wear black with a white collar and a crucifix hung around their neck for everyone to see.

Most of them never speak of their own faith, as if their faith or perhaps struggles with and doubts about their faith are foreign to them.  They go through the motions when they are celebrating Mass as if they are fulfilling an obligation without necessarily believing in what they are saying and doing.  They preach the Gospel but only in theory.  They lead often by words but seldom by deeds.  They talk about the business of the church and about money.  They flatter their pope because their livelihood depends on him.

Therefore, they tend to take their vow of obedience seriously because if they do not obey their pope, they could be defrocked and they would be unemployed and perhaps even unemployable.  What society finds a need for a grown man highly educated in theology who has no experience living a life outside of the comforts of the church where the basic necessities have been provided to him, including food, clothing and shelter?

Not all clerics are Christ impersonators.   Some are truly holy and do an excellent job.  They are not the majority and are far and few in between.

The Catholic Church in general has lost its moral authority as more and more revelations surface, not only sex scandals but also financial misdeeds, showing plainly its hypocrisies.  Many people who run the church are as corrupt as the many who run a bureaucracy.

Not one event that is taking place presently is strengthening the Catholic church.  Things the clerics are doing are too little and too late.  Furthermore, not enough is being done.  They are not serious.  It is just more acting.

The entire Catholic Church is impersonating Christ.  The wave that began with Theodore McCarrick is just the beginning.  The tsunami may soon hit.

Even when the tsunami hits, it will not destroy everything.  There will be pockets that will remain standing.  Out of destruction, the Catholic Church will still keep going.  It may not look the same as it is now but it will still be there.



[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_persona_Christi