Streetwise priest
Streetwise priests (Italian: preti di strada; Spanish: curas de la calle; French: prêtres de rue; German: Priester der Straße) are Catholic priests who exercise their spiritual mandate by living in structures in direct contact with the "street", which is their mission land. Historical streetwise priests include Philip Neri (1515–1595) and John Bosco (1815–1888).
Recently, the expression came to denote priests with reformist ideas, especially those involved in reform movements for social justice in a Christian context through service to the poor and marginalized.[1] Their work covers various areas, such as education, marginalization, imprisonment, development cooperation, drug addictions, disabilities, orphans and abandoned children, prostitution, and homelessness.
In many cases, streetwise priests form groups, associations, or communities, especially inclusive of laity.[2] Through 2008, debates and conflicts with ecclesiastical hierarchy existed regarding Catholic social teaching and implementing the Second Vatican Council's doctrine.[3]
Notable streetwise priests
Below is a list of priests who have been described as streetwise.
Central America
- Oscar Romero, El Salvador
- Padre Gadalupe, James Carney, American missionary murdered in Honduras 1983
- Juan José Gerardi Conedera, Guatemala
South America
- Padre Cacho, Uruguay[4]
- Don Gonzalo Aemilius, Uruguay[5][6]
- Monsignor Hélder Câmara, Bishop
- Don Júlio Lancellotti, Brazil[7]
North America
France
- Abbé Pierre (1912–2007)
- Father Guy Gilbert (b. 1935)
Italy
- Monsignor Tonino Bello (1935–1993), Bishop
- Don Oreste Benzi (1925–2007), Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII
- Don Luigi Ciotti (b. 1945), Gruppo Abele and Libera
- Don Peppino Diana (1958–1994), priest against the Camorra
- Don Andrea Gallo (1928–2013), Comunità di San Benedetto al Porto
- Don Lorenzo Milani (1923–1967), Scuola di Barbiana
- Don Pino Puglisi (1937–1993), victim of the Sicilian Mafia
- Father Alex Zanotelli
Ireland
- Fr Peter McVerry, SJ (b. 1944)
See also
References
- Back to citation "LiturgiaGiovane". Liturgiagiovane.it. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
- Back to citation "i preti da scomunicare nel 2011". Lettera43.it. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
- Back to citation (in Italian) Candido Cannavò, Pretacci: storie di uomini che portano il Vangelo sul marciapiede, Rizzoli, Milano, 2008
- Back to citation (in Spanish) Mercedes Clara, Padre Cacho. Cuando el otro quema adentro, Ediciones Trilce, Montevideo, 2012
- Back to citation "L'Osservatore Romano". Osservatoreromano.va. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
- Back to citation Gonzalo Aemilius. "Pasos". Mnpgonza.blogspot.it. Archived from the original on 2014-09-11. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
- Back to citation "Casa Vida". Casa Vida. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
- Back to citation Marco Tosatti (2009-05-27). "Morte di un prete di strada". Lastampa.it. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
- Back to citation "Nonviolent Cow: Milwaukee14Today/Larry Rosebaugh browse". Nonviolentworm.org. Retrieved 2015-09-06.
Bibliography
- Roberto Beretta e Giovanni Gazzaneo, Preti di strada: le frontiere dell'emarginazione e della speranza raccontate dai più noti sacerdoti anti-droga, con prefazione di Furio Colombo, SEI, Torino, 1995
- Candido Cannavò, Pretacci: storie di uomini che portano il Vangelo sul marciapiede, Rizzoli, Milano, 2008
- Mimmo Battaglia e Virginio Colmegna, I poveri hanno sempre ragione: storie di preti di strada, Cittadella editrice, Assisi, 2010
- Pierfilippo Pozzi (cur.), Dov'è Dio: il Vangelo quotidiano secondo quattro preti di strada, Einaudi, Torino, 2011
External links
- Federazione italiana Organismi per le Persone Senza Fissa Dimora
- CNCA – Coordinamento nazionale comunità di accoglienza
- RAI, "La storia siamo noi", Preti di strada – Una mano tesa contro la disperazione (Don Gallo a Genova, Don Alessandro Santoro a Firenze, Don Virginio Colmegna a Milano, Padre Antonio Poletti a Caserta Archived 2013-06-22 at the Wayback Machine