Cardinal Advincula to priests suffering from mental health: Feel it to heal it

Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula on Maundy Thursday raised concern about the rising number of priests who are suffering from mental difficulty and emotional burden, urging them to acknowledge the issue and learn to reconnect with others and renew their identity as God’s beloved. 

During the Chrism Mass at the Manila Cathedral, Advincula cited a survey which found that about 18%, or 1 in every 5 Filipino priests, admitted to being psychologically distressed. 

“Maraming pari ang dumadaan sa pagsubok ng kanilang kalusugan sa pag-iisip at damdamin (many priests are going through difficulties in their mental and emotional well-being). This is a concern we cannot ignore anymore and we have to face it to resolve it,” the Cardinal said. 

Advincula then shared three ways on how priests could overcome mental health challenges: to recognize, to reconnect, and to renew.

He said that affected priests should first recognize the signs and symptoms of difficulty so they can offer them to God and eventually heal. 

Doing so, the Cardinal emphasized, does not show that they are failing but that they are simply human. 

“Ang simula ng paghilom at paglaya ay pagkilala at pagtanggap na nahihirapan na tayo. At ang kabanalan ng pari ay hindi lang kapag matatag at magaling siya, kundi kung kaya niya ring aminin ang kahinaan at hangganan niya,” Advincula said. 

(The beginning of healing and getting free is recognizing and accepting that we are struggling. The holiness of a priest is not only when he is strong and good, but also when he is able to admit his weaknesses and limitations.) 

“At sa totoo lang, kapag ang pari ay hindi marunong umamin sa sarili niyang bigat na pinagdadaanan, hindi lang naman siya ang nahihirapan. Nabibigatan na rin ang kawan nang hindi niya man lang napapansin o sinasadya,” he added. 

(And honestly, when a priest doesn't know how to admit his own struggles, it's not just him who is suffering. The lay people are also burdened without priests even noticing or intending to.) 

He also urged priests not to isolate themselves when suffering or carry everything on their own. Instead, the Cardinal encouraged them to reconnect with other people, including their brothers in the clergy. 

“We are never alone in this vocation, in this ministry. You always have a father in me and you always have brothers in your fellow priests,” he said.

Lastly, Advincula reminded priests that they are bigger than their problems at work or their fatigue. He thus told them to renew not just the promises made during their ordination, but also to relish God’s promises to them, His faithfulness, and enduring mercy.

“We are not defined by what we do but by who we are. We are not functionaries of an oppressive master, we are sons of a loving God. We are men who are anointed, chosen, and blessed by God. If we lose sight of who we are, we will end up bitter and burnt out or even abusive towards others or ourselves,” he said. — RSJ, GMA News