VATICAN - Who is the priest for John Paul II

Vatican City (Fides Service) - From the Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo vobis 11: A correct and in - depth awareness of the nature and mission of the ministerial priesthood is the path which must be taken -- and in fact the synod did take it -- in order to emerge from the crisis of priestly identity. In the final address to the synod I stated: "This crisis arose in the years immediately following the Council. It was based on an erroneous understanding of -- and sometimes even a conscious bias against -- the doctrine of the conciliar magisterium. Undoubtedly, herein lies one of the reasons for the great number of defections experienced then by the Church, losses which did serious harm to pastoral ministry and priestly vocations, especially missionary vocations. It is as though the 1990 synod -- rediscovering, by means of the many statements which we heard in this hall, the full depth of priestly identity -- has striven to instill hope in the wake of these sad losses. These statements showed an awareness of the specific ontological bond which unites the priesthood to Christ the high priest and good shepherd. This identity is built upon the type of formation which must be provided for priesthood and then endure throughout the priest's whole life. This was the precise purpose of the synod."
From Pastores dabo vobis 12: The priest finds the full truth of his identity in being a derivation, a specific participation in and continuation of Christ himself, the one high priest of the new and eternal covenant.
From the Letter to Priests for Holy Thursday 2001 n. 6-7 : It is important, on this day of love par excellence, that we should feel the grace of the priesthood as a super-abundance of mercy. Mercy is the absolutely free initiative by which God has chosen us: "You did not choose me but I chose you" (Jn 15:16). Mercy is his deigning to call us to act as his representatives, though he knows that we are sinners. Mercy is the forgiveness which he never refuses us, as he did not refuse it to Peter after his betrayal. The avowal that "there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance" (Lk 15:7) also holds true for us. Let us then rediscover our vocation as a "mystery of mercy". (Fides Service 8/4/2005)