Pope Francis calls careerism a ‘leprosy’ on the priesthood

Using especially strong language on one of his favorite themes, Pope Francis decried a plague of careerism among priests and urged them to renounce their personal ambitions for service to the church -- warning that failure to do so would make them look “ridiculous.”

“Careerism is a leprosy, a leprosy,” the pope said June 6 in a speech to students from the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, the school for future Vatican diplomats.