On Mondays, I answer questions frequently asked by those considering a return to the Catholic Church. How do I know this stuff? I was away for more than 30 years myself, and am the co-author of When They Come Home: Ways to Welcome Returning Catholics, a book for pastors and parish leaders interested in this ministry.
I went to a soup supper at church and the priest wasn’t wearing a clerical collar! What’s up with that?
Some priests dress more casually when they are not celebrating Mass or performing a priestly duty such as visiting the sick or homebound. Their contention is that laypeople are more comfortable and relaxed talking with priests who are dressed more like they are.
Other priests adamantly reject this, saying it is part of their vocation to always dress in a way that they can be identified as priests.
