The campaigning Jesuit Fr Peter McVerry has spoken of the importance of his priesthood in the work he continues to undertake for vulnerable and homeless young people in Ireland.
Interviewed this week on Newstalk radio, Fr McVerry was asked, if considering the priesthood today in light of Church scandals, he would opt instead for a career in social work.
The Jesuit responded that he could not consider any other approach to his work than via his vocation.
''Priesthood for me is very important,'' he explained, ''it gives sense to what I'm doing.''
Fr McVerry continued that it was his trying to live the message of the Gospel that underpinned his work, for over three decades, as a defender of some of the most vulnerable in Irish society.
He has frequently been an outspoken critic of the prison system.
''I feel very blessed to have been doing what I have for the past 30 years,'' he insisted.
In the same programme, Fr McVerry expressed his disappointment ''with the institutional Church'', which he said, ''has diverted us from the messages of solidarity and inclusivity''.
''Jesus reached out to those despised by others to affirm their value and human dignity,'' he explained, insisting the Gospel values of concepts of solidarity and inclusivity are exactly ''what our world needs now''.
''We have to get back and re-read the Gospels.''
The Newstalk interview met with a favourable response among listeners, many of whom texted and telephoned their praise, both for the priest's work and for the message he conveyed.
One texter wrote: ''Tell Fr Peter he's a saint.''
The Peter McVerry Trust was established in 1983 towards offering effective help to homeless people to break the cycle of their situation towards independent living.