God is Father. Jesus Christ has revealed this definitive word about man and about history. God therefore places his seal on man by instituting in man a fatherhood similar to his own. How does God reveal his paternity to us? Through the paternity of human beings. If there are times when fathers disappoint, it is because, as Jesus says, "Only one is Father" (Mt 23:9).

Fatherhood is tireless activity: its task is to welcome, preserve, correct and foster growth. Every father is an educator. To educate a person means to guide him to the knowledge of the path on which he is to realise the eternal plan of his life in time.

As for priests, to speak of sonship and fatherhood is to speak of the fact that God has chosen them for a highly positive task. It is to speak of their desire to be responsible for the people that God has willed into being and that he entrusts to Them. An example that illustrates spiritual fatherhood is the relationship between St Paul and the Corinthian Christians, children who were as beloved as they were unruly.