Why the shortage of priests?

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Sid	Why the shortage of priests?	Lead	[-]
Posts: 6322 (11/12/04 07:00 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Tags : None *Quote:* A shortage of priests within the church has been a problem for the past 30 years for multiple reasons, Andriacco said. There is a shortage in most of what Andriacco called the "helping professions" -- teachers, nurses, and clergymen -- because people are seeking jobs that pay better and offer more status, he said. Also, many ministry opportunities have become available to the layperson since the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, he said, allowing a smaller number of priests to oversee the same amount of work. Catholics also had larger families in the past, he said, and many parents would encourage one of their sons to pursue the priesthood. Plans address priest shortage When everyone agrees, somebody is not thinking. --Gen. George S. Patton
Sid	Grassroots The Strongest Agent For Change In The Church	#1	[-]
Posts: 6322 (11/13/04 07:10 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	*Quote:* Today, 50% of the worlds parishioners are without a resident priest. As of the year 2000, that included 5,300 parishes within the United States, a figure that has probably risen since the clergy abuse revelations in January of 2002. In some parishes, Sunday Mass, which the Catholic parishioners are accustomed (and even obliged) to attending is now a Prayer Service. There are 25,000 married Catholic priests in this country, an average of 400 per state. There are also 21 canons in The Code of Canon Law that validate their priesthood and their sacramental and pastoral ministry, as long as the request is made by the public. And no permission is needed from anyone. The U.S. Conference of Bishops confirmed to the Washington Post on August 4, 2003, that the sacraments conferred by priests who married are valid including Baptism and the celebration of Mass. Grassroots The Strongest Agent For Change In The Church When everyone agrees, somebody is not thinking. --Gen. George S. Patton
Sid	Pope warns of US priest shortage	#2	[-]
Posts: 6322 (11/27/04 12:45 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	*Quote:* Pope John Paul II has warned that the increasing difficulty of recruiting men to join the Catholic priesthood in the US represents a "stark challenge". The Pontiff said the problem must be urgently addressed and suggested one day each year should be dedicated to praying for vocations. He said the church must guarantee its future by preserving existing faith and encouraging new belief. Several sexual abuse scandals have hit already dwindling US priest numbers. "No-one can deny that the decline in priestly vocations represents a stark challenge for the church in the United States," Pope John Paul II told American bishops gathered in Rome. "And one that cannot be ignored or put off." Pope warns of US priest shortage When everyone agrees, somebody is not thinking. --Gen. George S. Patton
Sid2	The ordination of women	#3	[-]
Posts: 22088 (12/01/04 12:56 PM) Inner Guard Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	*Quote:* Neither of Rome's two principal arguments for banning women from ordination stand up to scrutiny. Rome maintains that, when Jesus Christ selected only men to be his Apostles, he deliberately excluded women from the priestly ministry. If so, did he not exclude Gentiles by only selecting Jews? Rather, an analysis of Srip-ture shows that in choosing only men Jesus followed the prevailing custom of the time, without thereby, as in so many other matters, closing the door to future developments. Rome also alleges that, throughout Tradition, the living teaching authority of the Church has consistently barred women from the priesthood. The fallacy of this argument lies in not distinguishing between common belief and practice on the one hand and considered Church teaching on the other. Historical studies show that the practice of not ordaining women was based on social and theological beliefs that no longer stand up to scrutiny. As in the case of belief in six-day creation, the argument from past and present Tradition only holds good for issues on which the Church could and can pass an informed judgement. The ordination of women
Sid2	Hubbard says priest shortage on Pope's mind	#4	[-]
Posts: 22088 (12/05/04 10:16 AM) Inner Guard Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	*Quote:* The church discipline of mandatory celibacy is considered an obstacle by many, Hubbard said. But married clergy already exist in the Eastern Catholic church, and hundreds of married Anglicans already have been allowed into the Roman Catholic clergy, he noted. "I would be open to discussing the pros and cons, mainly to ensure that the Eucharist is preserved," Hubbard said, without taking a position. But lay leaders from national groups Call To Action and FutureChurch believe optional celibacy is the only answer. Sixty-seven percent -- or 2,589 of 3,846 -- of respondents in an anonymous six-month survey of priests from Boston to Los Angeles -- in a total of 53 dioceses -- said they support open discussion of the mandatory celibacy rule for diocesan priests. The strongest responses came from priests aged 41 to 70, with 74 percent saying yes. Hubbard says priest shortage on Pope's mind
Tan2Day	Re: Hubbard says priest shortage on Pope's mind	#5	[-]
Posts: 471 (12/05/04 05:25 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	The queers fear the "normals" That is the reason they will resist this until there is NO other option. For when the "norms" come it, the people will LOVE THEM, and the swishy men in red silk dresses and slippers will have the END written for them. They will be shut out of POWER, and their strange predatory ways will be marginalized. So, don't count on it soon.
Sid2	Re: Hubbard says priest shortage on Pope's mind	#6	[-]
Posts: 22088 (12/05/04 05:50 PM) Inner Guard Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Tan: From my vantage point, the RCC has hit the iceberg. . . just can't understand the denial.
Sid2	Why the shortage of priests?	#7	[-]
Posts: 22088 (12/27/04 01:48 PM) Inner Guard Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	*Quote:* "There are many places, especially in rural areas, that would not be able to hold Sunday services without foreign priests," said Reinhard Krzinger, a cathedral vicar in Bavaria's Eichsttt diocese, who has directed a program that has been training foreign priests to work in Germany since 1997. "Many of the priests come from countries where Germany used to do missionary work." But now Germany itself has practically become a country in need of missionary work. The German Catholic Church, which has about 26 million members, ordained 130 priests in 2003, one less than 2002, continuing a general downward trend. The number of priests here has been on the decline for the past 15 years, with the amount of active Catholic priests falling 20 percent since 1990. Our Father, Who Art in India, Poland or ...
Sid2	The future of Vermont's Catholic Churches	#8	[-]
Posts: 22088 (01/14/05 03:43 PM) Inner Guard Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	*Quote:* The Roman Catholic Diocese projects the number of priests will drop by half in 10 years. Officials have launched a study to deal with the problem --examining the state's 130 parishes. Plans called for consolidation -- and the closure of some churches. Bishop Kenneth Angell is inviting all priests, deacons and assigned representatives from each local church to discuss possible solutions to the priest shortage at a meeting Saturday in Barre. The future of Vermont's Catholic Churches could become clearer this weekend.
Sid	Priest shortage forces merger of Catholic parishes	#9	[-]
Posts: 6322 (02/07/05 08:04 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	*Quote:* A number of Catholic parishes across Canberra [Australia] will merge this year because of a shortage of priests. "That question of celibacy and marriage needs to be looked at but it's a very big question and touches on very important issues in the life of the church and it needs to be a discussion that goes on in a very objective way," he said. "One of the things we're having a look at in the clergy assembly this year is saying how do we actually as clergy look after ourselves and also look after the people during a period of change because both are equally important," he said. "It's no good to create mega-parishes and have priests burning out because the workload becomes too great." Priest shortage forces merger of Catholic parishes When everyone agrees, somebody is not thinking. --Gen. George S. Patton
Sid2	The priest crisis must be acknowledged	#10	[-]
Posts: 22088 (02/15/05 08:49 AM) Inner Guard Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	*Quote:* For those of us who love the church, these are testing times. There have been the sex abuse and other scandals, which have shaken the church to its foundations. There has been the huge fall-off in church attendance and in the number of religious vocations. There has been the collapse in the churchs moral authority, and in the relationship between it and many of its members. There is a sense that the church is in real danger of becoming irrelevant, as it already is in so much of Western Europe. Every year there are fewer active clergy in Ireland and in the West generally. Seminaries are almost empty. Monasteries and convents are being put up for sale. Most religious orders of men and women are without new recruits; some havent had a new member in more than a decade. Churches are being closed, Masses cut, and parishes forced to amalgamate with all the pain those difficult decisions cause local communities. What is extraordinary is the seeming reluctance of church authorities to face up to this crisis or to even acknowledge it. Bishops are not blind or dumb; neither is the Vatican. They are acutely aware they must be of the problems confronting the church in the West. They must know that the churchs very existence is on the line and yet they seem like deer caught in headlights, blinded by panic. The priest crisis must be acknowledged
Sid2	Why the shortage of priests?	#11	[-]
Posts: 22088 (03/17/05 04:10 PM) Inner Guard Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	*Quote:* The vow of celibacy itself may play a significant role in the shrinking number of vocations, but Biernat says that probably wont change, even once a new pope is in place. Pope John Paul II hand-picked the majority of cardinals and bishops in the world, Biernat said. They are mostly of the conservative bent. We believe that the Holy Spirit guides the Church through each pope. Thats where faith comes in. Celibacy gives priests the freedom to try and love all people equally, he added. Its natural that someone with a wife and kids would love them a little more. Father Mike Uebler of St. Francis of Assisi in Tonawanda thinks its possible for a priest to balance a family and parish. Catholic call going unanswered
Sid2	Why the shortage of priests?	#12	[-]
Posts: 22088 (07/08/05 11:17 AM) Inner Guard Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	*Quote:* Collapse in vocations: The ability of the Catholic clergy to attract young men into their ranks, already weakening in the early 1990s, has collapsed altogether in the wake of these scandals. This now affects all the religious orders, as well as the diocesan clergy. Moreover, the rapid economic growth of the 1990s has made the career of a celibate priest increasingly less attractive especially when priests themselves complain about poor leadership and too little room for initiative. As clergy have always run the church, how can it survive if there arent any? Collapse in vocations
Sid2	Priest Shortage Causes Group To Ask For Changes	#13	[-]
Posts: 22088 (09/28/05 02:38 PM) Inner Guard Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	*Quote:* Across the country, a priest shortage is worrying many parishioners. "We are concerned when our pastor -- who is close to retirement -- leaves, we won't have a priest to celebrate the eucharistic liturgy on weekly basis with us," said parish member Joyce Rothermel. In response, the Pittsburgh Association of Priests -- a group of priests and lay people -- is proposing a controversial conversation. Bishop Donald Wuerl goes to a three-week meeting with church leaders in Rome next month. When he's there, some local priests want him to discuss two very radical ideas. "One, that celibacy would be an optional matter for parish priests in our Catholic Church. And consideration given for ordination of women as deacons," said Rev. Garry Dorsey of the Association of Priests. Channel 4's Gus Rosendale asked if Metzler was concerned about backlash when people hear about changing centuries of tradition. "Not when you hear how anxious people in our parish are about the possibility that someday they will not have a priest," answered Dorsey. "We have a lot of people in the church who disagree with what the church teaches and that's why the church exists to try to bring the truth to people and convince them of the truth," said Rev. Ronald Lengwin of the Pittsburgh diocese. The schedule for that meeting of church leaders in Rome has already been set -- optional celibacy and female priests are not on the agenda. However, the diocese said the bishop will "consider" the request that's been made of him Wednesday. Priest Shortage Causes Group To Ask For Changes In Catholic Church
bowlmeover	Re: Priest Shortage Causes Group To Ask For Changes	#14	[-]
Posts: 4 (10/02/05 01:06 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	the same reason there is a shortage of ppl willing to committ to marriage anymore. Yep,Sid that's right.The no of ppl getting married has declined too.
Sid2	Clergy's extra service	#15	[-]
Posts: 22088 (04/16/06 04:15 PM) Inner Guard Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	*Quote:* National statistics from the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University are testimony to the decline in priestly pursuits. In 1965, there were 35,925 diocesan priests, compared to 28,702 in 2005. Religious order priests numbered 22,707 in 1965 and 14,137 in 2005. Ordinations have dropped as well, with 994 priests ordained in 1965 and 454 in 2005. CARA statistics for parishes without a resident priest numbered 549 in 1965 but climbed to 3,251 in 2005. Conversely, the Catholic population surged from 45.6 million in 1965 to 64.8 million in 2005. Clergy's extra service I would rather be honestly blunt than diplomatically untruthful.
T123	> Clergy's extra service	#16	[-]
Posts: 551 (04/16/06 06:50 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Between 1965 and 2005, the number of priests has dropped significantly. Normal guys wouldn't consider entering the Roman priesthood, and homosexuals now realize that the long-hidden "culture" of the priesthood has been revealed to average folk. A move to the priesthood is seen as confirmation of homosexual inclinations. So their numbers dwindle.
Sid2	Why the shortage of priests?	#17	[-]
Posts: 22088 (10/04/07 12:50 PM) Inner Guard Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	*Quote:* [R.A., Goodbye Father: The Celibate Male Priesthood and the Future of the Catholic Church]Schoenherr predicts that, while the exclusion of women from the Catholic priesthood is much more an issue of social justice and is completely out of step with the larger society, the exclusion of married men from the priesthood will be the first to go, because patriarchy is so embedded in the Church. The requirement of male celibates for ordination has caused the priest shortage. Schoenherr predicts that conservative desires for more priests will meet liberal desires for married clergy, and married clergy will come within a few decades. Ordination of women will not come for generations. Married clergy will cause a greater role for women associated with the priesthood as priests wives. More. . . Believe those who seek the truth. Doubt those who find it. --Andre Gide
Sid2	Why the shortage of priests?	#18	[-]
Posts: 22088 (11/20/07 08:24 AM) Inner Guard Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	*Quote:* Now the priesthood has come to be considered the primary gay profession. We are the butt of jokes and presented as a pathetic caricature in the media. If the new document from Rome on homosexuality soon to be released leaves it up to the bishops or leaves loopholes in dealing with such a complex issue, then the floodgates will swing wide. Heterosexual priests will not want to send fine young men from good families to the seminary. Priests will need to know with clarity their bishops policy on homosexuals in the seminary and the priesthood and be allowed to incardinate in a diocese where they can minister in obedience and good conscience. This could well be the issue that reveals the schism in the Church. More . . . Believe those who seek the truth. Doubt those who find it. --Andre Gide
Sid2	The declining numbers of American men studying for the priesthood is no secret.	#19	[-]
Posts: 21684 (10/21/09 11:17 AM) Inner Guard Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	The declining numbers of American men studying for the priesthood is no secret. The bishops originally funded a sociological study of vocations, but pulled the money plug when the preliminary report projected exactly what has happened-a continuing loss of vocations. Sociologist, Richard Schoenherr, was not guessing when he and his staff made their projections in 1993 that US vocations would drop 40% between 1966 and 2005. The fact that it was a scientific study made no difference. (Cf. Full Pews and Empty Altars, 1993 and Goodbye Father, 2002) Cardinal Roger Mahony called the study "a great disservice" and attacked Schoenherr of having a "personal agenda." Andrew Greeley with Schoenherr spoke out about the problem already in 1969. The bishops treated the Doyle, Mouton, Peterson 1985 Report on the problem of clergy sexual abuse the same way-the same disdain, the same vocabulary. The same arrogance clothed in the spiritual palaver that the Holy Spirit, not sociology determines vocations. That is exactly the reception my work has merited. I am content that I am in good company. The bishops do not know who their friends are. The hierarchy mostly ignores even Father Greeley, the most populist priest of the last decades, who unquestionably has the welfare of the Catholic Church foremost in his work. More . . . I would rather be honestly blunt than diplomatically untruthful.

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