What to Do About the Priest Shortage
The Pope opposes liberalizing the rules, but most Catholics disagree
During a 1997 interview, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany, now Pope Benedict XVI, was asked about the declining ranks of the Catholic priesthood. "Mustn't celibacy be dropped," the questioner asked, "for the simple reason that otherwise the church won't get any more priests?" Ratzinger demurred. "I don't think that the argument is really sound," he said, noting that the trend had less to do with strict rules and more to do with family size and priorities. "If today the average number of children is 1.5," he reasoned, "the question of possible priests takes on a very different role from what it was in ages when families were considerably larger." The main obstacle, he argued, was parents "who have very different expectations for their children."
A decade later, the challenge of attracting priests continues to bedevil the Roman Catholic Church. The pope's visit this week is clearly meant as a stimulus to his American flock, and, apart from the tarnish of the sex abuse scandal, there is perhaps no more immediate concern among Catholic leaders than that of adequate church leadership. Congregations often abandon traditions and lose direction without guidance from priests; parishes, in some cases, have folded.
According to statistics, the number of U.S. priests began falling in the 1970s, and the decline has since accelerated. In 1975, the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University reports, there were 36,005 diocesan priests in the United States. By 1995, the total had fallen to 32,300; in 2005, the count stood at 28,700. The most recent count, from 2007, puts the number at 27,971. The decline appears to be even more precipitous when one includes "religious" priests, members of religious orders who tend to live within the priestly community. In total, the number of Catholic priests in the United States dropped from nearly 59,000 in 1975 to about 41,500 last year.
The causes of the decline are many. As the pope has said, changing family structures and social values are one problem; fewer children mean fewer potential priests, and parents are less likely to encourage the vocation. At the same time, more young Catholics—and more young people in general—are attending college or immediately entering the work force, thereby bypassing priestly considerations. Behind these trends is a strong cultural pull: American society prizes not only wealth and choice but also, to an increasing degree, mobility (the average American, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, will switch jobs 10 times between the ages of 18 and 38)—a privilege not in keeping with the lifetime commitment required of priests.
And, of course, there is the celibacy problem. In post-sexual revolution America, where, as novelist Tom Wolfe wrote in his 2000 book Hooking Up, "sexual stimuli bombarded the young so incessantly and intensely they were inflamed with a randy itch long before reaching puberty," the practice of celibacy is all but discouraged, if not viewed with suspicion. The sexual abuse scandal that rocked the church in the early part of this decade further sullied the American attitude toward celibacy.
But what to do? Pope Benedict XVI, like his predecessor Pope John Paul II, opposes liberalizing the current rules that forbid marriage and female priests. His followers are split. A 2001 survey by the U.S. Conference on Catholic Bishops found that 56 percent of priests thought celibacy should be a "matter of personal choice." A Gallup Poll conducted in 2005 shortly after the death of John Paul II found that 63 percent of American Catholics support allowing priests to be married; 55 percent said women should be allowed to become priests.
Interestingly, those numbers fall among the more devout: Among weekly Catholic churchgoers, only 48 percent said that priests should be allowed to marry, and only 44 percent want women to become priests. "The church has always taught that priests are men," said Monica Kolf, 24, who attended the mass at Nationals Park on Thursday. "That's how Christ instituted it at the Last Supper. Women have important roles to play in the church as well, and of course they are not in any less of a position or have any less dignity in the church in that sense. Of course, Mary, the mother of God, was a woman. There's no higher human being besides that."
In the past 10 to 20 years, there has been talk of reform; in 2003 more than 150 priests signed a letter to the U.S. Conference on Catholic Bishops, calling for optional celibacy in "an ever-growing appreciation of marriage and its many blessings." But with steady opposition from the Vatican and domestic dissent, none of the proposals has been adopted, and in the vacuum some dioceses have become creative, assigning, for instance, church officials to focus solely on recruitment of new priests. Some parishes now share priests with each other, hire traveling priests, or allow lay people to conduct traditional duties.
- 1
- 2
- Next Page >
Reader Comments
Wrong
The faith is not based on the pope nor the current leaders but one leader that is Christ Jesus."I am the same today, tomarrow and forever!" "heaven and earth shall pass away but my words shall not pass away." "Peter, You are the rock upon which I shall buildmy church and even the gates of hell shall not over come it!" this is faith to give into sin and unholy life would doom the church. Notably preist have never been allowed to marrie. Even Paul said"it is better that you do not and marrie and be as I am."
"Wrong"
Whoever the faith is based on, I hope they could spell "Marry" and "Tomorrow."
Third-world priest
Iam from the the third-world ( Solomon Islands, Honiara) and I think we are not any better at all, priests continue to leave the catholic church every year to marry.
The issues of priests abusing women and children are also present in the third-world.
There is no ideal world left to look to - although we still have that one ideal person JESUS CHRIST to look - we should now all accept personal responsibilities to renew the one world that we have destroyed becuase of sin.
Trying to sound a death nell for the Church?
That has been tried for over 2000 years. The Church is still here with us regardless of how many people opine that She is DOOOOOOMED! It would be laughable if it weren't really quite sad. The people who attack Her unchanging doctrines really want her to conform to the world so badly and for the worst of reasons. To conform to the world is to accept sin. To accept sin is to live happily with it until one's dying day. No one likes anyone raining on their parade, but we need that rain.
incorrect caption on photo
Just a point of clarification:
The cleric identified as a priest is actually a deacon (he is wearing a deacon's stole).
The child, who has not yet received his First Communion, has presented himself to receive a blessing.
And a suggestion:
Ask a knowledgeable Catholic to view photos and articles before printing or posting them. Errors such as those I pointed out erode whatever credibility your organization might have in reporting on "Catholic news."
Unbelievably Naive
The church CANNOT change its major doctrines because it has NO AUTHORITY to change those Doctrines. If the founder of the church, the God-Man, is the creator of the entire Universe and lives outside of time then in effect. You are saying that modern secular cultural trends are more enlightened than GOD. How is this rationale? Its incredibly offensive, stupid, naive, ignorant and a whole slew of other adjectives but one thing its not is reasonable.
If the truth has been revealed and people don't like it. They can try to color it or change it all they want, but its still the truth. We need the truth. The truth gives us a hope.
Caption for photo with article on Priest shortage
Someone is not doing his/her job at US News and World Report. Whoever wrote the caption for the photo accompanying the article on the Priest Shortage did not do his/her homework. US News and World Report has advisers who are Catholic and know the difference between a priest and a deacon. Get with it people. This is just another example of the media's stupidity regarding the Catholic Church and at least in my opinion, its obvious prejudice against the Church.
Married and Women priests?
Will solve the priest "shortage"? That and dumping all that judgemental morality stuff?
Hmm. By that standard the Episcopal Church should be thriving.
Not so much.
How long will we have to hear the same old tripe ?
The insularity of America
As Americans, we are perhaps the most insular of all nations that ever became a superpower in history. The article presents a viewpoint that only America counts in decisions on key issues or dogma facing a universal Church.
First the Pope must consider the entire church universal not just the little bourgeois, self-centered corner known as the United States. Secondly, pronouncements, such as in some of these responses, about the imminent or future demise of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church in Rome have been legion over the centuries especially the last 200 years. The Church must be true to its founder Christ, The Rock. I think that the motto of the Carthusian order says it best, Crux stat, dum orbis volvitur..."The Cross stands, while the world turns." Faithlessness or loss today does not mean forever. If there is any proof of the Church being guided by the Holy Spirit and preserved by the promise of Christ, it is her ability to endure now for over 2,000 years substantially the same.
She survived persecution by the Jewish synagogue, by the Roman Empire; she survived the collapse of that empire; she survived and thrived confronting the barbarian tribes outside the empire; she outlasted the arrogance of kings and princes; she survived the lethargy of the 1700’s; she survived the French Revolution; she survived Napoleon; She survived 2 world wars and Adolf Hitler; she survived the mistakes, cowardice and defects of her own laity, priests and popes but now she is to succumb to a shortage of priests that has developed over the past 50 years? Get a life!
She will weather this crisis and survive and succeed. Her talent is to bring in all that is worthwhile and valued in every age and preserve it to a time when it is appreciated. She is the mother of Western Civilization and while like all mother and son relationships there have been big arguments and blow-ups, this civilization would not last long without her presence in its midst. We would lose the ground of our very being if she were to go.
AS to the current priest shortage, it should be also noted that the Church has had a larger number of vocations over the last 150 years than anytime in her history. Seen in this light the shortage may not be but a return to earlier patterns of vocations. But also the secularization of the West may shortly or at least inevitably result in a massive crack-up or disaster of global proportions. The populations that currently embrace secularism may in that time turn against it. She will still be there proclaiming her message and she will take up that opportunity as she did in the wake of the first emprie.
There are no easy answers to the shortage of priests. I believe the Holy Father had a good point as Cardinal: smaller families do contribute to a shortage of vocations to the priesthood and religious life in the Church. At the same time, there are segments of baptized persons in the Church that cannot be tapped as a resource for vocations to the priesthood: married men and women in general.
Although opening the priesthood to these constituencies may not fix the problem of a priest shortage, it would bring great relief and would be a sign of hope.
For the record, celibacy is only a Church discipline, not a dogma. It could be lifted as a requirement for the priesthood at any time. The Apostles, deacons, and priests during at least the first several centuries in Church's 2,000 year history had the option of marrying.
It's interesting, we have no shortage of vocations to Holy Orders with regard to the permanent diaconate (at least in the United States where it has been promoted and embraced) and which permits married men. Their ministry in the Church has been tested and has proved to be a great blessing. My guess is many permanent deacons would pursue the priesthood, if a married priesthood became an option. They are a rich resource of experience and holiness; they serve as an army of ministers waiting in the wings.
The Church has a serious responsibility to provide for the spiritual needs of the faithful and the priesthood is central. Sadly, at the present time, that responsibility is not being met in many parts of the world. This situation is a profound scandal.
The celebration of the Eucharist, founded on Scripture and Tradition, and the accessibility of the Gospel message and our sacraments, take a priority over any traditions with a small "t,” celibacy included.
Vocations are actually up . . . worldwide
I recently read this from Karl Keating's (from Catholic.com) e-letter:
In 1978, the year that John Paul II was elected pope, there were 63,882 major seminarians throughout the world. In 2005, the year that Benedict XVI was elected pope, there were 114,439. The increase was 79 percent. That's the good news.
The bad news, for us, is that in America, during that same period, the number of seminarians dropped from 9,021 to 4,603, a decline of 49 percent.
The problem is in the US. Families have fewer children, and as they grow more and more secular and materialistic, fewer pray that their children hear the call.
Balance
I agree that celibacy is not itself the main barrier to vocations today; shifting values and smaller families play greater contributing roles. However, why not follow the Orthodox tradition (or a version of it) and allow married men to become priests while simultaneously maintaining a celibate priesthood.This way, there would be two types of role models - - the pastoral and the monastic. Afterall, the celibate priesthood is not an immutable teaching.
Hate to play the supernatural card...
Hi, (pardon the length)
Unfortunately for all you analysts out there, the Catholic Church has, since, its inception, defied all analysis based on the laws of nature (that is to say, roundly, common sense) because the Church is fundamentally a supernatural organization.
That is, its origin, goals, and even its methods are also almost entirely supra-sensible (that is, they cannot be completely seen or fully understood). The action of the Church is seen through the symbols it uses (for instance, in the sacraments) and the physical acts of charity it performs, but, and this is where almost all commentators and analysts go wrong, the "work" of the Church is not in the symbols or physical acts. It is wholly other, the physical acts (even the very small charities of day-to-day life for a good Catholic) are really exterior signs to a vastly deeper spiritual reality - the actions of Divine Providence. Quite awesome stuff, really, that we participate in.
So, given that, then, the external of a priest shortage is really not a "problem" as such.
To quantify it a little better, think of it this way: some of the most Catholic countries operate with a ratio of 1:7,500 priest to laity. In fact, in many areas, that number could easily be effectively 5-10x that, since priests tend to congregate (no pun intended).
America's average is 1:4,700. The very large Archdiocese of LA has 1:12,000. But, if we look at the smallish Diocese of Lincoln, NE, among the most conservative in the country, the number is closer to 1:737. Both the size of a Diocese and its orthodoxy (which are themselves related) seem to have some impact on the ratio of priests to laity - when you hit the coasts, the bulk numbers go up and the orthodoxy goes down, making the priest shortage seem that much worse.
N.B. that Mass attendance (especially on the less-orthodox Coasts) is abysmal. So, if you consider the number of priests compared to the number of good Catholics (those people who go to weekly Mass which, along with yearly confession, yearly reception of the Eucharist, and keeping the fasts, are the hallmarks of a non-lapsed Catholic), you don't see quite as dramatic a drop. So, on a more mature analysis, we did seem to have a notable hiccup in the ratio of good priests to good Catholics after Vatican II, but it seems to me its getting back on track, I think. (Thus, what we actually need is to get the huge population of lapsed Catholics laity to become actually Catholic - I surmise this would increase the vocations ratio, too, which I guestimate is a geometric relation)
But, truly, all those raw numbers don't matter - if we had hardly any non-lapsed Catholics and only a few holy Priests, that would be, for the Church-qua-Church, okay too (lousy for the rest of you, I think, but free will is a difficult thing). Try to think more along the lines of Henry V: "If we are mark'd to die, we are enow / To do our country loss; and if to live,/ The fewer men, the greater share of honour./ God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more."
Holy Mother Church, through every age and in every time has ever been active, even when it was only a single old man ready to offer his confused boy-child as a sacrifice. Or, just a couple of women and a boy at the foot of the cross of a Son of Man, dead, with his friends gone, after being unjustly crucified for blasphemy and treason against a worldly king.
Somehow, even when that's all we've got, it ends up working out.
Curious, that.
Now, I'd love to see more men going to become priests, but not at any price: certainly not at the price of proper teaching on any point, especially proper teaching-in-action. Celibacy is a sign of the Kingdom, and it is one of those teachings-in-action. That said, the discipline of celibacy for a priest is _also_ a good barrier to entry for people who aren't really serious about this stuff, for whom it is a psychological need or power trip rather than a loving, wholly self-giving response to a call from God. There are many such barriers on the path to priesthood - on purpose. Deus vult.
Oh, yes. I'm not only a client, but I'm soaking in it: I'm a Roman Catholic Diocesan seminarian, hoping one day that Holy Mother Church will call me to share Her sacrifices, Her pains and sufferings (and, perhaps, if I should merit it, Her joys), offering as a personal sacrifice the enormous good that is the possibility of a virtuous wife and the privilege of raising children and a great deal of other freedoms to do other perfectly good things, in order to better pursue God's work: that I may one day become a holy Priest, configured and united mystically to Our Lord, to stand as a living sign of the Kingdom of Heaven, so that all may "repent and believe", and have "life more abundantly" here, and "life eternal" there. To, as they say, put my money where my mouth is - or, perhaps, to put my heart where my treasure is.
(Oh, yes, and so I can get into heaven, too - we are all called to be holy, if I am called to be a priestly Father in the Roman Rite, the path to holiness is celibacy, respect and obedience to the Bishop, and certain prayer. If I am called to be a father-father, the path to holiness is marital chastity, fidelity to spouse and children (and a serious dose of prayer). If I'm called to religious life, the path is chastity, obedience, poverty and regular prayer. Seriously, for good Catholics, one way of looking at it is that life isn't t necessarily _all_ that different between the vocations - much, in fact, is the same. None of them are primarily about what one does with oneself, but rather for others and for God. That said, the differences are quite important, and good in themselves. Viva la differance!)
Poorly educated "journalists"?
The Roman Catholic Church has NEVER compromised on principles.
Your incorrect caption on the picture of a DEACON blessing a young child shopws your lack of knowledge of The Church.
The Episcopal Church has given in to the popular opinion (birth control, female priests, etc.).
These cowardly decisions, which are contradicted by Scripture, have resulted in SCHISM!!!
Add your thoughts
Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our comment guidelines.advertisement
Why Catholicism is ultimately doomed
Sticking to one's guns is one thing. Failing to understand social evolution, and accounting for it are another.
The Catholic faith is truly caught between a rock and a hard place. On the one side you have social forces dictating a demand for change and accommodation. On the other side, you have 2000 years of religious dogma and tradition in a faith based on not allowing any change (despite the fact it has changed often since priests were once allowed to marry and have children way back when).
The final nail in the coffin is the selection process for the priesthood elite: It's dominated by conservative old men. They are against change, against reform, against anything not laid out in the dogma of the Catholic faith and have made it abundantly clear they are not about to change (If they were thinking about it, they wouldn't have elected such a staunchly traditionalist Pope so quickly). In order for change to happen, it has to come from the leadership, which is used to dictating terms, rather than answering to them. By the time that happens, it will be too late for the faith in its current incarnation in the US and Eurpoe.
Between the forces of change, and the Catholic faith is the dogma - the unyielding nature of religion in general and the Catholic faith in particular. One can NOT go around saying you can't do something for more than a thousand years, then, like Rosanne Rosanneadanna from SNL, say, "Nevermind." It undermines the whole structure of the Catholic faith. If THAT was wrong, what about the rest of it? Hence, traditionalist leaders who will cling grimly to dogma regardless of the consequences. It's that or lose followers because they thought it was alright to question other overly restrictivereligious policies (no birth control, no gay marriage, etc.) and leave in a huff when they find out the Church wont' change on all issues they hold dear.
Religions MUST change with society or fold. If the structure of the religion is founded on the status quo, that foundation will break because the status quo can not be maintained indefinitely. The structure that was the Catholic Church will fall when the status quo changes. Whether it falls into dust and the ignobility of being classified among the Greek and Norse Myths as dead religions, or in a schism (along the lines of the Lutherans) between practitioners in Europe and America and other third-world countries where they are still strong (Due to an unchanging social structure) remains to be seen. But increasingly, for America and Europe, the Catholic church can't change in a world which demands it. And that will bring it down.
Apr 19, 2008 20:44:17 PM [permalink] [report comment]