Using Pope Benedict's recent visit downstate as a point of departure, a pair of guest columns in the April 30 Democrat & Chronicle presents creative solutions to the priest shortage. The first is from a woman humbly called to the priesthood:
We have heard in recent months about the shortage of priests. However, there are women, like myself, called to the priesthood; there are men called to the priesthood but not to celibacy. It's like having barns full of grain in a time of famine. The wealth of vocations is there; we need only to open the doors.
Pope Benedict XVI's U.S. visit came at a crucial moment for me, personally. I have completed my coursework for the master of divinity degree at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School and will soon graduate. I'm an applicant for ordination with Roman Catholic WomenPriests, an organization that has ordained nearly 100 women worldwide in ceremonies not recognized by the Roman Catholic Church. No pastorate waits, however, for any of us. ...
For women's ordination via the drip method, we turn to column number two by one of Bishop Clark's "pastoral administrators" (a position canonically legitimate only under temporary and exceptional circumstances). She helpfully reminds us that "at present" there a mere handful of priestly things administrators like herself cannot do:
As pastoral administrator of St. Mary's Church in Rochester, I have been blessed with the responsibility for the pastoral and administrative care of a Roman Catholic community of 900 families who gather for worship in a beautiful city-center church. I collaborate with a talented pastoral staff including a full-time priest and a retired priest who serves us voluntarily.
I can't imagine a better place to be. We are in a city that is showing such positive signs of new life. Our church tradition has a rich and beautiful wealth of spirituality, theology and liturgy. We are in a diocese that has a courageous, encouraging leader in Bishop Matthew Clark.
Traditionally, the leader of a parish would have been an ordained priest. At present, only an ordained priest may preside at Eucharist, give absolution and anoint the sick. However, as a lay pastoral leader, I do not feel less capable in serving the community in most other ways. Readily we seek to offer care, compassion and spiritual guidance, as well as teaching and administrative leadership.
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11 comments:
Now you have a little more insight as to why we in Rochester have a near-zero vocation rate and why we have lost 24,000 of our weekend Mass attendees (22.2%) in a mere 7 years. The city might be showing "positive signs of new life" but the diocese is dying a slow death.
Yes, we desperately need a real shepherd.
The "positive signs of new life" line is why I prefer Syracuse to Rochester.
I live in Geneva and can choose which one to go to for most things.
Syracuse is like an alcoholic who has hit bottom and started the program. Rochester is still in denial - always running feature articles about new life springing from the dead stump of Kodak/Xerox.
Syracuse always seems to me to be a place that lives in reality a bit more.
Nice to see that the journalists in Rochester are reporting both sides of the story.
--snarkiness OFF---
Larry, "both sides of the story" only happens when reporting a pro-life event.
Personally, I don't see what's wrong with pastoral administrators, male or female. There is a real priest shortage that all the snarkiness in the world cannot change.
The important thing is how these people are trained and how they are expected to do their jobs. Are they going to be like the Stewards of Gondor in the Lord of the Rings, sitting in their plain chairs at the foot of the empty throne for a thousand years, if they have to, before the king comes back? Or are they going to be like Prince John in Robin Hood, taking over the moment King Richard is out of the country?
People have to be trained to understand that the former is important, and that there is dignity in holding down the fort. Otherwise they naturally want to do the latter. Think of General Cincinnatus, who went back to being a farmer rather than trying to rule Rome.
We've got too many people who want the job for the personal political agendas they espouse, not because they want to keep things running smoothly until the priest shortage ends -- which I believe it will, but not for a long time. The job is going to be there. Who is going to fill it?
Gail Finke
This is a perfect illustration of why people are traveling great distances to worship in the Diocese of Buffalo. Our Catholic School and Church are filled with people who are part of the mass exodus OUT OF the Diocese of Rochester. Come on over -- we'll make room in our pew for you. :)
Kelly
http://catholicponderings.blogspot.com/
Yes, we have the falsehood virus running rampant in our diocese's adult faith dev., schools, and (of course - it's obligatory) universities. Ckeck out Sacred Scripture for the rewards given to those who propagate falsehood in the Church.
Please do us all a big favor and check out the Anglicans, Methodists, and etc. for openings in the priestess-hood.
I pray for the spiritual renewal, repentance, and conversion of Catholics several times a day and will include you in those prayers.
In Rochester The problem with the use of Pastoral Administrators is it is a clericalization of the laity and a castration of the role of Father and shepherd of the priests.
Many of the PAs are heterodox in their beliefs which is reinforced by the heterodox academy that our diocesan school of "theology and ministry" has become. We have the Pastoral Administrators even when there are Priests in the parish. My parish has 2 priests but they are not the Pastor. We have a PA who is (thankfully) a deacon. This particular case seems to be a reversal of roles and should not be allowed to happen.
Most PAs seem to be heterodox because no orthodox Catholic would want the job as the orthodox Catholic still sees Priests as shepherd and father, NOT a sacramental minister or a host consecration machine.
If it the role was more like the role of a sexton who the dictionary defines as "An employee or officer of a church who is responsible for the care and upkeep of church property and sometimes for ringing bells and digging graves." Call them a sexton and limit them to that, and remove the whole concept of "pastoral" or pastor.
this priestess baloney is ALL about HUMAN EGO, not Holy Orders. all of the blessings that these females masquerading as "priests" bring to the people can be done in humble lay positions.
but, no! they want to play "boss" and it makes me sick. they are all liars if they say that want to be priests as a true calling to the vocation. that, or they have simply bought in to a lie from the pit of hell, poor things, and they are to be pittied, but never humored.
the bottom line is the Truth that the vocation of priesthood is that of humble and obedient SERVANT and if these girls cannot be obedient servents to the Holy See of ROME then there is no way under heaven that they can be holy priests. period.
bingo. You hit it squarely on the head smockmomma. PRIDE the most deadly of the deadly sins, is almost always at the heart of this kind of disobedience. And it these womyn usually have a big ole heaping portion of arrogance and bitterness to go along with it. There is none of the holiness or joy you would expect to see within someone truly called to serve the Lord.
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