Bishops ponder new study of priest
shortage
By ROBERT McCLORY
Special Report Writer Milwaukee
U.S bishops dealt with two persistently painful issues facing the
American church during their spring meeting here June 15-17. For the first time
as a body they confronted the priest shortage and began discussing strategies
to combat it.
The bishops also showed support for the draft of a new
constitution for the International Commission on English in the Liturgy. As
proposed, the draft omits the most controversial changes demanded last fall by
Cardinal Jorge Medina Estévez, head of the Vaticans Congregation
for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
A large part of one day was devoted to a study developed over the
past two years on the impact of fewer priests. The study indicated
that the ratio of Catholics to priests is growing at an alarming rate, that the
average age of priests continues to rise (57 years for diocesan, 63 for
religious), and that approximately 27 percent of parishes have either no pastor
or share one with another parish. The priest-to-Catholic ratio (1 to 1,127
overall) is higher in the West (1 to1,752) where startling growth is combined
with great ethnic diversity in the Catholic population. (In fact, the national
ratio would be considerably higher (1 to 2,185) if the study were based on the
number of priests active in parishes rather than on the total priest
population.)
The study cited effects on priests morale: There is
definitely an increased sense of isolation, said one. Said another:
Its true that the best kept secret is the shortage of priests. We
have kept it from the laity. We have covered it up in every way imaginable and
pretend it doesnt exist.
The study reported that the vacuum is being filled in part by some
30,000 lay or religious ministers (with another 30,000 in formation), 13,000
deacons, 150,000 schoolteachers and 25,000 lay associates of religious
congregations.
Part of the research involved use of focus groups and a national
poll of 2,600 Catholics on reactions to the shortage and ideas for the future.
Some 74 percent of lay Catholics reported direct awareness of the decline, and
75 percent supported an increased use of deacons, lay ministers and
foreign-born priests. Survey results contained no mention of ordaining married
men or women as possible solutions. At a news conference, Bishop Richard
Hanifen of Colorado Springs, Colo., head of the Committee on Priestly Life and
Ministry, said such suggestions did not arise probably because
respondents chose to stay within parameters of church discipline. But Bryan
Froehle, executive director of CARA, a research organization assisting the
bishops conference with the study, later told NCR that bishops had
deliberately omitted questions about ordination. There is already so much
empirical data on the subject that we saw no reason to include it in the
survey, he said.
During open discussion, reactions diverged. Portland, Ore.,
Archbishop John G. Vlazny suggested we stop talking about the shortage of
priests since it gives a bad impression and discourages
the laity. Instead, he said, bishops should concentrate on the
vibrancyof the priesthood as many live it. Brooklyn Auxiliary
Bishop Joseph Sullivan said the priest-to-Catholic ratio is
misleading since half [the Catholics] dont go to church
anyway.
Others were more sober. Newark Archbishop Theodore McCarrick said
his supply of priests (currently 544) will soon be reduced to less than 200 due
to deaths and retirements and only about 12 ordinations a year. Auxiliary
Bishop Thomas Curry of Los Angeles questioned the churchs emphasis on
evangelizing dormant Catholics. If we invite them back, he asked,
what in heavens name will we do with them? Some fast-growing
parishes in his area will soon have up to 18,000 households, he said.
Several bishops recommended emphasizing vocations. (The study
found that 25 percent of dioceses have no vocation plan.) Toledo Bishop James
Hoffman, one of four bishops raising questions about current discipline, said
he rarely attends a meeting where ideas about extending the priesthood to women
and married men or inviting back resigned priests do not come up for
discussion.
Bishops were asked to submit comments or proposed actions to the
Priestly Life and Ministry Committee by Aug. 1.
Though hardly a declaration of independence, the new draft
constitution for the International Commission on English in the Liturgy
suggests that English-speaking bishops wont comply meekly with Vatican
demands. Bishop Joseph Fiorenza, president of the National Conference of
Catholic Bishops, handled the matter delicately, explaining that presidents of
English-speaking bishops conferences who met in April considered the
revised constitution a workable draft. He added that it did not
address every detail or implement every concern of the
[Vatican] congregation. Nor, he said, does it need to.
The Vaticans concerns were set forth last October in a
letter to the liturgy commission chair from Cardinal Medina Estévez.
Medina urged bishops to involve themselves more directly in the
commissions work and said new statutes should give the Vatican broader
powers, including authority to veto decisions of the commissions staff
and advisers and to bar publication of documents without Vatican approval.
In January Cardinal Francis George of Chicago presented a draft
embodying virtually all of Medinas requirements to the commissions
11-member board, composed of bishops representing member conferences. The board
rejected that draft and asked a subcommittee to make revisions. The result is a
revised constitution that says nothing about Vatican interventions. It does,
however, give greater oversight to an executive committee of the board.
George, who received sustained applause at the end of his
presentation, made no mention of the Vaticans concerns. At a meeting of
the U.S. bishops Committee on Liturgy held just before the full body of
bishops convened, however, George apologized for failing to adequately review
an analysis of the new constitution that had been distributed under his
signature. The analysis was sharply critical of the constitution for failing to
embody Medinas demands.
Bishops supported the draft from the floor, though several
expressed confusion about the Vaticans recognitio required for
translations the commission has approved.
Bishops approved four documents dealing with the media, including
a protocol giving a method for self-proclaimed Catholic
Web sites and other media outlets to obtain an official approval
rating (originally called a nihil obstat) from dioceses. A statement titled
Civility in the Media deplored personal attacks. Persons in
the secular and church media ought to conduct themselves with a regard for the
worth and dignity of every person, it stated. A separate statement warned
Catholics about obscene and hate-filled material on the Internet. Using the
Internet, said the document, can be a little like visiting the best theme
park in the world and coming across a toxic waste dump.
Bishops voted by secret ballot on two hefty documents dealing with
the ongoing formation of priests and deacons. The one on priests acknowledges
that social support for celibacy among priests has disappeared and takes note
of highly publicized cases of sexual misconduct by priests. It does
not, however, address homosexuality or AIDS, nor were such matters addressed
during discussion on the floor.
While the bishops were deliberating, several groups held a joint
news conference deploring the Vaticans silencing of Sr. Jeannine Gramick
and Fr. Robert Nugent. Representatives of the National Coalition of American
Nuns, Dignity/USA, Call to Action and Chicagos 8th Day Center for Justice
called the Vaticans position unjust and urged the U.S. hierarchy to press
for a reversal. Later, some 80 persons attended an outdoor prayer service
sponsored by the Womens Ordination Conference. The climax was the arrival
of a small airplane pulling a banner that read, Ordain Women as Roman
Catholic Priests. None of the bishops saw the plane, although it circled
the center several times. They were inside considering revisions of their
bylaws.
Robert McClorys e-mail address is
r-mcclory@nwu.edu
National Catholic Reporter, June 30,
2000
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