Sunday, July 10, 2005
FROM TODAY'S BULLETIN AT MY CHURCH
"As you may be aware, the Associate of [a nearby parish] has been transferred to another assignment. This means that there will only be ONE assigned priest --- the Pastor. I'm sure their routines will be changing --- as the Diocese continues to face more and more ONE PRIEST parishes --- because the people of the Diocese do not see themselves as a part of the problem --- and therefore not part of the solution. Again, the AGE and HEALTH of the fewer priests is a factor that parishioners will have to come to terms with."
GOODBYE, GOOD MEN
THE CHANGING FACE OF THE PRIESTHOOD
AMCHURCH COMES OUT
VOWS OF SILENCE
"The Priest Shortage;: Natural Or Man-(And Woman-) Made?"
Unfortunately, for many Catholics a priest shortage continues at their local level. Many parish rectories are understaffed; in many dioceses there are few priests (who are terribly overworked). Thus, while the statistics indicate an increase, it still feels like a shortage to many practicing Catholics -- which raises the question: Is there or isn't there a famine of priestly vocations at this time? The answer depends largely on your geographical location. That is so largely because of the policies of local bishops. And so, if you are a Catholic in America today, where you live is perhaps the best predictor of vocational abundance or scarcity.
Dioceses headed by bishops with a reputation for robust orthodoxy now have full seminaries and an abundance of seminarians.
But it's all the laity's fault.
S...i.......g.........h..........!
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!
