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Perpetuating the Priest Shortage.
The Western Kentucky Catholic continues to blur the distinction between priesthood and laity with the article by Paul Quirini in the March, 2001 edition. The article, Lay Ministry Acceptance Varies, discusses how "Lay Ministry is gaining acceptance in the contemporary Church". According to "lay ecclesial ministry experts" (whoever they are), in order for Catholics to "experience ministry by lay people" then diocesan and parish leaders must support this work. Citing the shortage of priests, the article suggests that parishioners are failing to recognize the "value of service that lay ministers provide" and not entirely accepting the "growing involvement" of the laity. Stating that some diocesan leaders are not doing enough to promote "lay leadership" it says that "many Catholics" wonder why they can't do more. Lucille Merlihan, director of the Office for Lay Ecclesial Ministry in the Archdiocese of Chicago says that "in the case of the terminally ill person who has been ministered to by a lay ministry, the person sometimes asks why the lay minister can't anoint the person through the sacrament of the sick or preside at the funeral". Lucille needs only to turn to the official documents of the Church on that one. The Instruction on Certain Questions Regarding the Collaboration of the Non-Ordained Faithful in the Sacred Ministry of the Priest, in the section "Theological Principles", the Church explains the difference between the "common priesthood" and the "ministerial priesthood". The ministry of the priesthood is of an apostolic sacramental nature which is unique and entirely apart from the common priesthood of the faithful. A lay person cannot administer the sacrament of anointing. Indeed, the laity cannot administer any sacrament at all except baptism, and even then in an extreme emergency under specific conditions. A lay person does not have the authority to administer a sacrament. "This doctrine needs to be reaffirmed especially in light of certain practices which seek to compensate for numerical shortages of ordained ministers arising in some communities. In some instances, such have given rise to an idea of the common priesthood of the faithful which mistakes its nature and specific meaning. Among other things, it can encourage a reduction in vocations to the (ministerial) priesthood and obscure the specific purpose of seminaries as places of formation for the ordained ministry. These are closely related phenomena. Their interdependence calls for careful reflection so as to arrive at well considered conclusions in their regard." Merlihan says "(the sick) do indeed feel very ministered to...". Feelings do not impart a sacrament. If I receive the Sacrament of Anointing I am not doing it to feel good or get a "warm fuzzy". I'm doing it to prepare my soul for the possibility of death. The sick may feel ministered to, but if they want a valid Sacrament of Anointing, they must have it administered by an Ordained Catholic Priest. Does this article really reveal a desire for a lay-run church? In an article from the Homiletic and Pastoral Review called Pastoring Without Priests, Fr. Bernard D. Green writes that "On the basis of a certain understanding of Vatican II, the priesthood itself is seen as a barrier to the emergence of the laity in their own dignity and mission." Referring to some who might even see the priesthood as an obstacle to renewal, Fr. Green states that they see "decreasing vocations as an opportunity for creating a new Church in which the laity can take their rightful place": "While careful to keep officially within Canon Law by appointing a priest/pastor over the pastoral administrator, proponents of this development have made it very clear that what is envisaged is that the main center of the religious life of the community will be the pastoral administrator, not the priest. Bishop Lucker of New Ulm Diocese in Minnesota, a leading episcopal advocate of the new model, has made it clear publicly that his lay pastoral administrators are to be considered full pastors: 'They are the pastoral leader, they are in charge of this parish.'” One interesting note is that our own Bishop John McRaith, who served as Vicar General of the New Ulm Diocese under Bishop Raymond Lucker before coming to Kentucky, is the chairman of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops Laity Committee. Paul Quirini's article is also featured on the NCCB/USCC's official web site in a section titled Family, Laity, Women, and Youth. Did you know that we actually have a "National Lay Ministry Association"? It was founded in 1976 as "a professional organization which supports, educates and advocates for lay ministry and promotes the development of lay ministry in the Catholic Church". Why would we need to promote the development of lay ministry? Is that not something that can be done on a parish level? The relationship between priest shortages and enthusiastic support of increased lay ministries is a close one. The most critical shortages appear to be in dioceses with bishops who don't seem to place a high priority on being in union with Rome. More importantly, it would appear that where there are tight restrictions on "lay ministry" and the distinctions between the ordained priesthood and the faithful are maintained in accordance with the magisterial teaching of the Church the "priest shortage" is not near as acute. Let's examine a few statistics. A January, 2001 Free Republic report states that Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz, one of the most traditional bishops in the country, repeatedly has the highest number of men studying to be priests when compared to the number of Catholics in his diocese. The report states that, with only 80,000 Catholics in his diocese, Bishop Bruskewitz has 31 men studying to be priests, as well as a brand new seminary. Ten years ago the archdiocese of Atlanta had 11 men studying to be priests. Now it has 58, with 80 more men preparing to be ordained as deacons. In 1995, Archbishop Eldon Curtiss wrote in Omaha's diocesan newspaper, "It seems to me that the vocations 'crisis' is precipitated and continued by people who want to change the Church's agenda, by people who do not support orthodox candidates loyal to the magisterial teaching of the Pope and bishops, and by people who actually discourage viable candidates from seeking priesthood." Father Benedict Groeschel, a very orthodox priest and regular on EWTN, founded the Franciscan Friars of Renewal in New York fourteen years ago. His order now has over 70 priests and brothers from all over the world. Detroit is one of the nation's largest diocese with 1.4 million Catholics. In Detroit's Sacred Heart Seminary only 2 men will be ordained this year. Michael Rose, the editor of St. Catherine's review, published a report saying that at Sacred Heart, praying for more than 15 minutes a day was considered "excessive". "Praying while walking down the hallway - especially praying the Rosary - was expressly forbidden." A seminarian also reported being marked down for not using inclusive language. In our own diocese parishes are being "clustered". Priests are regularly having to divide their time as the only pastor of several parishes. Some parishes have reduced the number of weekend Masses and dropped daily Masses altogether. According to some seminarians, men studying for the priesthood at St. Meinrad's are being told not to preach on faith and morals in homilies. Liturgical abuses are common with no apparent notice of recent warnings from Rome. Liberal dissenters are invited into the diocese to give "talks". People who try to speak up for the faith are dismissed as extremists. People are going through RCIA and being confirmed as Catholics with no real idea of what the real Catholic Church teaches. The diocesan annual report for the year 2000 reports a Catholic population of 51,702, with 67 active diocesan priests, 20 ordered priests, and 19 seminarians (12 of which I believe may be accounted for below). One small congregation in our diocese doesn't seem to follow this trend, however. The Fathers of Mercy in South Union, Kentucky is a small congregation of priests whose "primary Apostolate is to preach parish missions and retreats, with an emphasis on the Sacraments of the Holy Eucharist and Confession". I have heard their retreats and attended Masses presided by their priests. It's as different from the rest of this diocese as night and day. According to their vocations director they presently have 12 seminarians at Holy Apostles Seminary in Cromwell, CT. Twelve. Not bad for a congregation of only 22 priests. The article in the WKC states that, although "...people have come to expect priests to minister to them entirely...lay ministers are being appreciated for their service despite this mentality." Despite this mentality? They reveal a lot in that statement. The next paragraph in the article states that, "...there comes a point where, if people feel cared about and ministered to, it doesn't matter whether it's a priest or a lay minister." Oh, it matters. If there ever does come a point when it doesn't then we will be in sorry shape indeed. Recommended Reading:
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