September 2001 Call to Action News

New Future of Priestly Ministry project begun as priest shortage deepens

FutureChurch and CTA have begun a new campaign to address widespread changes in parish configuration and staffing because of the critical shortage of priests. The Future of Priestly Ministry (FOPM) Dialogue Supplement contains a three part parish education program, a prayer celebration for the feast of Corpus Christi, recent statistics published by the U.S. Bishops' Conference and suggested actions to raise awareness and enhance dialogue with Catholic leadership.

The priesthood crisis is becoming a front burner issue even to average Catholics as dioceses struggle to staff parishes despite a rapidly diminishing supply of priests. For example, the Green Bay diocese will lose one third of their priests over the next six years. By the end of 2005 only 99 priests will be available for 206 parishes and missions. Cardinal McCarrick, when he was archbishop of Newark, publicly admitted that in 10 years there will be insufficient priests for his diocese despite an increase of seminarians. Dioceses around the country are rapidly formulating plans to close, merge or link dozens of parishes and to increase lay staffing. Such realities create new opportunities for advancing reform as Catholics assume more and more responsibility for parish life. The FOPM Dialogue Supplement contains resources for a three part series designed especially for parishes: 1. Priesthood, Pastoral Ministry and Parish; 2. Eucharist, Communion Services and Sacramental Identity; 3. Sensus Fidelium and My Rights and Responsibilities as a Catholic.

In the packet is an interview with seminary rector Fr. Don Cozzens about his book, "The Changing Face of the Priesthood." An article by Msgr. William Shannon provides Vatican II understanding of the Eucharist. Brochures detail recent U.S. bishops' statistics about the priest shortage and the international scope of the crisis.

Centerpiece of the packet is a parish celebration of the Feast of Corpus Christi. Designed to take place on or around the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, preferably linked with a parish supper, the celebration is modeled on the festive meals Jesus celebrated with his disciples and the marginalized members of his own Jewish tradition: women, tax collectors, sinners, beggars and prostitutes. The prayer service has excerpts by theologians Sandra Schneiders and Albert Nolan about the inclusive practice of the historic Jesus. Planners are encouraged to invite local experts to speak about Eucharist and today's obstacles to its celebration. Parishioners are challenged to "consider what the Spirit's invitation might be to them and to the parish."

The new FOPM Supplement has deep roots. It complements the original FutureChurch/CTA FOPM project which since 1996 has been advocating opening priesthood to all the baptized rather than lose the Eucharist as the center of Catholic worship. Resources from the original packet have been updated.

The first FOPM dialogue campaign can take credit for breaking the public silence surrounding the priest shortage in most U.S dioceses. Over 4,000 grassroots participants, including most regional CTAs, generated hundreds of local and national media stories. For the first time diocesan leaders were obliged to publicly acknowledge the reality of the priest shortage. In at least 70 dioceses, activists pledged dialogue with their bishops. More than 50 presentations on the FOPM project were given in the U.S. and Canada highlighting the importance of claiming our canonical right to receive The Word of God and the sacraments and the need to open ordination to all the baptized. FOPM publicity probably influenced the bishops at their June 2000 meeting to go public with the results of a three-year study, "The Impact of Fewer Priests on the Pastoral Ministry." The study found that 27 percent of U.S. parishes do not have a resident priest, up from an estimated 10 percent in 1996. Between 1950 and 2000 the Catholic population increased by 107 percent while the number of priests increased by only six percent. At the same time the average age of priests is increasing: we now have more priests over 90 (433) than we do under 30 (298). Yet North America has the best priest to parishioner ratio in the world: 1:1,229. In South America the ratio is 1:7,094.

Lay ministry soars

The number of theologate seminarians declined from 6,602 in 1970 to 3,474 in 2000. However, the number of lay ministry and diaconate candidates increased dramatically. There are now 47,000 paid lay ministers and 30,000 more in educational programs. There are also 13,000 deacons with over 2,500 men in formation programs. Presumably many of these would accept ordination were it open to them.

That the bishops were so forthcoming about the new study stands in marked contrast to their response a decade ago to similarly commissioned research. In 1990, University of Wisconsin demographers Richard Schoenherr and Lawrence Young predicted a 40 percent decline in the number of priests by 2005 compared with 1965. Apparently unable to deal with the bad news, the bishops suppressed their research. Undeterred, the duo persisted and finally published their groundbreaking book, "Full Pews, Empty Altars" in 1993. The bishops' own research data has now finally validated their findings.

Over 10,000 brochures containing the Schoenherr -Young projections have been distributed by FOPM activists in the past five years. The information was critical to the success of the dialogue effort because it includes priest shortage projections on a diocese by diocese basis. The publicly available bishops' data does not.

When the bishops' new statistics were presented in a slide presentation at their June 2000 meeting, one bishop said he wished he could show the slides to every diocesan pastoral council in the country. CTA and FutureChurch are hoping to help make his wish come true.