December 2001 Call to Action News

Silva: Veteran priests overwhelmed as ranks dwindle

Fr. Bob Silva cited the statistics from the USCCB June 2000 study: 27 percent of U.S. parishes with no resident priest, up from 10 percent only five years ago. More priests over 90 than under 30. But as president of the National Federation of Priests' Councils, and until recently the pastor of a large cathedral parish in Stockton, Calif., he also told priests' personal stories. Priests stretched thin and overwhelmed. Old priests coming out of retirement to help. A pastor who oversees two parishes with over 8,000 families.

Silva was co-presenter with Sr. Chris Schenk of FutureChurch in workshops that sent participants home to push the dialogue on the Future of Priestly Ministry (FOPM) in their parishes and dioceses. Materials are in the FutureChurch/CTA FOPM packet begun in 1996 but now reissued with a 2001 supplement that contains a parish education program on the issues. Centerpiece is a parish celebration of the feast of Corpus Christi (ad below), a teachable moment when issues of priesthood, ministry and Eucharist can emerge dramatically.