Posted on 02/28/2008 6:09:55 AM PST by NYer
The Catholic Church is in the middle of a priest shortage so dire, it's changing the face of faith in many parts of the country. It's a big problem in Kansas City, and a solution is years away.
Over the last 40 years, the number of priests in the Kansas City-St. Joseph diocese has decreased by 34 percent. Meanwhile, the Catholic population keeps growing. For the last two decades, the church has just made due, stretching to make an old system work. But it's getting to a critical point, and help is needed fast.
12 percent of Kansas City's population is Catholic. For them, the church acts both as an social outlet and an individual sanctuary. But for decades, like a rock that has been worn away, as the leaders of the church got older, fewer men have come forward to take the reigns.
"We are feeling the pinch because the average age is increasing," Keith Jiron, vocations director for the Kansas City-St. Joseph diocese, said.
To meet the immediate need in the Metro, fewer priests are retiring. At an age when many hoped to take a step back, they are stepping up to help ease the strain.
"The priests are spread thinner and their faithfully doing their duties and their just waiting for, they're hoping that helps on the way," Jiron said.
The problem is especially severe in the largest and smallest congregations. His parishioners in Clinton, Missouri said Father Phil Egan's arrival two years ago was the shot of energy and the spirit the small community needed.
But that's only the opinion of a third of his congregation. Clinton is only one of three separate churches he serves.
"He has three different communities," parishioner JC Smith said. "So, he not only has to know who we are here in Clinton, but in Osceloa and Windsor."
Three different communities, pulling him in three different directions. Father Egan said sometimes it can be demanding.
"I have to be available to them in their need at that moment," Father Egan said. "Rather than, 'I'll get back to ya.' that doesn't work. Take it as it comes. I think that's how Jesus did it, just take it as it comes."
Holy Rosary in Clinton is his largest parish. The diocese considers the others, Osceola and Windsor, mission parishes since they don't have a full time priest. His time is split and so are his weekend services. Almost as soon as he gives the eucharist in Clinton on Sunday mornings, Egan is on his way to Windsor. Egan said he finds his downtime, while he travels from church to church.
"That's the decompression time, is the time in the car between here and there, thinking about what's going on in the lives of the people I'm going to see," he said.
Being the priest of three parishes does not leave time for much else. But Egan said the parishioners themselves take up a lot of the slack.
"This parish has a staff of volunteers that own each place and they know what to do and they know how to prepare for whatever is going on, so I just have to go from place to place and they've got it taken care of," Father Egan said.
On the other end of the spectrum, there's the super church, Saint Therese in Parkville, Missouri. It's the only Catholic parish for all of Platte County. At the helm is Father Mike Roach. Roach is the patriarch of St. Therese, serving more than 4,000 parishioners and the adjoining school.
Unlike Father Egan, stretched to serve three communities, Father Roach said he is plenty busy with just one.
"It is demanding, there's no doubt about it, but it's exciting because I love working with peoples' lives," Father Roach said.
His staff at St. Therese handles everything from finances to scheduling while he takes care of the spiritual side of the job.
But for Father Roach and others like him, there is light at the end of parish's tunnel. On the hollowed grounds of Conception Seminary in Conception, Missouri, lies the hope for the future of Kansas City's Catholic community. The 24 men in the diocese seminary class are the rescuers, making up the largest class of future priests the diocese has seen in 40 years. Ben Knieb is from the St. Joseph area and said he has seen the increased numbers first-hand.
"When I first entered seminary, we had 10 seminarians, and in a matter of only a few years we more than doubled," Knieb said.
Like Knieb, Adam Haake is also a senior at Conception Seminary. He said the shortage of priests is not a case of men not being called to the priesthood. They said it's a problem of men not listening.
"There are guys out there who are feeling called and what's going on in our culture is, it's so loud, we're being so bombarded here and there that they're not answering it and what it is is their not hearing it," Haake said.
If the size of the seminary class is any indication, more and more young men are listening. Diocesan officials said there's no specific recruitment strategy, just God filling a need. Their class is a point of pride for the diocese, not only for its numbers, but also for its attitude.
"I want to be a priest," Haake said. "It's about bringing Christ to others and people to Christ."
Jiron said that's good news for the older priests holding down the fort.
"Out of the 24, if every one went on to be a priest, we'll probably see two or three priests a year for the next several years," Jiron said. "There is definitely hope there."
Hope that in the future, there will be more manpower, which will mean better ministry.
In the meantime, the diocese it will continue to juggle schedules and assignment to avoid burnout among current priests, while continuing the search for new ones.
Ping
This may be one of the best things to happen in a long time. All glory to Christ, the only priest anyone needs - none to men.
You are pretty sick for proclaiming your joy at this, but then, based on previous postings, I am not surprised.
The seminarians can actually spend part of their time out in the community assisting the priests. Ours are very much in evidence in the parish on Sundays, not only in the sanctuary but in the parish offices and around and about the campus. And once they're ordained as transitional deacons, they can really step up. It's like on the job training. We have 3 in our parish right now, all fine young men. Our parochial vicar was a seminarian with us.
Really the headline ought to be something about the light at the end of the tunnel, or the huge class of seminarians riding to the rescue of the parishes.
I'll try and dig up some stories about Catholic priests committing suicide or being put in jail.
That ought to really put a spring in your step.
What gives me HOPE is that the JP2 generation of young adult men are starting to step up to the plate.
A gentle and needed correction:
Jesus did call a group of twelve men to become “fishers of men”. Jesus is the HEAD PRIEST, but remember those human priests are HIS FISHERS.
“I like your Christ, I don’t like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ”.
Ghandi.
- G.K. Chesterton
(quote may not be exact, too lazy to go find it)
Excellent quote........so many people professing to be “christian” and then acting the opposite. I have actually met people who left christianity because of this.
My parents always taught me, that when we’re before the judgment seat of God, we will account for EVERY WORD spoken. That is always in the back of my brain, and I always try to act upon it.
That's one reason I take "tu est Petrus" seriously. Divine assistance is very necessary.
The Catholic Faith will survive and more young men are coming to the priesthood to fill these empty spots. The author is looking at the glass 'half-empty'.
How about
I’ll try and dig up some stories about Catholic priests leaving their religions and converting to the Catholic Church?
Thank you for gracious words.
Yes, the Catholic Church will survive. As for new vocations, they are not happening in the Kansas City Diocese nor in certain other ones across the US. Catholics in those communities must come to grips with that reality. The influx of new seminarians in other parts of the country benefits only those communities, not Kansas City.
“just made due”
Dear Lord, doesn’t *anybody* speak English any more?
Everybody knows it's "made due-due", as in, "Mom, Ralphie just made due-due in his diapers!"
I do think it's premature. Something about chickens and hatching. The Church leadership was once down to 11 men and a few women cowering in a room, and their followers were pretty much scattered.
But Cephas the Denier became Cephas the Forgiven. And ever since, scoffers have thought that the way to stamp out the Catholic Church was to mock, denigrate and assault it.
Rumors of our demise are a bit premature, as they have been for almost 2k years.
As J2P2 said, "Be not afraid.
I'll repeat what I posted in reply #7 from the article:
"the largest class of future priests the diocese [Kansas City-St. Joseph] has seen in 40 years."
"When I first entered seminary, we had 10 seminarians, and in a matter of only a few years we more than doubled"
Tell that to St. Anne's in Weston....
Oh they speak English, but they lack any sense of grammar. The one phrase that drves me up one wall and down another is: "went missing" or "has gone missing"! Whatever happened to the verb 'disappear'? Or, if one insists on using the word missing, why not say: "is missing"?
Expect the situation to worsen as the use of 'text messaging' increases, i.e. - the tv commercial where the mother and daughter converse in acronyms.
Sorry ... I missed that. It is indeed good news.
I wish we could implement a “mutual non-offense pact” here on FR under which one person could correct another without starting a flame war.
I hereby give permission to all and sundry to correct my spelling, syntax, word use, and any other infelicities that may appear in my notes, and I promise that I will not get snitty about it.
How nice it would be if everyone here knew that the expression is “hear, hear,” and not “here, here,” and that one does not tow a line, but toe it.
My pet peeve online is “their” and “they’re” ARGH!
or “there”
And what about using apostophes to form plurals?
Or should I say “apostrophe’s to form plural’s?”
LOL! Or confusing “it’s” with “its”?
“LOL! Or confusing “it’s” with “its”?”
That’s the only valid argument for gun control.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.