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To: sinkspur
OTOH, there are some positives to that model of parish governance.

In your opinion; not in mine.

And, yes, they are discouraged by their families. This is yet another of the wonderful side effects of the contraceptive mentality. Families don't have enough children to "spare" one for the priesthood.

38 posted on 04/07/2005 6:42:59 AM PDT by B Knotts (Ioannes Paulus II, Requiescat in Pacem.)
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To: B Knotts
In your opinion; not in mine.

You may as well grow to tolerate it, at least, because lay-run parishes is what we're going to have over the next ten years. The number of men being ordained is simply insufficient to replace those who die, leave, or retire.

The hierarchy has dithered over this issue for 20 years, with Rome shutting off all discussion of any solution.

It's wonderful to pray for vocations, and we should be doing more of it. But God can't force men into the priesthood, and celibate men are not responding, for whatever reasons.

So we are left with an older and older priesthood, with priests having to do more and more.

My pastor has one lung due to lung cancer, and he may not make the five year maximum for lung cancer survivors. He celebrates three Masses every Sunday, and does at least one wedding every single weekend, somewhere. The poor guy has to go to bed at 8:00 every night because he's exhausted.

The men who are priests TODAY have to be given some kind of relief, if only so that they can live a little longer.

45 posted on 04/07/2005 7:02:56 AM PDT by sinkspur (If you want unconditional love with skin, and hair and a warm nose, get a shelter dog.)
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