Replies

Priest shortage stems from crisis of faith, ignorance of the infinite, not celibacy, say Bishops

Absolutely 100% true.

I am a personal witness to the upswing of vocations to the priesthood that is arising from this mess and it was all because of faith.

The fundamental call to the priesthood is death to self in service to others. When certain members of the Church - who shall remain nameless - only give homilies about how Jesus is just one big, cuddly teady-bear, who is going to die for that? BUT...when you have someone actually proclaim the Truth in its fullness, who proclaims unequivocally without a doubt that faith in Jesus Christ and His work through the Sacraments is necessary, men will willingly give their lives for that. The greatest number of seminarians we had from our parish occured when we had a wonderful Monsignor who told it like it is. A few people did not like being taken out of their comfort zones, complained to the Bishop, and had him moved to some podunk town. Since then, applicants to the seminary have decreased.

The priesthood shortage has NOTHING to do with celibacy.

Agree. The problem is that the churches at the local level have done an absolutely abysmal job in teaching the faith as given from 2000 years ago. In their efforts to teach a "Gospel" that appeals to everyone, especially secular America, it has lost sight of the mystery and sovereignty that is God. WHY would anyone want to sacrifice all that becoming a priest entails for the watered-down version of garbage that we hear at many parishes in the US and Europe? Rather than being counter-cultural, the local churches have tried mightly in preaching an appealing gospel that Joe Smith can go to church on Sunday and do nothing else - no dying to self, no carrying the cross. By being changing the liturgy, our sense of awe and mystery is lost. By not teaching the faith, we don't even realize that we are ALL called to become disciples of Christ.

Is it a wonder there is a priest shortage???

Regards

"a lack of faith, secularization, and the closing of the window onto infinity."

He forgot "poor witness on the part of an emasculated priesthood", "seminaries that wreak of homosexuality and modernist thinking", and the denial of any married man who may be called to the priesthood. None of this should be left out.

The priesthood shortage has NOTHING to do with celibacy.

Not exactly. It is true that in the late'60s and early '70s, the seminaries lost many, many students. That is because many faithless priests had encouraged the seminarians to believe that the Church was about to abolish the celibacy vow and allow them to marry before ordination. But, again, false, faithless, or unhappy priests were the cause.