Posted on 10/26/2005 6:26:56 AM PDT by NYer
Today, Catholic priests are in short supply throughout the entire world.
However, with the nation’s highest ratio of priests to Catholics, the Diocese of Lincoln has managed to avoid this problem.
According to the Official Catholic Directory of 2005, the authoritative guide to the Catholic Church in the U.S., there are 121 active diocesan priests in Lincoln and 89,236 Catholics.
Those numbers indicate there is one priest for every 737 Catholics, which is far greater than the total national statistic of one priest for every 4,723 Catholics. The New York Times reported Oct. 7 that in 2003, there was nationally one priest for every 2,677 Catholics, meaning the U.S. priest shortage has nearly doubled in the last two years.
In Omaha, with one priest for every 1,755 Catholics, the diocese is slightly behind Lincoln but still far above the national average.
The directory also shows that some of the lowest ratios of active priests to Catholics tend to occur in larger dioceses.
The Diocese of Los Angeles has only one priest for every 12,217 Catholics, and the Diocese of El Paso, Texas, has one priest for every 11, 927 Catholics.
The Rev. John Folda, rector for Saint Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward, said the Lincoln diocese does nothing magical or unique in terms of recruitment that would contribute to the high number of priests.
Folda said the proximity of the seminary to Lincoln helped ease some of the initial worries possible candidates might face when training for priesthood.
“It’s helpful that these young men don’t have to go across the country,” Folda said, “just to figure out if this whole thing is for them.”
The Rev. Robert Matya, pastor at the St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church/Newman Center near the University of Nebraska-Lincoln City Campus, said typically the diocese has anywhere from eight to 12 men who join the seminary in Seward annually. Last year, nine students entered and have begun taking classes in theology.
The Lincoln diocese long has been considered one of the most conservative in the country.
Though many dioceses throughout the country have allowed women to become altar servers or administer the sacrament of communion, Matya said the Lincoln diocese continues to prohibit such practices.
In 1996, the Most Rev. Fabian Bruskewitz, bishop of Lincoln, ordered all parishioners to dissolve any affiliations with a number of reform groups, including Catholics for a Free Choice and the lay organization Planned Parenthood, or face potential excommunication.
The Vatican in Rome upheld the order by Bruskewitz, saying the groups were in discord with Catholic doctrine.
Matya attributes the abundance of candidates for the Lincoln diocese to a number of factors, but said the traditional orthodox makeup of the diocese plays little role in influencing possible candidates.
“It’s not that we try to be overly conservative,” Matya said. “But as a diocese, we do try to act how God wants us to be, and I think that is very appealing to a lot of these young men.”
Matya, who also teaches a religion class at Lincoln Pius X High School, said that as a whole, the only advertising the diocese does is to send out a brochure every year to all Catholics encouraging vocations.
He said the brochure probably had little effect in comparison to the community’s parochial school system, though.
“Our Catholic schools have always been terrific here,” Matya said. “We have also really been blessed with lots of young, enthusiastic priests … and I believe it’s easier for these kids coming out of high school to connect with that enthusiasm.”
According to the New York Times article, a recent synod – a global meeting of bishops – took place in Rome at the beginning of October, and some surprising issues were brought up.
In terms of national recruitment, possible changes could take place in the future.
The bishops discussed how they would try to increase the number of priests worldwide. Although far from becoming a reality, initial debates addressed the issue of lifting celibacy requirements and allowing married men to enter the priesthood.
The Vatican also is soon expected to release a document that will exclude gays and lesbians – even those who remain celibate – from entering the priesthood, which could result in further national shortages.
At a local level, Matya said recruitment would not change because of the recent discussions. Individual dioceses are not involved in the process of making or altering global dogma, he said, and the possible changes remain speculative.
As priest shortages continue to have an adverse effect on the global Catholic population, Folda said the Lincoln diocese is humbled and grateful by the commitment local men are continuing to make for their faith.
“Ultimately, it is God’s gift to us,” Falda said. “I don’t know why He chose to bless us this way, but we’ll continue trying to make the best of it.”
I envy this diocese! A bishop who's aggressively faithful to the Liturgy and values of the Church is a real treasure. I think we're headed that way in San Antonio now, but the jury's still out. Our new bishop, Jose Gomez, is a member of Opus Dei. If he lives up to the values of his order...we could be in for a great return to tradition here.
In 1996, the Most Rev. Fabian Bruskewitz, bishop of Lincoln, ordered all parishioners to dissolve any affiliations with a number of reform groups, including Catholics for a Free Choice and the lay organization Planned Parenthood, or face potential excommunication.
Is he the only bishop that ever did this?
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