[NYer]

In another predictable and transparent move, liberal "Catholic" groups have seen this as the biggest opportunity since Vatican II (and until the death of John Paul II) to foist their pet causes upon the Church.
1. First, feminists point to the surprising statistic that zero percent of the abusive priests were females as a good argument for female ordination — an "issue" still seen as debatable to most Catholics in the country.
2. The abolition of clerical celibacy is the next agenda item to push
3. The final and perhaps most insidious reform being pushed is the democratization of the Church.

In the May 6 issue of NEWSWEEK - What Would Jesus Do?, there is a 1 page article by Kenneth L. Woodward entitled A Revolution? Not So Fast. In it, he addresses these same topics with a frank and honest openness.

1. On allowing priests to marry.
"The practical argument for opening the priesthood to women and to married men is that ther are not enough priests. Clearly, these steps would provide the church with a wider pool of candidates. But I happen to think that a married clergy, while possibly solving one problem would create others in its place.

Pastoring a congregation is stress-ridden work. The pay is low and the hours rough on spouses and children. There is no reason to believe that many married men - or their wives - would be attracted to the priestly ministry. Typically Catholics give less on Sunday than their Protestant brethren. Are they willing to treble their donations to provide a living for families?

2. Ordaining women presents an even greater problem. Would married women with children be included? If not, once the novelty of female priests wore off, would many single women choose the low-status job of parish priest in lieu of high-status careers? Or would they all aim for the job of bishop??

He ends the article with this. "But within that structure (the priesthood), it is the laity who are supposed to lead in making Christ present to the world, with priests and bishops in roles of support. If the next pope were to risk making that idea a reality, there would really be a revolution in the church.

[maryz]

Woodward makes some excellent points -- very practical ones that hadn't occurred to me.

With the last, however:

. . . it is the laity who are supposed to lead in making Christ present to the world, with priests and bishops in roles of support. If the next pope were to risk making that idea a reality, . . .

What exactly could a pope do about this? Aren't the laity already supposed to be making Christ present to the world?