The Tablet
Letters
Shortage of priests
25 June 2015
l In April 2014, Pope Francis invited Bishop Erwin Kräutler of Brazil’s largest diocese and the hierarchies of the world to submit “courageous and bold proposals” on vocations to the priesthood to him. I wonder if the bishops of England and Wales have responded to this specific invitation. If they want a church without priests we need to prepare for the day with an immediate urgency.
Fr Tom Grufferty, Christchurch, Dorset
l Our bishops seem to have their heads in the sand; amalgamating parishes, throwing greater burdens on an ageing priestly population, importing priests from abroad, who are not always suited to the task. The Holy Spirit must be wondering what’s going on as he answers the prayer for more priestly vocations by stirring the call in married people, men and women, and in the hundreds of priests who left active ministry, such as Kevin Hartley (Letters, 27 June) and myself. Ah, well, I continue to pray and hope.
Paul Salter, Ellesmere, Shropshire
l Fr Simon Peat (Letters, 27 June) has a point about the near impossibility of Catholic parishes in this country being able to afford a living stipend for a married priest. But that misses the point. I should be happy to attend a Eucharist presided over by Kevin Hartley and he would, I am sure, not expect to be paid. I know half a dozen men (and women actually) who preside well at services of the Word with distribution of Communion. Allowing them to recite the missing Canon would not mean that they would instantly demand a stipend, as they all have jobs or pensions.
Licensing new ministers to preach or to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation, however, should only be done by the bishop after specialist training. But we have enough married Catholic priests in this country ready to return occasionally to presiding at the Eucharist without pay, as well as plenty of laity competent enough to do it as well as, if not better, say, than a celibate but uneducated medieval chantry priest. Lamentably, a “high” clericalist Tridentine view of ordained priesthood, exemplified by St Pope John Paul II who saw its status as very close to sanctity is preventing the urgently needed development of new forms, or indeed the revival of ancient forms, of ministry.
Simon Bryden-Brook, London SW1
Letters Extra
Are married priests the solution to vocations shortage?
02 July 2015
Fr Simon Peat (The Tablet, Letters, 27 June) has indicated the "elephant in the room" with regard to married priests: the cost and the extraordinarily low (average) rate of giving in the Catholic Church that will block any attempts to consider married priests.
The average seems to be about £2 per week per person, and would be much lower in very poor parishes. The late Cardinal Hume once suggested that the equivalent of one hour's pay per week ought to represent our giving, and he was courageous to deal with a very sensitive area, but, even if we do address this matter successfully (and goodness knows what the fallout would be) we then have to deal with the high hurdles of both celibacy and contraception, not to mention making presbyteries homes rather than offices with rooms. What a daunting task!
Fr Julian G Shurgold, Sutton, Surrey
Fr Simon Peat mentioning the cost of providing income for married priests has not thought of non-stipendiary clergy. Modern medicine has ensured that men in retirement have many years of active life ahead of them which the Church could well utilise, not to mention the skills used in their working lives which will have prepared them for pastoral care.
Our superb local GP, much loved in the village, was ordained and gave the same dedicated service to caring for the souls of those in the parish as he had given to care for their bodies.
Widowed deacons can be ordained. Why wait till their wives have died before their talents can be fully utilised. There is also the possibility of spiritual growth and fulfilment in older life which is unnecessarily barred to devout married men.
Elizabeth Price, Maidstone, Kent
The Anglican Communion has a practice of ordaining to the priesthood people of independent means who do not require an income. There must be many Catholic laymen, perhaps newly-retired, living off an occupational pension, who would welcome an opportunity to serve as priests. There are many ex-seminary students living, who perhaps left after many years study and wouldn't require much further training.
There must be a large pool of potential priests particularly if one includes the men who left the priesthood in order to marry.
I regret to say that one cannot detect a sense of urgency on the part of the hierarchy to resolve this matter.
John Kennedy, London SW20
I read with sadness the letter from Basil Loftus that referenced and supported a proposal from Irish bishop, Leo O'Reilly, to ordain married men for both Ireland and England. This does not mean those who are from the Anglican Ordinariate but Catholic men who are married! This solution seems to be a "quick fix" to a "crisis" that has not happened overnight in either country.
In the US we find that most of our vocations (religious and priestly) come from large families. I am sure that the bishop and Mr Loftus have already spent many long hours organising prayer groups, setting up "Spiritual Mothers" groups, supporting Life initiatives and activities in their parishes and dioceses at a minimum.
An additional solution, is the institution of Perpetual Adoration at all of the churches in both countries. We have found that this directly leads to an increase in vocations. Those parishes that have it have many vocations and those that don't, have a few or none. If your parish cannot sustain 24 hour adoration then how about daily adoration at set times for the entire congregation such as before or after daily Mass or in the evening around children's education classes? God will not be outdone in His generosity if we show up so will He reward us as a Church and individually.
We are sure the bishops, priests and families are leading by example. Spending time encouraging vocations, larger families (a direct sign of a giving heart) as well as special activities for Mass servers with the priests, religious and bishops participation. They could also request that empty churches, monasteries be given to orders from the new missionary countries that have a thriving number of vocations especially cloistered sisters who pray for priests and vocations.
God has given us the solutions to all of these man made crises but most of them are not a "quick fix" most require time and prayer. It would seem that both countries did not get into "crisis" mode overnight and sadly the true and lasting "fix" that is from God will not come overnight.
Colleen Lum Lung, Colorado, USA