Thursday, 03 June 2010
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Why a Lack of Priests is Hurting the Catholic Church
You can hear the priest breathing on the other side of the screen as you kneel."In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. My last confession was three months ago."
The confessional is small and cramped. The natural awkwardness of being inside a box shielded from a man that you know, and who almost certainly knows who you are by your voice, makes the traditional act of confession an almost perverse act of rote repetition and a monotonous checklist repetition of sins, as if reading from the menu in the McDonald's drive-through. Half expecting Father WhatsHisName to ask me if I want fries with my sins, I am almost certain to rush through my list and forget yesterday's double-dip on the Fourth and Eighth Commandments. In most parishes, the Sacrament Penance and Reconciliation (the official name for confession in the Catholic Church) is a scheduled, weekly event that is given an hour of the day. Almost certainly people are milling about, waiting their turn, knowing that I am in there, quietly pointing out how that Megan girl has been in there for a long time. Such a nasty, little teenaged slut she must be!
I hate it. I hate everything about the traditional confession process, and I believe that most Catholics feel the same way. Catholic confession has its roots in the words of John 20:22-23 -- the granting, to the Apostles, of the power to forgive and retain sins in the name of God. We do not reject the non-Catholic Christian belief in confessing directly to God; in fact we believe that we are confessing directly to God, through one who has been ordained with the authority to act on His behalf. Not only is openly telling another person of our sins good for us, but we receive a confirmation of absolution and a guidance in penance that we don't receive on our own. It is this surety that allows us to know we have fully reconciled with God instead of just guessing. For this surety, we need a priest. And we don't have enough of them.
At my university, you can't throw a Bible without hitting a priest. There is a chapel in every residence hall, with a resident Priest; a Basilica; and a local Parish all on a campus that serves fewer students and faculty than most urban parishes. Making an appointment to meet, in private, with a Priest and confessing face to face is easy, a benefit that, unfortunately, many regular parishes are unable to provide due to a shortage of priests. I prefer to sit down with my priest and talk about my sins in a more casual discussion; we pray and follow the standard confessional process without the stuffiness and rush of the confessional.
It is so hard to ask and expect a priest at a busy parish to provide such individualized attention. With all the current problems plaguing the Catholic Church right now, I believe that the shortage of men who are called to the priestly vocation is our most pressing issue. Not all that long ago, there were far more parishes and most parishes were staffed by at least two full-time priests, a Pastor and a more junior priest.
Today, many small parishes do not have a resident priest (almost a third lack one, by some counts) and actually share a priest with a larger parish or another small parish. Most of the time, you will be greeted by a Deacon who cannot validly hear confession or celebrate the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Even ten years ago, due to inquiries from Bishops looking to become more efficient like any business with a labor shortage, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops had to clarify that confession couldn't be heard by e-mail or over the phone! The shortage of priests is preventing them from fulfilling one of their most important roles: being direct spiritual advisers to members of their parish. Nothing is going to harm our Church more than priests being too busy to directly connect with their flock and their community.
Have shortages of clergy harmed your local church? How can the Catholic Church address this shortage of priests? Is this trend occurring in other Christian denominations?
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About the Author
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- From: Megan
- About Me: I am a sophomore at Notre Dame. I'm afraid of dogs and driving. My cat is named Ricky, but he hates his name. Please send marriage proposals only through private message.
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Comments (17)
It's the fact that you spend 4 hours in there a week that makes people think you are bad, not the fact that you are always first in line. Or, well, maybe that too!
While I don't agree with the theology behind Catholic confession, I do agree that it is an important part of our faith. Confessing our sins to one another, as well as to God, is a good habit for all Christians.
I have heard that the shortage of pastors/priests is a big problem. But, from what I've seen it isn't so much of a shortage in most denominations but a lack of pastors who are real men of faith. From what I have heard many seminaries produce pastors that aren't qualified for the job either due to sin in their lives, do to inability to interact well with others, due to laziness (it's a job that you only have to work one day a week at, right? *sigh*), or do to lack of real pastoral experience. Somewhere we have gotten the idea of being a pastor is an easy part time job that doesn't require much effort or training, that Instead all it takes is a little book smarts and the ability to speak in public.
One answer I've heard proposed is to allow women to be priests. Many denominations have allowed women pastors for whatever reason. Although, I think this is unbiblical. We do have somewhat of a precedent in the Old Testament though. When men won't stand up and fulfill their role as men the women sometimes have to take part in a role otherwise meant for men. (See the story of Deborah and Barak in Judges) I don't think this is really the answer, but in a purely pragmatic sense it works.
Another solution I've heard mentioned is to no longer require the discipline of celibacy to be a priest. My understanding is that the Catholic church doesn't take this from a biblical requirement (as it isn't) but instead as a discipline that is beneficial. If this were dropped men who may otherwise become priests who wanted to get married would be eligible for the priesthood.
The fact that there aren't many priests means that there the priests that are there have less time for everyone. There is also a lack of diversity as far as personalities and temperaments because there are less priests. There are less priests to bond with in, as you say, a relationship of spiritual direction. As for me, I don't think I've ever had a real spiritual adviser; no one has ever had the time, and there has been no one with whom I've really hit it off in that way that i felt safe doing so.
@MagisterTom@xanga - The practice of celibacy is a discipline as you rightly stated; however, it's not universally practiced in the Church. The Church's Liturgical structure is divided into 22 Rites, or traditions of Liturgical practice - these practices are largely different due to cultural and geographical variations. Of the 22 Rites, only 4 (including the Latin Rite, which accounts for about 95% of the Church's population) enforce celibacy. Even in the Latin Rite, it's possible for a married priest to serve, albeit under specific circumstances.
The key, though, is that 95% of the Church is Latin Rite, which means 95% of the Church more or less upholds clerical celibacy. Perhaps helping the Eastern Rites that make up the remaining 5-ish percent would improve the Church's image and possibly change people's perceptions of the Church.
I'm terrified to go to confession.. it's been 5 years since the last time. It'd likely take 5 days to confess all my sins since then.
Anyways - my church and entire diocese are suffering from a lack of priests. There are three parishes currently sharing one and at my church you never know who is going to be there come Sunday morning.
I think it's sad but it's rare you hear anyone these days talking about their intent to become a priest or a nun. I wanted to be a nun until I hit age 14 and that was that.
@QuantumStorm@xanga - Thanks for the info. Megan and I have talked about it some as she was writing this post, but I wasn't aware that it wasn't required by all.
I forgot to mention in my initial comment that the parish near me has a priest that works part time there and part time at another in a smaller town nearby.
It is a problem, though, having a lack of priests. Fewer and fewer priests can't connect with people. My husband and I were pretty friendly with the priest who married us; we had him over for dinner once and he blessed our new place. It was great. We'd like to do more of that. Problem is that whenever we see him or other priests, they're always so busy. We feel like it would be pretty selfish to ask for more of his time, so we don't.
I worry for priests. I worry that they don't always get to have the types of relationships that they need with all their rushing around. Truly though, they sacrifice for us all.
In general, I think the decline in numbers of priests corresponds with the decline in numbers of committed Catholics (and religious people in general). Religion's just not cool anymore. People fall away in droves, and I really wish I knew what could be done about it.
PS I hate face-to-face confession. I always seek out behind the screen and try to go for priests who won't recognize my voice. I guess I'm just too ashamed of my sins to look someone in the eye while I say them. As a convert, saying them out loud is hard enough. Though, at some point, I would be interested in spiritual direction, having someone who knew me actually give personal advice and recommendations. But I don't feel ready for that yet.
Welcome to my world! As a young man in priestly formation, this is a reality that I wake up to every single day of my life. I am so blessed; being in religious life, I live with priests and have access to confession whenever I need, as well as daily Mass. I cannot WAIT to minister the Sacrament of Reconciliation; I can think of nothing (besides Mass!) that will be more beautiful and humbling than being present when one of God's children comes to Him for forgiveness. But I have seven more years to go, and by that time so many men who are priests now will have passed away or retired. The harvest is plenty but the laborers are few indeed! So pray pray pray for vocations, encourage good young men to consider dedicating their whole life to God in service to His Church, and support those priests that you do know.
And, if you have a spare moment, say a prayer for me!
@songtomyself@xanga - Why are you terrified? If you'd like to talk about it, please feel free to message me (no, I'm not a priest yet)! And you wouldn't have to try and remember/confess every single sin from the last five years (unless it would help you to unburden your heavy heart); those sins you have forgotten or are too scared to confess aloud are forgiven. The forgiveness of God that you receive in the Sacrament of Confession is not a line-item Sacrament; it is all or nothing!
Even if you don't want to talk about your fear regarding confession, to you mind just messaging me your first name so that I may pray for you? If not, I can just pray for you by username if you prefer; I do that with others all the time anyways. God bless you, dear sister, and peace be with you.
The shortage of vocations is a symptom of the larger underlying problem of Modernism within the Church. With the Protestantization of the Roman Rite after the Second Vatican Council, the image of the priesthood was completely changed, and thus its identity, as it had been perpetuated throughout the ages, was essentially destroyed. This is most especially a result of the loss of dignity of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the radically liberal license with which modern priests conduct it. The allowance of receiving Communion in the hand is particularly suspect, as many bishops acknowledge, in the decline of belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist to its all-time low, where it now resides. Since the Sacrifice of the Mass is the principal function of the priesthood, what is done unto the Mass is done also unto the priesthood; ergo, when Mass ceases to be something extraordinary - as it does when belief in the Real Presence vanishes and the symbolically and theologically rich and well-deserved extravagance of the celebration is reduced to mere minimalism - so does the priesthood. The business of Protestants, in general, is to make all believers equal in authority to one another, which is in many ways what the new forms of the Roman Rite do; why, then, would any young man desire the priesthood? To what avail, if he possesses no special authority, and if there is no unique dignity to his office?
It is worth taking notice that while most dioceses in the United States are lacking vocations, those Societies of Apostolic Life which are dedicated to traditional formation and Liturgy, notably the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter and the Institute of Christ The King Sovereign Priest, are overflowing with vocations.
So, the solution to the vocational deficit is to return to the orthodox customs which the Church and her holy Saints have passed down through time immemorial. The dignity of the priesthood must be restored, by restoring the dignity of the Sacred Liturgy. This includes disallowing the use of lay-ministers of Holy Communion, disallowing the use of female altar servers, maintaining strictly the discipline of priestly celibacy, emphasizing the truth of the Real Presence, and taking a generally more reverent attitude towards the Liturgy - the Mass especially - such that it ceases to be like in experience to some sort of hippie guitar concert, and becomes once again the transcendent celebration which for 1500 years produced countless Saints and Martyrs.
@QuantumStorm@xanga - To that I will add that even the Eastern Rite Churches heavily favor unmarried clergy. Already-ordained men cannot be married, and a married man, if ordained, cannot marry again once his wife has passed on. Many, if not most, Eastern Rite priests will tell you that married clergymen have considerable trouble balancing family and flock.
Personally, I just think the required celibacy is both Biblically, logically, and theologically wrong. But just my opinion and I'm a Protestant Evangelical so of course that is my view. I'm sure there are other factors, but I think that is a big one. Shortage of Priests and the whole abuse issues are attached to that.
everyone needs to check out Dr. Scott Hahn's talk called, the Healing Power of Confession. you can hear the first 10 mins or so... it's def worth $2 for the mp3. i mean, it's 50 mins that will change your life. people spend $2 on 2 songs from itunes that they are just going to stop listening to once that artist isn't popular anymore... people spend more than $2 on coffee... i digress. this talk is just that good.
oh... as for the clergy shortage... we can't blame any of the vows they take. after all, are the vows in a marriage to blame for the high divorce rates? certainly not! i blame contraception, pornography, and infidelity for that...
i think the honest to goodness issue here is that some men are not answering the Lord's call...
@musicislife446@xanga - Yes, that sounds right.
I love the picture.
...don't rape me don't rape me don't rape me don't rape me don't rape me don't rape me....
Going face to face online should not be an issue, if it is a good thing and no one's name is used then I think it should be considered. The priest has to be everywhere at once now a days so I really think they should re-think this and consider having a lap top with a web cam just like skyping but go under a gmail type of email and go face to face. Whats the difference except for having contrition to God in order to go to mass on Sundays. You may even see a clime in the growth of priest in the church. God bless everyone. Jesus hands are on my head no matter what when those words of absolution are given. Lisa
We make to many rules and no heart in it to make them.