NYT article: priest shortage/foreign recruitment

[JReducation]

Thank you for the correction. I assumed Western Rite, since the quandary presented was fatherhood vs. priesthood.

I assumed that the person or people whom she’s speaking about belong to the Roman Catholic Church. I was saying that there are two options.

1. You become a permanent deacon in the Roman Catholic Church or
2. You join the Eastern Catholic Church and become a priest after you’re married.

Joining the Eastern Catholic Church is possible, but it is not easy. The Church has made it challenging for Latin men to join the Eastern Church just because they want to be priests. Eastern bishops can smell you coming a mile away and will turn you down. You have to become a member of the Eastern Church because you belong there, not just to get ordained.

That being said, men also have to understand that the deaconate is not a compromise for those who cannot become priests. The deaconate is a real vocation and one must have a call to that order. Once you are ordained a deacon, you cannot go back and in most dioceses the bishop will not ordain you a priest even if you are widowed. The idea is to preserve the Order of Deacon. It takes a lot to convince a bishop that you have a vocation to the priesthood, just because you have been a deacon for X number of years. The Church makes a distinction between a Permanent Deacon and a Transitional Deacon.

Men with a vocation to the deaconate should have a vocation to celibacy. If your wife dies before you do, you must remain celibate forever. You can’t use the excuse that you need a mother for your young children. It won’t fly.

JR

 

[RobertLGarrett]

I assumed that the person or people whom she’s speaking about belong to the Roman Catholic Church. I was saying that there are two options.

1. You become a permanent deacon in the Roman Catholic Church or
2. You join the Eastern Catholic Church and become a priest after you’re married.

Joining the Eastern Catholic Church is possible, but it is not easy. The Church has made it challenging for Latin men to join the Eastern Church just because they want to be priests. Eastern bishops can smell you coming a mile away and will turn you down. You have to become a member of the Eastern Church because you belong there, not just to get ordained.

That being said, men also have to understand that the deaconate is not a compromise for those who cannot become priests. The deaconate is a real vocation and one must have a call to that order. Once you are ordained a deacon, you cannot go back and in most dioceses the bishop will not ordain you a priest even if you are widowed. The idea is to preserve the Order of Deacon. It takes a lot to convince a bishop that you have a vocation to the priesthood, just because you have been a deacon for X number of years. The Church makes a distinction between a Permanent Deacon and a Transitional Deacon.

Men with a vocation to the deaconate should have a vocation to celibacy. If your wife dies before you do, you must remain celibate forever. You can’t use the excuse that you need a mother for your young children. It won’t fly.

JR

All that you said is my understanding, except I thought that a widowed Deacon is ordained a Priest. I have met one such Priest, but I didn’t know he was an exception.

Your comments on the Eastern Rite also match what I have read on CAF in the past. I think some people believe that switching rites is like switching parishes or a Protestant switching churches.

Pax Christi,
Robert

 

[chicago]

The difference between us and the diocesan priests who had similar assignments was our community life. We always went back to the community house to a fraternity where we prayed, ate, recreated and spent quality time with each other. Without the community such a life would have been almost umbearable.

JR

How, then, did the diocesan priests deal with these challenges and manage to bear it?

 

[chicago]

I personally do not like African priests. I don’t understand why there is a need to recruit from other countries. it just does not make sense.

What about African priests is it that you do not like?

 

[chicago]

Why don’t you like African priests

I have heard others comment about how they have felt apprehensive about priests from certain cultures. For whatever reasons, the priests just have not connected with them well. To what extent this is an issue of particular priests versus actual larger issues of cultural or linguistic challenges it would be interesting to study more widely.

 

[JReducation]

How, then, did the diocesan priests deal with these challenges and manage to bear it?

Many men do find it unbearable and that’s the reason they don’t join these dioceses. Instead they join urban dioceses where they have some companionship.

These are the dioceses that are recruiting foreign priests, not the urban ones. In the past, religious communities would lend priests to these dioceses for years; but that has been cut back because of what I explained above, religious orders are returning to their own mission.

JR

 

[JReducation]

All that you said is my understanding, except I thought that a widowed Deacon is ordained a Priest. I have met one such Priest, but I didn’t know he was an exception.

Your comments on the Eastern Rite also match what I have read on CAF in the past. I think some people believe that switching rites is like switching parishes or a Protestant switching churches.

Pax Christi,
Robert

We have a priest in our neighboring parish who is a former deacon and a widower. He was ordained as an exception to the policy.

JR

 

[chicago]

In Dioceses like Lincoln, NE and Arlington, VA the numbers of priests and deacons have increase significantly. But the numbers of religious men consecrated by vows are sadly missing.

This article was about the shortage of priests, not the shortage of religious men. Religious men are on the rise, but many are not going to be ordained as many religious communities are focussing on their vocaton to the religious life according to the spirit of their communities and founders.

I find this fascinating. Elsewhere on the message board you have often commented upon the rise in religious life. But that religious life is in shorter supply in these often noted dioceses where vocations to diocesan priesthood is up seems notable. Is there any possible connection between the two, whereby men who are seeking for a way in which to dedicate their life tend to be attracted to that which they see as more readily accessible in fostering such a life of service? Or, perhaps, it is just a matter of that which people are more readily exposed to attracting their imagination?

 

[JReducation]

I find this fascinating. Elsewhere on the message board you have often commented upon the rise in religious life. But that religious life is in shorter supply in these often noted dioceses where vocations to diocesan priesthood is up seems notable. Is there any possible connection between the two, whereby men who are seeking for a way in which to dedicate their life tend to be attracted to that which they see as more readily accessible in fostering such a life of service? Or, perhaps, it is just a matter of that which people are more readily exposed to attracting their imagination?

I think that both of your hypotheses are correct.

It may have a lot to do with the fact that in these two dioceses there are very few parishes run by religious and the average lay person knows very little about religious life. Many men who entered religious life did so through their parish. They were exposed to religious who ran their parishes. Since that’s not a frequently seen in Lincoln and Arlington, there is less exposure.

In addition, religious life is rarely promoted in the home. More conservative parents know about the priesthood and support their sons’ idea of becoming priests, but it wouldn’t occur to the average parent to encourage a son to become a monk, a friar, a canon, or join a secular society such as the Society of St. Peter, Maryknoll, Vincentians, Sulpicians or Salesians.

The bishops are not going to promote religious life for men. They want to have their own priests. It is common for religious bishops to promote vocations to their religious communities, but they have to be very careful not to get into a conflict of interests. They cannot sacrifice vocations to their dioceses. Part of their obligation as bishop is the diocesan seminary, then their religious community.

It’s really up to the religious communities to go into a diocese and recruit. In many dioceses there is a Vicar for Religious. This is a priest whose job is to recruit for religious life and who coordinates between religious the the diocese.

JR

 

[chicago]

Interesting. In a metropolitan city like Chicago, there is obviously a long and rich history of religious communities ministering in various ways. This has given the opportunity for people to be both exposed and attracted to their way of life - especially among youth. Though, with declining vocations, religious pulling out of their traditional ministries (whether that be parish ministry, education, or health care just to name a few) I suspect that this will start to be less so. Or it may just change and develop.

A Benedictine community, for example, was given a closed parish, for example. They do not run it as a parish, but allow the community to attend their prayer services and Masses, to an extent. They started a newsletter and even got a group of lay Benedictines up and running. It seems odd for such an order to exist in the heart of a great city, but they have adapted well and it allows us insight into their life which we might not otherwise understand. Still, there are times when they will close the Church for a week for retreat. But since it isn’t a parish, per se, anyone who is used to participating and praying there just has to deal with it.

Here there will always be religious involved in some ways with the larger Catholic community. So people will have the opportunity for a healthy degree of interaction and exposure with the potential of attraction to their life. This very much enriches the environment. Indeed, NOT having Vincentians or Passionists, or Ressurrectionists, or Dominicans, or Sisters of Charity in the city and surrounding suburbs is unthinkable to me. The fact that most people probably don’t even know what these groups are is almost shocking to my sensibilities.

Yet I do wonder whether the lessening degree of laity crossing paths with some communities even in urban areas will ultimately hurt their own vocational recruitment. Or maybe it will just force them to refocus with a renewal in religious life that is more centered on what the contemporary world and its needs are calling them to. In our own day, certainly, a lot of traditional ministries need to be re-evaluated to discern what enables a best outlet of fitting service within a way of life. And that just might prove attractive to the young people of today and tomorrow. Perhaps allowing such a serious evaluation to pass (or reading the signs of the times inaccurately and allowing a charism to falter somewhat) has been one of the problems in declining vocations of recent decades, even.

 

[JReducation]

Interesting. In a metropolitan city like Chicago, there is obviously a long and rich history of religious communities ministering in various ways. This has given the opportunity for people to be both exposed and attracted to their way of life - especially among youth. Though, with declining vocations, religious pulling out of their traditional ministries (whether that be parish ministry, education, or health care just to name a few) I suspect that this will start to be less so. Or it may just change and develop.

I cut your post short to fit some ideas in.

In many cities like Chicago, Boston, NY, LA, San Antonio, just to name a few, religious are part of the scenery. It is true that many of the congregations have lost many vocations, but the orders have not. The orders continue to maintain their numbers.

The orders never had the huge numbers as the congregations, because their ministries were not as active: schools, hospitals and so forth. This was the ministry of the congregations.

The orders; Benedictines, Dominicans, Carmelites, Franciscans, Augustinians, Trinitarians and others are either pulling out of parish ministry to return to their original way of life, as the Benedictines that you mentioned or are not taking on new parishes. Some are also restricting the number of men that they allow to be ordained, because in some orders the priesthood is not an essential component, even though they have always had priests. But the priests that they had came to the community seeking another way of life.

Just like the Benedictines that you mention in your post, we have Capuchin Franciscans. They run the parish, but they use a great deal of help from the laity. They too close down the parish for a week for the community retreat. They also close it down every day for several hours for community prayer, recreation, meals and chores.

The Secular Franciscan Order lends a great deal of support to our friars. In cities where we do not have a large number of Secular Franciscan Brothers and Sisters they use what they call Capcorps, a community of lay people who commit to live the Franciscan life for a year and live in community to serve the poor.

The Dominicans are more oriented toward parish work. They are a clerical community and they are especially committed to preaching and teaching. Unlike the Franciscans who are itinerant preachers. That’s why you see groups like Fr. Groeschel’s and the Eternal Word Missionaries doing other ministries that are not parrochial. The young men who join these communities have been called to follow St. Francis as he worked in the 13th century. The Church approves of going back to those roots.

This is not only true for Franciscans, but for other orders such as Benedictines, Carmelites and others. There are groups of friars and monks who are forming new communities every day, communities removed from parishes and devoted to the original intent of their founders.

You will still see them in many places, but not doing what they did during the 20th century, but what they did iduring the Middle Ages and before.

JR

 

[chicago]

Interestingly enough, one of the most prominent ministries of a religious order in Chicago are the Franciscans who run St. Peter’s parish, in the heart of the central business district.

But even this does not run entirely like a regular parish. There is not parish registry, for instance. Most of the ministries take place during the business day - no evening meetings when the Church is closed. The church is even closed afternoons on holidays. Now a lot of that simply has to do with the nature of being located where it is. And, though the area is becoming increasingly residential, their outreach is what it is and you simply accept it. Another interesting tidbit is that they have cut back quite a bit on formal services provided. The number of friars serving the parish has decreased noticeably. They try to use their resources more prudently (older, otherwise generally retired priests are often the ones assigned to hear confessions, for instance - a key ministry here which occurs for hours daily except Sunday.) The Masses still are many (seven on weekdays, I think) but not as many as they used to be. It’s an active ministry which is made to fit their religious life effectively, partly due to the number of friars who share the extensive amount of work.

All that said, I do find it a bit ironic (and intriguing) that orders are managing to maintain a steadiness of incoming vocations (and even growing) despite their pulling back from more public ministry while the congregations that have such at their heart have faltered some. To what is this attributable?

 

[StAnastasia]

Men with a vocation to the deaconate should have a vocation to celibacy. If your wife dies before you do, you must remain celibate forever. You can’t use the excuse that you need a mother for your young children. It won’t fly.
JR

Indeed. But what is the rationale for permitting diaconal marriage, and then requiring diaconal celibacy? Is the first merely a concession to hook guys into the diaconate?

 

[RobertLGarrett]

Indeed. But what is the rationale for permitting diaconal marriage, and then requiring diaconal celibacy? Is the first merely a concession to hook guys into the diaconate?

Actually, there is no such thing as “diaconal marriage.” If a single man over the age of 25 wishes to be a Permanent Deacon, he may do so after proper formation, but he would have to remain celibate.

It is similar to the Eastern Rite priesthood. An ordained priest in the Eastern Rite may not marry and a married man who is ordained a priest may not remarry, if they become a widower.

So, once you are ordained, in any case, you can’t get married. I don’t think either situation is a “concession to hook guys” into anything.

 

[StAnastasia]

Actually, there is no such thing as “diaconal marriage.” If a single man over the age of 25 wishes to be a Permanent Deacon, he may do so after proper formation, but he would have to remain celibate.

What then is the rationale for prohibiting remarriage of deacons (except in the case of a widowed single father left with young children)? If diaconal marriage is not evil to begin with, why is it prohibited for a widowed deacon to remarry?

 

[RobertLGarrett]

What then is the rationale for prohibiting remarriage of deacons (except in the case of a widowed single father left with young children)? If diaconal marriage is not evil to begin with, why is it prohibited for a widowed deacon to remarry?

Well, first of all, I’m not clear that your parenthetical exception is actually a defined exception. Here is what the National Directory says about widowed Deacons:
usccb.org/deacon/DeaconDirectory.pdf

1. In exceptional cases, the Holy See may grant a dispensation
   for a new marriage or for a release from the obligations of the clerical
   state. However, to ensure a mature decision in discerning God’s
   will, effective pastoral care should be provided to maintain that a
   proper and sufficient period of time has elapsed before either of
   these dispensations is sought. If a dispensation for a new marriage is
   petitioned and granted, additional time will be required for the formation
   of a stable relationship in the new marriage, as well as the
   enabling of his new wife to obtain sufficient understanding and
   experience about the diaconate in order to give her written,
   informed consent and support.

While marriage is certainly not “evil,” celibacy is considered…well, it is better if I quote from the Directory again:

The Celibate Deacon
69. The Church acknowledges the gift of celibacy that God grants
to certain of its members who wholeheartedly live it “according to its
true nature and according to its real purposes, that is for evangelical,
spiritual and pastoral motives.” The essential meaning of celibacy is
grounded in Jesus’ preaching of the kingdom of God. Its deepest
source is love of Christ and dedication to his mission. “In celibate life,
indeed, love becomes a sign of total and undivided consecration to
Christ and of greater freedom to serve God and man. The choice of
celibacy is not an expression of contempt for marriage nor of flight
from reality but a special way of serving man and the world.”

1. The celibate commitment remains one of the most fundamental
   expressions of Jesus’ call to radical discipleship for the sake of
   the kingdom on earth and as an eschatological sign of the kingdom of
   heaven. “This perfect continency, out of desire for the kingdom of
   heaven, has always been held in particular honor in the Church. The
   reason for this was and is that perfect continency for the love of God
   is an incentive to charity, and is certainly a particular source of spiritual
   fecundity in the world.”

1. If the celibate deacon gives up one kind of family, he gains
   another. In Christ, the people he serves become mother, brother, and
   sister. In this way, celibacy as a sign and motive of pastoral charity
   takes flesh. Reciprocity, mutuality, and affection shared with many
   become channels that mold and shape the celibate deacon’s pastoral
   love and his sexuality. “Celibacy should not be considered just as a
   legal norm . . . but rather as a value . . . whereby [the celibate deacon]
   takes on the likeness of Jesus Christ . . . as a full and joyful
   availability in his heart for the pastoral ministry.”

The fact of the matter is that a potential Permanent Deacon should not become a Deacon if he does not have an appreciation of and is not prepared to live a celibate life.

 

[StAnastasia]

The fact of the matter is that a potential Permanent Deacon should not become a Deacon if he does not have an appreciation of and is not prepared to live a celibate life.

Why are permanent deacons allowed to be married in the first place?

 

[RobertLGarrett]

Why are permanent deacons allowed to be married in the first place?

I’m guessing for the same reason that the Eastern Rite allows married priests, and that married non-Catholic pastors/ministers can become a priest in the Western Rite (by dispensation). Which is…I don’t know.

There is a preference for celibacy, but it is a discipline of the Church, not dogma. You can be in favor of having married priests in the Western Rite and still be a faithful Catholic.

 

[JReducation]

Why are permanent deacons allowed to be married in the first place?

This is a tradition that dates back to the days of the Apostles beginning with the Apostles themselves. Men who were married were ordained, but they did not remarry when they were widowed. Anyone in the clerical state who was widowed did not remarry.

The reason is well explained by Jesus and St. Paul when they both say that celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom is a deeper form of life.

Clerics are not the only ones who have such rules. There are communities that have them too. Modonna House is a secular community. Its members must remain celibate after being widowed.

The Secular Franciscans encourage their members to remain celibate after being widowed.

Religious who are dispensed from their vows, marry and are widowed are usually encouraged to remain celibate.

The Church has always looked upon celibacy and virginity as worthy of praise. This takes nothing away from marriage.

It’s part of our Christian tradition and it is observed by the Roman, Eastern and Orthodox churches since the time of the Apostles.

Currently, Pope Benedict is not granting dispensations to get married to anyone, clerics or religious. Pope John Paul II was a little more generous with dispensations from celibacy. Pope Benedict has come down hard on those who seek them. If you try to enter into a marriage without the dispensation, you will incur excommunication and you will not be recommunicated with the Church until you correct your status with the Holy See.

JR

 

[JReducation]

Interestingly enough, one of the most prominent ministries of a religious order in Chicago are the Franciscans who run St. Peter’s parish, in the heart of the central business district.

But even this does not run entirely like a regular parish. There is not parish registry, for instance. Most of the ministries take place during the business day - no evening meetings when the Church is closed. The church is even closed afternoons on holidays. Now a lot of that simply has to do with the nature of being located where it is. And, though the area is becoming increasingly residential, their outreach is what it is and you simply accept it. Another interesting tidbit is that they have cut back quite a bit on formal services provided. The number of friars serving the parish has decreased noticeably. They try to use their resources more prudently (older, otherwise generally retired priests are often the ones assigned to hear confessions, for instance - a key ministry here which occurs for hours daily except Sunday.) The Masses still are many (seven on weekdays, I think) but not as many as they used to be. It’s an active ministry which is made to fit their religious life effectively, partly due to the number of friars who share the extensive amount of work.

All that said, I do find it a bit ironic (and intriguing) that orders are managing to maintain a steadiness of incoming vocations (and even growing) despite their pulling back from more public ministry while the congregations that have such at their heart have faltered some. To what is this attributable?

The increase in vocations among the Franciscans and others is due to the fact that they are slowly returning to their roots. Young men looking for religious life in the manner of St. Francis, St. Benedict or some other founder, are finding it.

I can speak better about the Franciscan family, because it’s my family. The friars, as you have noticed are spending much more time in community and less in outside apostolates. A greater part of their day is dedicated to solitude, penance, Liturgy of the Hours, meditation, community meals, community recreation, taking care of each other, ministering to the poor, sick and elderly, studying, lectio divina and a great deal of time is spent daily studying and reflecting on the life of Francis and his means to be more Christ-like. Manual labor is also a big part of the friar’s life. There are no maids. They do their laundry, clean, and cook. This attracts vocations.

As they pull out of a full-time parish ministry, they also need less priests. Their friars use their theology degrees for other ministries and less of them are ordained. The sacraments are still celebrated, but other parish ministries are handed over to the laity or dropped. Some are replaced with new ministries that are more consistent with the mission of each religious community. Religious communities must protect their identity and their charism.

Many communities are also focussing on supporting their brothers around the world. This opens up an entirely different set of ministries. Many men are called by Christ to live out their lives by following the Gospel in a Brotherhood that is bound to a deeper life of prayer, asceticism, fraternity, and service to the poor.

There will always be secular priests. Christ’s Church is built up upon the priesthood of Jesus Christ. But there won’t be the numbers that we had during the early part of the 20th century. Those numbers were not usual. They were extraordinary. The usual number of secular priests has always been small.

Some believe that the two World Wars may have had something to do with the large numbers of priests from 1925 to 1960. I don’t know.

JR