Sauk City-area priests inspiring some, alienating others

[Petergee]

i don’t have any more sources or statistics than you show to say you are mistaken. The US is considered a missionary province because of lack of priests. Seminarians and priests have continually dropped out in a stream since 1960 and we haven’t yet recovered. Don’t know where our Missionary priests are coming from, the Phillipines, or elsewhere, but they are here to help us.

See e.g. catholic-hierarchy.org/country/sc1.html

Phillippines has 69.6 million Catholics, 7335 priests and 11 permanent deacons.

USA has 64.6 million Catholics, 44,906 priests and 14,362 permanent deacons.

The priests per Catholics ratio in the USA has fallen since its peak in about 1970, but it it is still way above most other countries.
Among the major countries only India, Italy and Poland have more priests per head of Catholic population than the USA has.
The USA is roughly equal to most of Europe and way ahead of every other country in the Western Hemisphere except Canada.

The Phillippines should not be exporting any of its few precious native-born priests, except strictly to serve expatriate Filipino communities.

 

[Tom_8_0_0]

And you will be entering which seminary?

?

What about ordained deacons?

Anyways, if a parish had more than just 2 priests that might be possible but for most parishes it is not practical.

Why SHOULD ordained deacons give out communion? Why NOT JUST have the priest give it out? That’s what I don’t understand. If it’s a Mass at which the Holy Eucharist is being offered, it is a Mass being celebrated by a priest, right? So if there’s a priest celebrating Mass, I see no reason why he should not be giving out communion.

 

[NewEnglandPriest]

Why SHOULD ordained deacons give out communion?

Because it is the ancient practice of the Church for Deacons to administer the chalice at Mass. It was the ancient practice of the Church that Deacons brought the eucharist to prisoners and the sick so it is clear from the tradition of the Church that Deacons are allowed to handle the sacred species.
And the Church’s canon law (c. 910) recognizes the Deacon as an ordianry minister of communion.

Why NOT JUST have the priest give it out? That’s what I don’t understand. If it’s a Mass at which the Holy Eucharist is being offered, it is a Mass being celebrated by a priest, right? So if there’s a priest celebrating Mass, I see no reason why he should not be giving out communion.

The priest celebrating Mass always distributes communion (unless he’s ill or infirm). However when a few hundred people are attending Mass its impractical for one priest to administer communion to all of them. And seeing that many parishes only have 1 or 2 priests, a deacon would be the logical, traditional, and canonical choice to assist at communion.

 

[Tom_8_0_0]

Oh, I don’t question that they have a right to handle the hosts, absolutely, in instances of necessity! And I suppose also when you have large churches with hundreds of parishioners, multiple distributors are more convenient. I still think if you have a larger church with a larger crowd, why not have a few more priests?

Maybe I’m picking the wrong battle here. You’re probably right, deacons yes, extraordinary ministers, not so much.

 

[NewEnglandPriest]

I still think if you have a larger church with a larger crowd, why not have a few more priests?

There’s only so many priests to go around…

 

[Tom_8_0_0]

And ain’t that part of the problem…

 

[JRRTFAN]

I was not aware that American Catholics killed priests that they disagreed with. So these priests should prepare for martyrdom? From their own congregations? This is far more exciting than any protestant service!

I’d suggest you GOOGLE “Christo Rey movement” or “Blessed Miguel Pro” and you’ll figure out what the poster is talking about. Might open your eyes, being from the Southwest and all. This happened during the lifetime of my living Mother.

Give it a shot. The Mexican martyr priests are poorly known.