When our pastor retires we will be barren

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schofie

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Our diocese will not have us on the list to get a new pastor because we are too small. It is a sad time for our parish. I have seen it in the news all over. Now it has hit home.

I never really understood the need for prayer towards vocations. Oh, do I now.

As things look, the possibilities of getting more priests in the diocese just gets worse. Our neighboring diocese in DC has an abundance. Why can’t they spread this wondrous wealth?

Pray for all who are lacking or losing their spiritual leaders.
 
Get used to it, American Catholics. And please don’t be so quick to criticize your bishop when he closes your parish. We Catholics have contracepted two generations of priests (and nuns) out of existence, we have only ourselves to blame.
 
What did you mean by “contracepted two generations of priests (and nuns) out of existence”. Please expand on this thought.

rgds,
schofie
 
Look around the Parish, how many big families do you see? While small family size could be from many reasons, I doubt that 90% of the families in the typical Parish have fertility or other serious reasons to avoid having children…

How many families with one child would encourage that child to enter religious life?
 
As things look, the possibilities of getting more priests in the diocese just gets worse. Our neighboring diocese in DC has an abundance. Why can’t they spread this wondrous wealth?
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I know what you mean. The neighboring Diocese of Alexandria in Louisiana has great vocations. What is frustrating is the Dioces of Shreveport used to be a part of it before we split it up:mad:
 
schofie said:
Our diocese will not have us on the list to get a new pastor because we are too small. It is a sad time for our parish. I have seen it in the news all over. Now it has hit home.

I never really understood the need for prayer towards vocations. Oh, do I now.

As things look, the possibilities of getting more priests in the diocese just gets worse. Our neighboring diocese in DC has an abundance. Why can’t they spread this wondrous wealth?

Pray for all who are lacking or losing their spiritual leaders.
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I read of a parish that took out an ad in a national magazine once, offering to support one or two retired priests who would “retire” at thier parish. The promised a car, housekeeper, and a paid vacation… I know it sounds bizarre to me too… but it worked.

MAYBE, just MAYBE you could do this OR…

Offer to the bishop to help support (if possible) an overseas priest to go into residence at your parish while pursuing graduate work.

Perhaps NEITHER would work… but who knows, nothing ventured, nothing gained!

In the mean time, start looking within your parish for a few good deacons to help out the next pastor, as it is very likely he will be handling TWO or more parishes, and a good deacon or two is worth his wait in gold for all the good he can do in visiting the sick, preaching, baptizing, performing weddings, marriage cousnseling, etc. There are several LARGE parishes in my city that simply would not work half as well without their resident deacons. They are not “junior priests” but they certainly lighten the load!
 
Thank you, I will bring these ideas up. I like the idea of putting out an ad, but I am not too sure how we would be appreciated in the Diocese offices. We could indeed offer a car, home, housekeeper, paid vacation, etc etc.

The diocese is already looking into overseas options. With prayer we may have something.
 
schofie said:
Our diocese will not have us on the list to get a new pastor because we are too small. It is a sad time for our parish. I have seen it in the news all over. Now it has hit home.

I never really understood the need for prayer towards vocations. Oh, do I now.

As things look, the possibilities of getting more priests in the diocese just gets worse. Our neighboring diocese in DC has an abundance. Why can’t they spread this wondrous wealth?

Pray for all who are lacking or losing their spiritual leaders.
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are you in the diocese of richmond or Arlington? If Arlington, that is sad and surprising…
 
schofie said:
What did you mean by “contracepted two generations of priests (and nuns) out of existence”. Please expand on this thought.

rgds,
schofie
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according to most polls, American Catholics rely on artificial contraception almost to the same extent as the general population of married couples. According to timing and who is doing the poll, anywhere from 75 to 90% of couples use ABC or surgical means to prevent preganancy. That means that for two generations, since ABC became widely available and relatively easy to obtain and use, and since laws against its use were struck down due to extensive lobbying by Planned Parenthood and allied groups in the 60s, American families, including most Catholics have been using it to limit pregnancies. The upheavel and dissent in the Church which arose following Humanae Vitae in 1968 are well documented.

Since the drop in birth rate is also well documented, and is almost the same among Catholics as the general population, it follows that many of those who would have grown up to be priests or nuns (not to mention doctors, rocket scientists, mothers, scout leaders, missionaries, cancer researchers etc.) were never conceived so the world is without their existence and their contribution to society.
 
puzzleannie said:
We Catholics have contracepted two generations of priests (and nuns) out of existence, we have only ourselves to blame.
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Then it would follow that we also contracepted two generations of parishioners out of existence, and the ratio would still be properly maintained.
 
Formosus said:
I beleive Petersburg, VA is in Richmond. Being from Richmond diocese myself, it does not surprise me at all…
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Gratias et pax vobiscum Formosus,

Being myself in the Richmond Diocese I lament our struggles but what is your take on the state of the diocese?

Pax.
 
Quote:
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Originally Posted by puzzleannie
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forums.catholic-questions.org/images/buttons/viewpost.gif
We Catholics have contracepted two generations of priests (and nuns) out of existence, we have only ourselves to blame.

Then it would follow that we also contracepted two generations of parishioners out of existence, and the ratio would still be properly maintained.
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Oh - so that makes it ok then I suppose. :rolleyes:

I totally agree with puzzleannie - that was an excellent statement. 👍

~LIza
 
Christophorus said:
Gratias et pax vobiscum Formosus,

Being myself in the Richmond Diocese I lament our struggles but what is your take on the state of the diocese?

Pax.
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That we have had quite some bad management in the past. Hopefully it will turn around for the better soon…
 
Formosus said:
That we have had quite some bad management in the past. Hopefully it will turn around for the better soon…
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Gratias et pax vobiscum Formosus,

Even under Bishop Sullivan we’ve had an Indult Mass at St. Joseph’s… so I’ve not been overly critical of the Bishops but are you speaking about something else? 🤷

Pax.
 
CollegeKid said:
What is wrong with the Richmond Diocese?
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I don’t know about this specific diocese - never lived there, never had friends there…

But the situation in some diocese (and it could be the case here) that a diocese might enjoy many good orthodox priests and parishes but the vocations director is not always in synch with the “situation on the ground” and vocations are not encouraged enough or well sought out.

More than a decade ago when I was still in high school a classmate and I did internships for the local Catholic diocese. Two 18 year old males who care enough about the faith to be involved in the work of the local church coming from Catholic families and going to Catholic high school. At one point in the internships we interviewd (as part of the paper we were writing) the vocations director for the diocese. Here we were - two Catholic young guys talking with the priest in charge of vocations - he never said word one to ask us about if we had thought about becoming priests.

If that is your approach to vocations, how many men do you expect to have in your seminary?
 
lizaanne said:
Oh - so that makes it ok then I suppose.
I totally agree with puzzleannie - that was an excellent statement.
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I didn’t say anything was “ok”. I was pointing out that as logical as Puzzleannie’s statement seems on the surface, it is flawed. It is a sound bite with no factual support and questionable logic.
 
CollegeKid said:
What is wrong with the Richmond Diocese?
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Nothing I can see. As far as I can tell the Diocese is doing as much as they can to fulfill the needs of its parishes. Like most places in the USA today their are simply not enough priests.

I still do not fully understand how it all works. If one Diocese has an abundance, why are they not offered or asked for?
 
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