Will a Shepherds crisis force the Catholic Church to be more ecumenical?

[StillWondering]

It’s interesting that there are over 10 times as many nuns as monks in the RCC. I didn’t know that, and it’s a bit surprising.

That is interesting. And the nuns that hold themselves to very high standards are so admirable. I hope my future kids and grandkids will be taught by wonderful nuns like I have been.

 

[StillWondering]

It gets worse. Add to all the things you mentioned the fact that the Church would have to pay a priest enough to support his family. Do you really want to meet your pastor working the night shift at Walmart? Do you really want to find that your pastor is using artificial contraceptives because he can’t afford another child on his salary? If your parish is large enough to have a pastor and one or two associate pastors, do you really want to see three wives plus children in the rectory kitchen? Talk about too many cooks!!

I was told that in the Latin Rite, diocesan priests need to support their own retirement. They do that by being members in communities and getting donations. However, I am told it can be difficult for Latin Priests in terms of retirement. My parents parish donated a great deal of money to build retirement homes for their elderly priests. However, other communities may not have been so lucky. That parish alone tends to have a couple more seminaries every year.

In Vietnam, where Catholicism is discouraged by the government and even oppressed at times, it is difficult to be a priest. In fact, I was told by charity groups who have contacts in Vietnam, only about 10% of those who wish to become priests are allowed to due to the political and economic situation.

While I do not see a shortage of priests in any areas I have lived in here in the States, there is an unhappy contrast that with all the opportunities here in the States to become priest as opposed to countries such as Vietnam that we are not flooded with priests.