RIGHTING THE SHIP

...To earlier generations, the priesthood was a clear choice among other "careers...

...society...

...What is the appropriate role of the laity...

...The calling to lay ministry and priesthood are different, yet both come from God and both are desperately needed...

...After the Scandal RIGHTING THE SHIP How the laity can help R. Scott Appleby Uere's a thought experiment with pastoral mo-tives: let's interpret the Davidson-Hoge report in the most sobering direction possible and see where that leads us...

...More telling, though, is the absence of evidence that a significant percentage of the laity see themselves as having (wanting...

...Complementary but distinctive models of the church call forth complementary but distinctive forms of apostolic service and lay participation...

...the church vigorously promoted it as such, devoting valuable resources and recruiters to the task of helping young men imagine themselves in the role of priest...

...May our bishops, pastors, religious, and lay leaders find the courage and self-confidence to welcome into their company Catholics who do not seem, at first glance, to fit the mold...

...The crying need of our era is to renew the face of the institutional church, precisely in order to sustain and extend its remarkable, grace-filled service to the people of God in this country and beyond...

...To be fair, neither did their parents or grandparents: custodianship and entrepreneurial stewardship were the "job descriptions" for the clergy and religious, who were available in greater abundance...

...How shall laity step forward...

...They have already done so...

...more than three-quarters of the respondents rank either the actual sexual abuse or the bishops' mishandling of it as the church's biggest problem...

...Part of the answer, in short, is found in the array of lay ministries that are integral to most thriving parishes...

...Millennials, too, are "called and gifted...

...It should...

...Maybe there is both wisdom and compassion in that decision: the charitable work of the church must go on, lawsuits and scandals notwithstanding...

...May vocations to the priesthood grow...

...The clearest "finding" of the survey is the undeniably devastating fallout of the sexual-abuse scandal: 91 percent know of the crisis...

...The 2003 survey, confirming recent research, notes that laypeople believe they have a right to participate in church decisions, and many, especially the younger cohorts, want greater financial accountability from pastors and bishops...

...Emphasizing and connecting these elements of the survey results suggest the following three-part hypothesis: First, Catholics are concerned about the church, recognize that it faces crises on several fronts, and want to assist in "the righting of the ship...

...What path is available to willing millennials who do not feel called to the priesthood or traditional religious life, and who prefer to remain rooted in a parish rather than join a lay apostolic movement or organization...

...Now comes the familiar murkiness...

...Nor do they feel or understand that it is their responsibility to ensure the institutional viability of the church for succeeding generations...

...Second, they do not know how best to help, and have not been called clearly and forcefully to do so by the hierarchy or clergy...

...but the nature of the calling and the gifts they bring have yet to be discerned and cultivated with the kind of systematic, coordinated effort that characterized the halcyon era of recruitment to religious life...

...Yet one fails to see a connection being drawn between the crises we confront, the untapped resources embodied in thousands of eager and talented but uncertain lay Catholics, and the rich plurality of institutional forms and theological images of the church that have enabled it to adapt to the particular needs of each era...

...Despite the existence of a vast pool of potential candidates who answer to this description, the church is not presenting lay ministry as a splendid, absolutely essential vocation- different from but no less worthy than the ordained priesthood...

...Still, the nature of the desired lay contribution remains vague, especially if one judges the crisis to demand bold innovations that would represent some kind of break with the status quo ante...

...Link this to the next largest concern, the shortage of priests and sisters, and note that it is felt particularly keenly by older cohorts, while younger Catholics "are creating new ways of being Catholic that are not as dependent on priests and sisters...

...Tell these willing but uncertain Catholics how they can help, make the assignment rich in possibility, prepare them to meet it, and turn them loose...

...Younger Catholics also tend to be less informed about and less confident in their bishops, and more negatively affected by the media indictment of the episcopacy...

...Davidson and Hoge conclude that laypeople believe they have a great deal to contribute, and that the church "would benefit from their expertise and input...

...Yet it may not be sufficient to the enormous task we face in recovering from the sexual-abuse crisis and in sustaining even a significant portion of the ministries of pastoral care, social service, and intellectual mission that have enriched the life of Catholics and many other Americans for generations...

...real agency in reforming the church in ways that might respond to the major problems they have identified, including the dwindling number of clergy...

...Third, the active members among the youngest generations of Catholics, like other members of their cohort, have not been educated or trained to think of the church primarily in institutional terms...

...Factor in rising levels of relativism ("All major religions are equally good ways to ultimate truth") among all cohorts, save the pre-Vatican II generation...

...What forms of lay commitment are required...

...So, too, are other forms of lay stewardship yet to be developed-or to be retrieved from the rich history of Catholic spirituality and ministry...

...R. Scott Appleby is director of the Kroc Center for Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame...

...That effort continues today, as it should...

...But every sign under the sun flashes the "news" that priesthood and vowed religious life must now be accompanied by robust forms of lay commitment and accountability to and for the church...

...Mil-lennials-and the rest of us-must become convinced that it is not enough to depend solely on the generous and dedicated but severely overworked clergy and religious...

...Essential as it has become to the life of the American church, though, the vocation of lay minister suffers from benign neglect...

...Yet a solid majority, 60 percent, is unwilling to withhold donations until reforms occur...

...What does it mean, laity must ask, to practice responsible stewardship at a time when the church is struggling to sustain its vital institutional presence, extend its pastoral and social ministries to larger and larger circles of need, and regain its irreplaceable moral leadership in U.S...