A bishop's concerns
Jolson, Alfred J.
REPORT FROM ICELAND A BISHOP'S CONCERNS WHO WILL MINISTER IN A.D. 2000? ' hat quality of ministry will Catholics of the year 2000 need? What are the alternatives for priestly and pastoral...
...It is annoying to present a problem without solutions...
...Does such a need raise questions about the ability of a priest trained in a very strict formation of black and white, right 17 July 1992:1 and wrong, to cope with the ambiguities of today and tomorrow...
...And besides, not every priest is suitable, or ready, for pastoral responsibilities...
...Priests, people, and even bishops need time to consider possible adjustments...
...Even today in some parts of the world the same objections exist...
...But soon even urban and suburban parishes will experience similar problems...
...This is very high compared with much of the world...
...In recent decades there has been a weakening of the permanent commitment (or "perpetual" commitment), as is evidenced in both the number of those priests leaving and the low initiation rates...
...We need to prepare the Catholic people for such alternatives...
...Catholics in Japan survived for 256 years without priests in what may have been a heroic and unique episode in the history of the church...
...A native of F airfield, Connecticut, he served in the United States, Zimbabwe, and Iraq before being installed as ordinary in 1988...
...Is there a connection...
...This grinding down of priests is a catch-22 situation...
...Can this rate be sustained...
...In itself, this is a large pastoral, spiritual, economic, and psychological task, with its own dimensions and 8:17 July 1992 Commonweal pressures...
...In presenting what I see as alternatives (and recognizing there may be others), I am not a strong advocate for one or the other...
...Yet even with these numbers, one can see the challenges and coming shortages...
...A call to the married would presuppose support for the spouse of the married priest...
...Though a collapse eventually leads to decisions being taken, it would be preferable not to be faced with making them in necessity or in a state of collapse...
...How do priests relate in situations where lay leadership and authority have taken over formerly priestly functions, pastoral prerogatives, and pursuits...
...We need prayer, courage, imagination, and fortitude to undertake some action to meet the new millennium...
...Do they see their position being diminished in society and in the church...
...Some priests from abroad have even returned home, the ambiguity and ambivalence having proven too much for them...
...But even if it were to fall as in many parts of the world to 10 percent or less, there would still be the need for church vocations...
...So lead time, under any alternative, remains an important consideration...
...There is much more to the sacramental ministry than an individual presiding at the Eucharist...
...The shortage is keeping them on the move, and some are being run ragged...
...Our times do not require less preparation for ministry...
...This alternative would be contrary to the most ancient tradition of East and West...
...It is the re-evangelization of the 60 percent who are not regular, practicing Catholics in the United States (not to mention larger percentages elsewhere...
...Yet Brazil has become 40 percent Protestant...
...In considering the challenge of church vocations in the United States, how will our percentages of practicing Catholics hold up...
...These new initiatives need preparation and even catechesis for priests currently in the ministry...
...In recent recruitment and formation, have the standards of selection been too high, or in some areas, too low...
...Many fine men withdrew from the active ministry and chose marriage...
...It appears that there is a practice-rate of better than 40 percent...
...We have thirteen priests, including an Air Force chaplain, three full-time students, and several priests over seventy, and we have two seminarians in theology...
...But there are none ready-made...
...Perhaps tomorrow there will be a sudden upsurge in traditional vocations to the priesthood...
...What are the alternatives for priestly and pastoral service, particularly in the United States, as the year 2000 looms...
...It might well be that the development of such "Mass priests" following the Black Death (when many of the most dedicated people died caring for the sick) prepared the ground for the upheaval of the Reformation...
...In the early days, evangelization by a woman would have been nearly impossible...
...Then there is another area of great need, one we have scarcely spoken of...
...Moreover, at times these priests have discovered that American parishioners are not ready to accept orders and a simple "right" answer to their problems...
...As in all alternatives, there are problems...
...Are there other alternatives...
...Some believe that there will be a new mission era in the United States, when priests and religious will come from Europe, Africa, and Asia...
...Will the most ancient tradition of the church of East and West—married men called to the priesthood—be implemented in response to the need...
...Most of what has been written here concerns the United States...
...Education— academic and spiritual—for the priesthood is long (and necessarily so...
...We have hardly begun to focus on this need...
...It has already started to happen, and with it there has developed a reverse language problem in which American parishioners are unable to understand their priests...
...Scripture and apostolic tradition do not appear to rule out this possibility, but we have the consistent, unbroken disciplinary tradition of the Holy Fathers against the ordination of women...
...The small Diocese of Reykjavik, with only four parishes and 2,500 Catholics in an island nation of only 255,000, does not appear to be an area of critical pastoral shortages...
...There are therefore serious misgivings about this particular alternative solution to the priest shortage...
...There are possible alternatives, few seriously considered right up to the present time...
...All recognize that necessity is the mother of invention...
...In some areas of France, for instance, Mass is celebrated only once a month by a pastor who has responsibilities for twelve parishes...
...Perhaps priestly service for ten years might be in order...
...Changes that come only from on high will face great difficulties, imperiling even the success of good alternatives...
...Do the priests of today and tomorrow need to be able to face ambiguity...
...as the late beloved Pedro Arrupe, General of the Society of Jesus, used to say...
...Distance has always been a problem in some rural areas of the United States...
...Under such conditions, quality of service has to sag and health problems develop sooner rather than later...
...Are eucharistic services without a priest the answer...
...What to do...
...Some say that today the seminaries that are strict are filled, that certain more old-fashioned religious communities have large numbers...
...Nonetheless, some who left seem anxious to return to the ministry...
...What of the whole Catholic world in the year 2000...
...His situation does not draw young people, no matter how zealous, holy, and good a priest is—and most are...
...Does this indicate an answer...
...I do believe that some alternative or alternatives must be chosen, particularly since the lead-time for implementing them can be considerable...
...Perhaps the psychosocial objections were too strong even in those days...
...Do they view their service as having ambiguous outcomes...
...Such services have long existed in a number of places, for example, Brazil...
...One parish is already without a regular pastor...
...A priest's spouse is not meant to be cheap labor for the church...
...A worn-out priest eventually gives the appearance of not being happy in his service...
...But such preparation and involvement are essential and in keeping with the spirit of Vatican II...
...There is a critical need for catechesis, participation, and involvement in the choice of alternatives...
...The ordination of "Mass priests" has never been a success...
...One undeniable fact is that good priests are wearing out...
...It has not been the wish of the popes to ordain women...
...One may wonder why women were not ordained in the early Christian era when many were prominent in the Christian community...
...Is there a reluctance to accept new priestly roles...
...Might it be possible to recall some priests who resigned and married...
...ALFRED J. JOLSON The Most Reverend Alfred J. Jolson, S.J., is the bishop of Reykjavik, Iceland...
...Is the ordination of women a possible response...
...Another underlying problem is how priests see and understand themselves...
...Perhaps the consideration of "temporary vocations," despite the long preparation time, ought to be a serious option...
Vol. 119 • July 1992 • No. 13
