Clergy Crisis in Catholicism

Which of three potential options do you think the Catholic Church will take to address its problem?

  • The Pope will stand firm and not deviate.

    Votes: 15 42.9%
  • The Pope will allow celibate women to serve as priests.

    Votes: 2 5.7%
  • The Pope will open the priesthood to married men.

    Votes: 18 51.4%

  • Total voters
    35
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bbbbbbb

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Your poll say the U.S. Now if you want to change the supposition because it has been shown your original idea was not well thought out, go ahead make another poll. And PLEASE stop using wikipedia:doh:

In case you missed it, here is the rest of the article -

Europe
Der Spiegel has reported that Germany, which used to send missionary priests to other countries, now has a shortage of new clergy. As a result, some German congregations have merged, and the church has recruited priests from elsewhere. Approximately 10 percent of Catholic priests in Germany, about 1,300, are immigrants, with many hailing from India.[10]

In Ireland the decade from 2002-2012 saw the number of Catholic diocesan priests drop 13 per cent, similar to the decrease in the number of priests in religious congregations. And many priests remaining are elderly and approaching retirement. “The crisis is now mathematically certain. If we keep going the way we are, the future of the Irish priesthood is now unsustainable,” noted Fr. Brendan Hoban, head of the Association of Catholic priests.[11]

In Spain Catholic Church sources confirmed that the country is experiencing a shortage of priests. Rural priests are in some cases responsible for up to a half dozen parishes at a time. In one case, a priest in Cantabria is responsible for 22 parishes. A study sponsored by the church showed that in 2007, at least 10,615 of the 23,286 parishes in Spain had no priest in permanent residence.[12]

In 2009, only 90 priests were ordained in France, a significant drop from the 112 that were ordained a decade before. The church hierarchy is alarmed and has managed the problem thus far with recruitment from abroad. There are over 1,300 foreign catholic priests in France, or approximately 10% of the priesthood; over 650 come from Africa, typically from poor African countries such as Togo, Madagascar and Burkina Faso, where churches have enough priests or simply cannot pay for more. [13]

Africa
The region where Catholicism is experiencing its fastest growth is in Africa,[6][14] and the growth in the number of priests is not keeping up with the growth of congregants. The Catholic population there has grown by 238 percent since 1980 and is approaching 200 million, thus far exceeding the growth in the number of priests, which was up 131 percent in the same period.[15]

Latin America
The National Catholic Reporter describes the priest shortage in Latin America: "Like most other parts of the world, this vast region, home to more than 40 percent of all the world's Catholics, has a worrying shortage of ordained presbyters required for validly celebrating the sacraments, the lifeblood of Catholic Christianity."[16]

During his visit to Brazil, Pope Benedict XVI briefly noted in his remarks the shortage of priests in Latin America. The shortage of priests is a problem that the church hierarchy there describes as particularly acute. At a time when the Catholic church is losing membership to Pentecostal churches, Evangelical Protestant preachers outnumber Catholic priests 2 to 1.[17] In 1980, nine of every 10 Brazilians self-identified as Roman Catholics, but that percentage has steadily dropped. By 2007 only two-thirds of Brazilians remain Catholics as the country struggles with a shortage of priests.[18]

In 2014 Bishop Erwin Krautler, a bishop who leads a geographically expansive diocese in the Brazilian rain forest met with Pope Francis to discuss how much the priest shortage affects the church in the Southern Hemisphere. Krautler’s diocese only has 27 priests for 700,000 Catholics. As a result, many Catholics might only hear Mass a couple of times a year.[19]

Asia
Until recently India had sufficient priests but is now experiencing difficulty in recruiting seminarians. "Until some years ago, brighter young men willing to join the priesthood were plenty in India. But now, for various reasons, as their preference is changing, it threatens to pose many crises for the community in the future," said Father Udumala Bala, the deputy secretary general of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI).[20]

In the Philippines, the ratio of priests to Catholics is approximately 1 to 8,000. But Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle says the ideal number should be one priest per 2,000 Catholics. In Manila, the ratio is 1 priest to 20,000 parishioners.[21]
 
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Yeshua HaDerekh

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Are we going there in this thread? Because I can prove that your post is a lie and that you never understood Catholicism in the first place, and obviously still don't.


I am sure I have done more research than anyone here, and it IS nonsense. The Church never colluded with the Nazis, Pius was never Hitler's pope, and the sensational garbage written about such things is just that: Nonsense. Your attempt at smearing brothers in Christ with false accusations is offensive.

I am out of this thread before I say something I regret. Protestant anti-Catholic hatred is just as ignorant and ridiculous as leftwing anti-Trump hatred. They both stem from sheer ignorance.

Doing nothing is collusion
 
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bbbbbbb

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The OP is know for setting up a false narrative in order to poke fun at Catholics. I suspect this thread is no different

I suppose we all need some form of reputation with which our critics can dismiss us. The poll is really quite plain. If you think there are other possibilities to address this problem please present them.
 
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Yeshua HaDerekh

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Yeshua HaDerekh

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DING DING DING DING........... (bell ringing)
And now the truth comes out. You just hate the Catholic Church and so you are willing to believe, and spread, and and every horrible rumor you hear. Hitler, pedophiles, Nazis, blah blah blah.... .....if it's anti-Catholic then it has your seal of approval. Absolutely pathetic, and, may I add, decidedly UN-Christian.

Pedophilic priests in the roman catholic church is a rumor?????????? smh
 
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archer75

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I expect no major changes in the immediate future, though I guess 3, relaxation of the celibacy discipline for the Latin Rite, seems most likely.

Would that be "floodgates," though? Will married men immediately flood the seminaries?
 
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PeaceB

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Landon Caeli

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This is one of the main reasons I find myself more often feeling more and more dislike towards fellow Christians. Not that I dislike the Mass, or the Sacraments or the Almighty Father... I just cant stand to listen to Christians (even Catholics) speak anymore. So much arrogance and pompousness.

You can have your fellowship. :wave:

your cross faith battles are all yours too. :)
 
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Landon Caeli

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A lot of times, I'll pop into a conversation with Christians, and they don't even have the decency to respond to my post. Same way with some Catholics... Rude.

I often find that atheists have better manners when it comes to guests.
 
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kepha31

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And may I also add to your add: Peter never married after being chosen as an apostle. It is the same with priests today.
That may well be correct.
Agreed. I submit that Peter was a widower. It would have been a scandal to the Jews if Peter's mother-in-law served guests in Peter's house. It's a violation of custom. So where was Peter's wife who was supposed to do that?
 
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kepha31

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A lot of times, I'll pop into a conversation with Christians, and they don't even have the decency to respond to my post. Same way with some Catholics... Rude.

I often find that atheists have better manners when it comes to guests.
It would help if you gave us something to respond to.
 
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bbbbbbb

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Agreed. I submit that Peter was a widower. It would have been a scandal to the Jews if Peter's mother-in-law served guests in Peter's house. It's a violation of custom. So where was Peter's wife who was supposed to do that?

Perhaps she was busy with other matters. Who knows? Who cares? We can say with absolute certainty that Peter was married.
 
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bbbbbbb

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Maybe Wikipedia can give us the answer on Peter's martial status. After all, Wikipedia is quoted like gospel in this thread.^_^

Hardly. However, Wikipedia does provide a much better basis for discussion than hearsay and opinion, don't you think?
 
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kepha31

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