Why is there a priest shortage

[Fantine]

Perhaps there is a priest shortage today because God, in His wisdom, wanted to empower the laity.

Perhaps He wants us to band together in small church communities and pray together and support one another.

Perhaps He wants His Church to grow in a direction in which there is greater collegiality and in which ordinary people give input into how their parishes and their dioceses and their Church is run....

It could all be part of God's plan to empower the laity.

Pretty cool, huh? Our God is an awesome God.

 

[WarriorAngel]

Perhaps there is a priest shortage today because God, in His wisdom, wanted to empower the laity.

Perhaps He wants us to band together in small church communities and pray together and support one another.

Perhaps He wants His Church to grow in a direction in which there is greater collegiality and in which ordinary people give input into how their parishes and their dioceses and their Church is run....

It could all be part of God's plan to empower the laity.

Pretty cool, huh? Our God is an awesome God.

Empower the laity?

So, telling Peter to feed His sheep was not necessary because the sheep will and should feed the shepherd He choose?

Christ left choosen men to hold the keys, to feed the sheep and to bind or loosed. [forgive or not forgive]

So how does the followers become the leaders?

The laity does not, nor will have power in His Church. The Church is His power to help us. Not the other way around.

IMHO.

 

[Fantine]

Everything is a matter of balance.

Perhaps the Church has become too institutionalized. Perhaps people have lost touch with the concept of "we are the Church."

Perhaps there are too many 'Sunday Catholics,' and the priest shortage has inspired them to step up to bat and volunteer in different ministries.

This can really be an exciting time for people who want to take their faith to the next step....

 

[BAFRIEND]

Perhaps there is a priest shortage today because God, in His wisdom, wanted to empower the laity.

Perhaps He wants us to band together in small church communities and pray together and support one another.

Perhaps He wants His Church to grow in a direction in which there is greater collegiality and in which ordinary people give input into how their parishes and their dioceses and their Church is run....

It could all be part of God's plan to empower the laity.

Pretty cool, huh? Our God is an awesome God.

So, God wants us to become protestants ?

 

[BAFRIEND]

We have one, as well as a burse club that funds the seminarians tuition.

Cool.

 

[Brother Simon]

The culture of where I live, in the bible belt of America, two things are expected of every young person:

1. To get a college degree.
2. To get married.

The priesthood and celibacy are never talked about, and are not highly regarded. In my graduating class of highschool I knew 6 other "Catholics" and I was the only one who was active in my faith.

The American culture is a protestant culture, and there's virtually no escaping it for our youth. I want nothing more than to be a priest, and yet when I think about 20 years from now I think about being married and having kids, just because that's what's been engraved in my head.

With love,
Simon

 

[jbg9]

Maybe the shortage is because men want to get married instead of becoming priests?

 

[AMDG]

Maybe the shortage is because men want to get married instead of becoming priests?

I guess that technically, priests are married--to the Church. And of course, Deacons can be married (need their wife's permission to become a Deacon). Hmmm--I don't see a whole bunch of Deacons, so the "wanting to be married" doesn't seem to hold water.

BTW Eastern Catholic rites have a different discipline. They have a married priesthood. I think that the priest already has to be married before being invested with Holy Orders and he may not advance to Bishop (already has to split his time between two allegiances: his wife and the Church.)