19/02/02
Vocation vacancies for white collar jobs challenges the Church
By Rónán Mullen
OF all the characteristics possessed by the Bishop of Killaloe, Dr Willie Walsh, it is his capacity to make highly imaginative, and sometimes controversial, gestures which most sets him apart from fellow priests and bishops.
It was Dr Walsh who scored the biggest hit of the Church's Jubilee Year when he braved strong winds, rain and hailstones to make a pilgrimage walk around his diocese in December, 1999.
He did this in reparation for the wrongs committed in the name of the Church, including sexual and physical abuse by Church personnel. The gesture touched a chord in the hearts of people and the bishop was joined by hundreds of pilgrims each day during his three-week tour.
Less popular with some people was Dr Walsh's decision to champion the cause of Travelling people in his diocese. In 1997 he invited them to stay on the grounds of his house in Ennis, and the following year he gave shelter to a family which had been evicted twice from sites in the town.
Last week he told a local newspaper, The Nenagh Guardian, that he would have no difficulty if the Church decided to ordain women as priests, but he didn't see such a change occurring in his lifetime.
The bishop's view will be shared by those who believe the Church can no longer afford its ban on women priests, now that vocations to the priesthood have hit an all time lowin Ireland.
Last year, only 22 men were ordained in Maynooth. In the 1950s the number of men ordained would have run into several hundred per year. Already many parishes have lost a priest and older priests are shouldering a heavier workload at a time when other people are enjoying their retirement. A number of seminaries have closed and students for the Dublin Archdiocese now study in Maynooth instead of Clonliffe College.
But for Pope John Paul, it is not a question of not wanting to ordain women. Instead, the Pope believes he doesn't have authority from the Holy Spirit to do so. In his Apostolic Letter (Ordinatio Sacerdotalis On the Ordination of Priests) the Pope wrote: "The Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful." The Church is holding firm to the view that since Christ didn't ordain women, neither should bishops. According to theologian Rosemary Swords, the challenge for today's Catholics "is to make sense of why Jesus instituted a male-only priesthood, particularly given the new focus on women and rights".
Swords argues the sexual differentiation between men and women is itself part of the Church's sacramental theology. In particular, maleness is a sacramental symbol for the person of Christ and femaleness represents the Church, traditionally referred to as the bride of Christ.
Such thinking won't cut much ice with those who regard the priesthood as just another job, and one which should be available on an equal opportunities basis. But, as Swords says: "Though the church andsociety both say Yes to women's equality, the Catholic Church is playing a prophetic role by insisting on the richness of differing and complementary roles." So the Church must find another solution to its vocations shortage. One possibility is to bring in priests from other countries where vocations numbers are up. It is a little known fact that since the present Pope took office in 1978, the number of vocations has risen world wide by 65% thanks to the growth of the Church in Africa and Latin America.
Some Irish dioceses have turned to advertising to get young men thinking of the priesthood. A few years ago the Dublin diocese ran an award-winning campaign called the Men in Black and recently produced a promotional video called 'Curriculum Vitae' featuring the life and ministry of Fr John Kelly, now a chaplain in Tallaght Hospital.
Last year, the Passionist Order ran a series of posters and radio ads under the heading of Passion for Life. Meanwhile, the Kerry diocese told its flock that "Some white collar jobs are more challenging than others." These campaigns will not bring in vocations overnight, Church spokesmen say, but they are part of a wider strategy to get people thinking about the priesthood and the work that priests do. They point to the scandals which have tarnished the image of the clergy and say that the ads are a positive reminder of the supportive role that priests have played in most people's lives.
While the Church insists it will not ordain women or married men, last year the Irish bishops applied to Rome for permission to ordain married men as deacons. Whereas, in recent times, the diaconate was a stepping stone to priesthood, there is a long history of married deacons in the Church. These acted as assistants to bishops in carrying out the pastoral mission of the Church.
Already the diocese of Boston has 200 such deacons, who can officiate at weddings, conduct funeral services, visit the sick, distribute Holy Communion - and preach. Although the Bible refers to some women as deacons, Church authorities believe the sacramental roles of deacons have always been filledby men.
But while the bishops stress priests are essential for celebrating the sacraments, they also feel the vocations crisis might spur lay people to find their true role in the Church.
In October 1998, the parish of Killanena-Flagmount in Willie Walsh's diocese of Killaloe became the first Irish parish without aresident priest. A parish council of 16 members was elected from a pool of over 100 nominations.
"The key message of the Second Vatican Council was the call of all Christians to holiness. One of the problems in Irish Catholic life was that lay people left everything to the priest," says Fr Brendan Quinlivan, a communications officer for the diocese of Killaloe and formerly a priest in the parish of Killanena.
"Priests themselves may have been to blame for this but our challenge now is to persuade Catholics that most of the Church's work must be done by lay people."
"In future a lot of work formerly done by priests will be done by a committed group of lay people, who will be responsible for spreading the Gospel in their parishes.
"But we will always need prieststo lead the community in the sacraments," said Fr Quinlivan.
The Irish Examiner
Vocation vacancies for white collar jobs challenges the Church
By Rónán Mullen
OF all the characteristics possessed by the Bishop of Killaloe, Dr Willie Walsh, it is his capacity to make highly imaginative, and sometimes controversial, gestures which most sets him apart from fellow priests and bishops.
It was Dr Walsh who scored the biggest hit of the Church's Jubilee Year when he braved strong winds, rain and hailstones to make a pilgrimage walk around his diocese in December, 1999.
He did this in reparation for the wrongs committed in the name of the Church, including sexual and physical abuse by Church personnel. The gesture touched a chord in the hearts of people and the bishop was joined by hundreds of pilgrims each day during his three-week tour.
Less popular with some people was Dr Walsh's decision to champion the cause of Travelling people in his diocese. In 1997 he invited them to stay on the grounds of his house in Ennis, and the following year he gave shelter to a family which had been evicted twice from sites in the town.
Last week he told a local newspaper, The Nenagh Guardian, that he would have no difficulty if the Church decided to ordain women as priests, but he didn't see such a change occurring in his lifetime.
The bishop's view will be shared by those who believe the Church can no longer afford its ban on women priests, now that vocations to the priesthood have hit an all time lowin Ireland.
Last year, only 22 men were ordained in Maynooth. In the 1950s the number of men ordained would have run into several hundred per year. Already many parishes have lost a priest and older priests are shouldering a heavier workload at a time when other people are enjoying their retirement. A number of seminaries have closed and students for the Dublin Archdiocese now study in Maynooth instead of Clonliffe College.
But for Pope John Paul, it is not a question of not wanting to ordain women. Instead, the Pope believes he doesn't have authority from the Holy Spirit to do so. In his Apostolic Letter (Ordinatio Sacerdotalis On the Ordination of Priests) the Pope wrote: "The Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful." The Church is holding firm to the view that since Christ didn't ordain women, neither should bishops. According to theologian Rosemary Swords, the challenge for today's Catholics "is to make sense of why Jesus instituted a male-only priesthood, particularly given the new focus on women and rights".
Swords argues the sexual differentiation between men and women is itself part of the Church's sacramental theology. In particular, maleness is a sacramental symbol for the person of Christ and femaleness represents the Church, traditionally referred to as the bride of Christ.
Such thinking won't cut much ice with those who regard the priesthood as just another job, and one which should be available on an equal opportunities basis. But, as Swords says: "Though the church andsociety both say Yes to women's equality, the Catholic Church is playing a prophetic role by insisting on the richness of differing and complementary roles." So the Church must find another solution to its vocations shortage. One possibility is to bring in priests from other countries where vocations numbers are up. It is a little known fact that since the present Pope took office in 1978, the number of vocations has risen world wide by 65% thanks to the growth of the Church in Africa and Latin America.
Some Irish dioceses have turned to advertising to get young men thinking of the priesthood. A few years ago the Dublin diocese ran an award-winning campaign called the Men in Black and recently produced a promotional video called 'Curriculum Vitae' featuring the life and ministry of Fr John Kelly, now a chaplain in Tallaght Hospital.
Last year, the Passionist Order ran a series of posters and radio ads under the heading of Passion for Life. Meanwhile, the Kerry diocese told its flock that "Some white collar jobs are more challenging than others." These campaigns will not bring in vocations overnight, Church spokesmen say, but they are part of a wider strategy to get people thinking about the priesthood and the work that priests do. They point to the scandals which have tarnished the image of the clergy and say that the ads are a positive reminder of the supportive role that priests have played in most people's lives.
While the Church insists it will not ordain women or married men, last year the Irish bishops applied to Rome for permission to ordain married men as deacons. Whereas, in recent times, the diaconate was a stepping stone to priesthood, there is a long history of married deacons in the Church. These acted as assistants to bishops in carrying out the pastoral mission of the Church.
Already the diocese of Boston has 200 such deacons, who can officiate at weddings, conduct funeral services, visit the sick, distribute Holy Communion - and preach. Although the Bible refers to some women as deacons, Church authorities believe the sacramental roles of deacons have always been filledby men.
But while the bishops stress priests are essential for celebrating the sacraments, they also feel the vocations crisis might spur lay people to find their true role in the Church.
In October 1998, the parish of Killanena-Flagmount in Willie Walsh's diocese of Killaloe became the first Irish parish without aresident priest. A parish council of 16 members was elected from a pool of over 100 nominations.
"The key message of the Second Vatican Council was the call of all Christians to holiness. One of the problems in Irish Catholic life was that lay people left everything to the priest," says Fr Brendan Quinlivan, a communications officer for the diocese of Killaloe and formerly a priest in the parish of Killanena.
"Priests themselves may have been to blame for this but our challenge now is to persuade Catholics that most of the Church's work must be done by lay people."
"In future a lot of work formerly done by priests will be done by a committed group of lay people, who will be responsible for spreading the Gospel in their parishes.
"But we will always need prieststo lead the community in the sacraments," said Fr Quinlivan.
The Irish Examiner