Word: priesthoods
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Many Catholics believe the time has come for the hierarchy to consider ordaining married men, or perhaps even women. As the synod was concluding, an Italian newsmagazine poll reported that 53% of the country's Catholics favor a married priesthood. In the U.S., priest-sociologist Andrew Greeley, himself no opponent of celibacy, claims that a change in the requirement "would probably lead to the ordination of 1,500 more priests a year...
Until recently, the church responded to clerical transgressions by sweeping them under the altar. Erring priests were simply shuttled from parish to parish; victims, out of embarrassment or reverence for the priesthood, often conspired in that silence. Now the church is beginning to confront the problem, partly under the pressure of burgeoning lawsuits filed by victims of priestly misconduct. Court judgments against the clergy already run to about $300 million...
...many clerics betraying their vows? For one thing, some psychologists believe, those who are drawn to the priesthood today are more likely to be psychologically immature, homosexual or unsure of their sexuality. Forty years ago, a religious life was seen as both a higher calling and a route to advancement. But the pool of candidates for the priesthood has been steadily shrinking, especially since the advent of the sexual revolution in the '60s. Since 1965, the number of seminarians has dropped from 49,000 to 6,200. Moreover, seminary instructors have focused on spiritual training and have ignored normal human...
...ever vocal Anglican left too appears ready to accept the new Archbishop. After all, Carey has raised $900,000 in his diocese for inner-city aid and has written, "I have never found it easy to believe in God." Moreover, Carey strongly supports priesthood for women; he has even asked priests in Bath and Wells to consider resigning if they oppose women's ordination. His appointment, in fact, is read as a signal that church leaders and Thatcher's Tory government assume that women priests will get the go-ahead during the new Archbishop's reign. On the other hand...
...bishops' conference, makes a gloomy assessment: if current directions are not reversed, by the year 2005 there will be 74 million Catholics and fewer than 34,000 priests, or one priest for every 2,200 parishioners. The causes for the continued decline: fewer and fewer men are finding the priesthood attractive as a career, and those who are already ordained are resigning at the alarming rate of 37% a year. Death and retirement will also claim their toll. The average age of priests, which was 47 in 1966, is over 51 today and climbing...