Word: priestless
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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That pronouncement hasn't kept women away from the altar. In the U.S. they read from Scripture, lead general prayers and distribute Communion. Pragmatism has been a persuasive agent for change. With the ranks of priests severely diminished, some women in so-called priestless parishes conduct Communion services on their own, refraining from the Eucharistic prayer and consecration. "Some of these women are well intentioned, but the bulk of them are power-hungry witches," says a Vatican functionary. "They have no concern for the church and for souls...
...hierarchy has been appointing lay people, nuns and ordained deacons to take charge of parishes that lack priests. And last November Catholic bishops approved rites for Sunday worship that can be led by nonordained parish leaders in priestless congregations. To Schoenherr, a former priest, such measures are no more than stopgaps. As he sees it, the chief problem is celibacy. Eventually, he maintains, the church "will have to accept the ordination of married men in order to recruit and retain." But that is not likely to happen any time soon. Although a majority of American Catholics believe that priests ought...