Word: walshs
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...Walsh, a postdoctoral fellow in the Kennedy School of Government’s International Security Program, said the country’s response “should and must be driven by the facts of the case...
...Officially, the Church is very much opposed to rentapriest.com. "This is a mockery. It?s an absolute joke," says Sister Mary Ann Walsh, spokesperson for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, D.C. "This is a group of people who are former priests who are not happy with their status as former priests, and so they?ve decided to form this organization that mocks the priesthood...
...Walsh has particularly strong words for the originator of the term rentapriest.com. "The name itself doesn?t inspire serious people to take them seriously." (Haggett says she thought the name would be a "good way to attract media attention.") But objections from many in the Catholic establishment to the site - and its mission - go well beyond semantics. The concept of laicized priests taking on the role of active priests is, Walsh insists, in direct conflict with Catholic doctrine. "Either you?re a priest in union with a diocese or you?re not. To suggest otherwise is wrong," she says...
...According to Walsh, the Church is well aware of the priest shortage - and leaders are taking "appropriate" actions to reverse the trend. "Right now we have about 35,000 people studying to become lay ministers," she says. "Once they?ve completed their studies, they can take on many of the duties traditionally taken on by priests. They won?t be able to perform the sacraments, like marriages and funerals, but they can bring communion to the sick...
...While Sister Walsh and the Vatican are not at all pleased with the goings on at rentapriest.com, not everyone in the Church shares their point of view. Louise Haggett remembers the time she shared a ride from the airport with a bishop. She couldn?t resist posing an ostensibly rhetorical question. "What would you do," Haggett began, "if we put a married priest in your parish?" The bishop replied gravely, "Well, I?d have to put an end to it, I suppose." Haggett pressed on. "But what if no one complained?" she asked. The bishop paused before answering sotto voce...