A drop of over 43% of priests in active ministry since 1995 – no crisis

The National Catholic Reporter has a story about an open letter on the state of the church and priestly ministry in Germany that a group of 11 German priests from the Cologne archdiocese have written urging the church to open the priesthood to both men and women and to make priestly celibacy voluntary.
Meanwhile Archbishop of Armagh, Eamon Martin, writes about his visit to Rome, “No doubt Pope Francis and the other curial officials will be interested to learn how we are facing the current challenges of a decline in Mass attendance in Ireland and in the number of vocations to the priesthood and the religious life.
I, and my fellow bishops, will be able to share with them the resilience of our priests and religious under increased pressure and workload, as well as the tremendous generosity and kindness of the faithful towards us.
We will be able to discuss the seeds of renewal and new growth in catechesis, lay involvement, intentional discipleship and pastoral outreach that are emerging all over the country.

Brendan Hoban, writing in the Western People, takes issue with those who would ‘adjudicate infallibly’ on who was catholic enough to have identified themselves as catholic in the recent census.
‘Usually this rigid definition of what constitutes a Catholic … comes not from agnostic or atheistic sources but from very conservative, ultra-traditional Catholics who are impatient with what they regard as any perceived diminution in Catholicism. Usually liberal media .. tend to be more amenable to those who fail to reach the ideal, apart obviously from Catholics, for whom a new and worrying intolerance is developing.’

This article by the late Sean Fagan appeared in ‘Doctrine and Life’ in March 2001.
Sincere thanks to Bernard Treacy OP, Director, Dominican Publications, 42 Parnell Square, Dublin 1 for permission to publish this article by the late Sean Fagan. www.dominicanpublications.com

Thanks to Sean O’Conaill for the suggestion to publish the article as a tribute to Sean and for providing an electronic version of the article.

Angela Hanley shares her experience of the 18th Annual LGBT Christmas Carol Service, that she says ” turned out to be the spiritual event of the year for me.”

“As I sat there I thought: ‘Surely, this is all part of the meaning and mystery of the Incarnation? That God became human unconditionally. To be LGBT is also to be wholly graced by God who became incarnate for all humanity, not just a select few, to show us by words and example how to be properly human.’ “

“I felt warmth, welcome, acceptance, joy, a deep sense of the presence of God and the powerful sense of community – not a gathering of individuals who happen to be in the same place because of a common belief – but a real, joyful sense of community. In other words, it truly was ekklesia in its fullest sense.”