Hey CORPUS colleagues,
Going through some old CORPUS materials and came across a piece I wrote for the 1996 Renewal of membership.
"We are confident that the reforms we seek will occur. Although the Vatican continues to resist change, support among the laity and clergy has never been stronger. Despite the hard line taken by the pope (JPII), more and more bishops and cardinals around the world insist that the issue be addressed. It is increasingly clear that the pastoral needs of the people can never be met with an exclusively male celibate clergy..................."
In the Preface for our 1994 Directory the Board wrote under STRATEGIES FOR THE FUTURE
* By 1995 the utilization of non-clerical priests in sacramental ministry as official policy throughout the Catholic Church
* By 2000 the implementation of a policy of ordaining qualified men and women, whether married or celibate, to the priesthood.
* By 2000 the establishment of a national synod to give voice to Catholics in every diocese and parish."
We obviously misjudged the ability of JPII and Benedict to stonewall any changes around this and we're essentially right back where we were 30+ years ago regarding policy of the Institutional Church despite the continued shrinking of clergy available to provide sacraments.
Here in the Seattle Archdiocese the number of active diocesan priests has dropped from 180 when I was ordained in 1968 to less than 100 today despite a doubling of the Catholic population. Of that 100, over 25% are imported priests from around the world who do not understand U.S. culture and often have marginal English........... The Archdiocese has closed several parishes including the one we attend in Central Seattle with more closure/mergers on going...........
I'm sensing that Pope Francis is getting more aggressive about change/renewal lately, and I think his recent medical challenge was a reminder that he won't be around forever and it's time to Kick Ass before he dies. Case in point is his recent reversal of Benedict's policy on Latin Masses..............I'm sure he hoped to be able to wait until the old German croaked before doing that, but he finally saw that he couldn't stall around any longer. I'm hoping he will become more aggressive on other reform issues as he senses his limited time to act.........
Pat
I assume this is from Pat Callaghan. But perhaps you could credit it..Millie Dosh
ReplyDeleteMembers of the Church have already been living the vision that CORPUS had in 994. CITI (Celibacy Is The Issue) was inaugurated by a Catholic lay woman, Louise Haggett. She and her organization made personal telephone calls to many of the married priests and invited them to serve Catholics who felt disenfranchised from the Roman Church. Many of these priests took up the invitation and have been presiding at Masses, baptizing babies and adults, officiating at marriages, and founding or serving at intentional faith communities. The Roman Catholic Women Priest organization has opened up the doors to female priests and bishops. The women priests have gathered communities of worshippers and minister to them. Perhaps the hierarchy of the Roman Church will one day recognize the validity of these various ministries.
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