Sample postcard to a bishop
Dear Bishop _____________________________________,
I love the Eucharist, which is central to my worship life as a Catholic. As a faithful Catholic in the diocese of _________________, I am greatly concerned that millions of Catholics are denied Eucharist because of the worldwide priest shortage. I urge the U.S. Bishops and Cardinals attending the 2005 International Synod on Eucharist to:
- Focus on solutions to the priest shortage so that every Catholic in the world can celebrate Eucharist at least weekly.
- Model our Eucharistic practice according to Jesus' inclusive table-sharing as described in the Gospels.
- Emphasize all the ways Christ's Real Presence is with us in addition to the sacred elements.
- Recognize that the Eucharist is more central to Catholicism than mandatory celibacy.
- Recognize that women are the 'Body of Christ' as much as men.
I pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit on Synod proceedings.
Name____________________________________________________
To ensure our sacramental life, I heartily support the following immediate steps to alleviate the ministerial crisis caused by the priest shortage:
- End mandatory celibacy as a requirement for diocesan priests.
- Welcome married priests back to active ministry.
- Open the diaconate to the tens of thousands of qualified women serving the church right now.
I have also sent this postcard to the Chairperson of the Bishops Committee on Liturgy, Cardinal Francis E. George.
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