For Immediate Release March 13, 2007
Contacts:
Sr. Christine Schenk (FutureChurch)
011-39-339-564-1658 (March 14--23, 2007 Rome Cell)
216-228-0869 (office)
Linda Pieczynski (Call To Action) 630-655-8783 630-399-6924 (cell)
Emily Hoag (U.S. FutureChurch) 216-228-0869
William Wisnewski (U.S. FutureChurch ) 330-297-7624 (H) 330-297-4153 (w)
Sr. Mary Ann Flannery SC (U.S. FutureChurch) 216-397-4378 (w)
Synod Exhortation Ensures Eucharist Only For Elite
All-Male Celibate Priesthood Perpetuates Sacramental Famine
"It is very sad that in the final analysis the male celibate priesthood is the highest value - more important than all of the Pope’s lofty, beautiful reflections on the Eucharist.” said Sr. Christine Schenk of FutureChurch. “The exhortation ends up encouraging a Eucharist for the elite, rather than for all of God’s hungry people...especially those in the developing world.”
“The loss of access to the Mass is devastating to our Catholic people, “ said Linda Pieczynski of Call To Action. “While so many parishes are closing and clustering in the U.S. it is much worse in Honduras where there is only one priest for 45,000 Catholics. Catholics in Latin America have Mass once a year if they are lucky.”
Schenk, was in Rome in October 2005 as an independent observer at the synod and coincidentally is in Rome now, leading a pilgrimage to archaeological sites of early women leaders from March 13-23.
“While I am moved by Benedict’s lucid theology of Eucharist,” she said, “in the end, it is twice as painful to think this priceless treasure is being held hostage by such a narrow view of priesthood. People don’t need to go hungry for the Eucharist when we have such an abundance of married and female priestly calls.”
In the two years leading up to the synod, FutureChurch and Call To Action surveyed priests in 58 U.S. dioceses and found that 67% of respondants supported open discussion of mandatory celibacy and many spontaneous called for opening ordination to women, beginning withe the diaconate. The groups also collected 35,000 signatures on a petition asking the synod to discuss mandatory celibacy and female deacons as possible solutions to the priest shortage.
Over the past 24 years, according to Vatican statistics, the world’s Catholic population increased by 42 per cent to 1.11 billion but Catholic priests decreased by 2% ( 8,150) to 405, 450.
Because of the priest shortage, U.S. dioceses will be forced to reconfigure parishes well into the foreseeable future. According to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), 75% of the 18,000 active diocesan priests in the U.S. are over 55 years old, but the U.S. is only ordaining about 350 new diocesan priests each year. In 20 years, presuming ordinations remain constant, there could be as few as 11,500 active diocesan priests for our 19,000 U.S. parishes. At the same time, numbers of deacons and paid lay ministers have increased significantly to 14,000 and 30,000 respectively.
CARA says Africa has one priest for every 4,700 Catholics. In Central and South America there is roughly one priest for every 7,000 Catholics. In North America there is one priest for every 1,576 Catholics and in Europe there is one priest for every 1,386 Catholics.
Since 1996, FutureChurch and Call To Action have been working to educate about the danger of losing the Mass and sacraments as one consequence of doing nothing about the priest shortage. Schenk herself has given educational programs about the priest shortage in over 100 U.S. dioceses.
Call to Action is a national organization of 25,000 laity, religious and clergy with its national office in Chicago and 41 local chapters. It advocates for reforms in the Catholic Church such as equality for women and homosexuals in the Church, optional celibacy for priests, more focus on the church's social teaching, and consultation with the Catholic people on church decision-making.
FutureChurch is a coalition of parish centered Catholics who seek the full participation of all Catholics in the life of the Church. FutureChurch strives to educate fellow Catholics about the seriousness of the priest shortage, the centrality of the Eucharist (the Mass), and the systemic inequality of women in the Catholic Church. It seeks to participate in formulating and expressing the Sensus Fidelium (the Spirit inspired beliefs of the faithful) through open, prayerful and enlightened dialogue with other Catholics locally and globally.
For Official Catholic Directory statistics for every U.S. diocese, and results of our survey of priests in 57 U.S. dioceses visit www.futurechurch.org
FutureChurch
17307 Madison Ave
Lakewood, Oh 44107
216-228-0869
216-228-4872 (fax)
FutureChurch
17307 Madison,
Cleveland, OH 44107
216-228-0869