January, 15 2013

For Immediate Release
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Over 400 Catholics in 42 dioceses contact, meet with Bishops about priest shortage crisis
Request discussion of optional celibacy, women deacons at Rome ad limina visits

CLEVELAND, OH In 2012, over 400 concerned Catholics contacted forty-two U.S. dioceses to discuss the severity of the priest shortage, married priests and women deacons.  Bishops were asked to raise these issues during their upcoming ad limina visits in Rome. Ad limina means “to the threshold” of Peter and Paul. Each Catholic bishop must travel to Rome every five years to report on the state of his diocese. U.S. visits extended from November 2011 through May 2012.

“This represents a massive good faith attempt by hundreds of U.S. Catholics who are gravely concerned about future of Catholic sacramental life and parish integrity, given the severity of the priest shortage,” said FutureChurch Executive Director, Sr. Christine Schenk. “One heartfelt letter from Catholics in a New England diocese was typical of many:

I am writing on behalf of myself and three other faithful friends of the church to request an appointment to discuss our concerns about local parishes and staffing in our diocese. We have dwindling numbers of priests. We have seen vibrant parishes closing, or being merged while our overworked priests struggle to effectively manage our parishes. “

All told, faithful Catholics succeeded in obtaining in-person meetings in seventeen dioceses. Of these, twelve were held with bishop ordinaries and five with the chancellor or other official representing the bishop. All meetings were cordial and most lasted about an hour.

Executive Summary of outcomes and comprehensive verbatim accounts of meetings and written correspondence available at http://www.futurechurch.org/fpm/optcel/adlimina/report.htm

Optional celibacy discussion outcomes. Six bishops expressed openness to dialogue about optional celibacy with three favoring it and three willing to talk about it. However only one bishop was willing to discuss optional celibacy at his Rome ad limina visit. Five bishops and three diocesan officials appeared closed to any consideration of optional celibacy as a way to address the shortage of priests.

Women deacon discussion outcomes. Substantially more bishops, eleven to be exact, expressed some level of openness to dialogue about women deacons with six favoring it, and five willing to discuss it. Three expressed willingness to suggest the desirability of extending the diaconate to women in Rome. One bishop and one diocesan official registered no support for women deacons.

According to Schenk, “Even though the number of bishops who said they were open to dialogue is small, it’s important to remember Jesus’ parable about the mustard seed. Sometimes it only takes a little bit to catalyze a big change.”

Of the 25 dioceses where a meeting was requested but did not occur, six bishops cited time constraints suggesting meeting at a later time and/or providing other avenues for conveying information. Five bishops categorically refused to meet and eleven did not respond at all to phone or written correspondence.

“All in all, the efforts and meetings represent a good start,” said FutureChurch board member, Bill Daly. “Still, I am extremely disappointed that of 42 good faith attempts to reach out to U.S. Bishops about a matter of grave concern for the future of Catholic sacramental life, so many bishops either did not respond or simply refused to meet.”

“We will continue to encourage and support all Catholics seeking dialogue with their bishops about the unfolding crisis in priestly ministry,” said Schenk who noted that discussion resources are available at www.futurechurch.org

The initiative was coordinated by FutureChurch after the organization published an Open Letter to US Bishops about the priest shortage crisis. According to a Georgetown University 2008 Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate study, half of 19,302 active U.S. diocesan priests plan to retire by 2019. In six years, only 13,500 active diocesan priests will be available to serve 18,000 U.S. parishes, presuming ordinations remain constant, as they have for over a decade. The letter was published in the November 7, 2011 issue of the Jesuit weekly, America. It attracted over 6300 signers and was supported by 14 church renewal organizations.

The FutureChurch board, staff and Optional Celibacy committee felt the 2012 ad limina visits would provide an excellent opportunity to engage bishops about the priest shortage. Serious declines in numbers are already present in some dioceses as evidenced by massive parish closings or mergers. Severe shortages loom in others.

“The 2012 experience can help FutureChurch and like-minded organizations prepare to more effectively engage bishops on key problems facing the church in 2017 and 2018,” said Daly. “Bishops may be more willing then to engage in dialog since the next five years will move the U.S. Church closer to the looming priest retirement cliff.”

Executive Summary of outcomes and comprehensive verbatim accounts of meetings and written correspondence available at http://www.futurechurch.org/fpm/optcel/adlimina/report.htm

Open Letter and list of supporting organizations available at http://www.futurechurch.org/fpm/optcel/openletter/

About FutureChurch Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, FutureChurch is a national coalition of 3,500 parish centered Catholics striving 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. FutureChurch is a nonprofit organization that makes presentations throughout the country, distributes education, advocacy and prayer resources and recruits activists who work for changes that will provide all Roman Catholics the opportunity to participate fully in Church life and leadership..