Priest Shortage a Fruit of a Lack of Faith

So Say the Synod Fathers to the Media. Zenit News has the story:

Participants in the Synod of Bishops agree that the lack of priests is a big concern for the Church, but that it is a symptom of a problem rather than a cause.

Synodal fathers stressed this point during a press conference today as they made a preliminary evaluation of the working sessions of the synod on the Eucharist. The three-week synod ends Oct. 23.

Cardinal Telesphore Toppo, archbishop of Ranchi, India, one of the assembly's co-presidents, answered a journalist's question on the possibility that the synod might abolish the discipline of the Latin-rite Church and allow the ordination of married men to resolve the crisis of vocations.

"The lack of priests is not the cause, but a symptom," he said. "The real problem is the crisis of faith, as the priesthood is the fruit of the community's faith. Without faith, there are no priests, no vocations."

Another synod co-president, Cardinal Juan Sandoval Íñiguez, archbishop of Guadalajara, Mexico, then spoke.

"The lack of priests is an effect," he said. "The cause is the lack of faith, of spiritual vision, of transcendence. All this may be summarized in one word: secularization."

"Above all we must preach, take recourse to the Word of God and explain it not only with wisdom and eloquence, but with our testimony, so that it will reach hearts," the Mexican prelate added.

"Viri probati"

"Recourse to 'viri probati' [married men of proven Christian life], mentioned by some in the auditorium, is a problem, not a solution, " Cardinal Sandoval contended, mentioning the case of the Catholic Eastern Churches in which this custom exists and which creates difficulties.

"They do not have the same time to study, for their ministry, as they must take care of their wife and children," he added. "Sometimes they get divorced."

Retired Bishop Sofron Stefan Mudry of Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine, a Greek-Catholic diocese with married priests, spoke on the issue during the same press conference.

In his diocese, 360 of the 400 priests are married, and he acknowledged that the situation of married clerics is "very difficult."

A friend of mine once said that vocations to the Priesthood were at least thirty years away. He noted that the first priority is to renew the vocation to holiness that all lay people share by virtue of their baptism. Then, he said, as marriage and families become more deeply rooted in the presence of the Lord, children from such families will answer the vocation they've been given.

In other words, vocations are in crisis not because the Spirit refuses to call more men to the priesthood. The priest shortage happens because too few men answer the call they receive.

I think he's on to something. Isn't it interesting that religious orders in the US that adhere closely to the Faith (and remain obedient to the magisterium) have overflowing seminaries. Meanwhile, religious orders that follow the "Spirit of Vatican II" and insist on being the final arbiters of revelation have fewer and fewer candidates coming to them. Perhaps the Faith expressed by these religious attract men from families more firmly rooted in the Faith to respond.

If this thesis holds, then the continued holiness, formation and evangelization of lay people must become the Church's priorities. This will require more authentic catechisis, prayer and service from all lay people. And as more and more lay people experience that metanoia that's so important in their spiritual lives, they will grow in holiness. Soon, their witness will begin to transform their lives and the lives of those around them. Watch that ripple through all of their relationships: work places, communities, friendships, civic associations and more. As this influence grows, the culture will slowly transform into one that more readily respects Faith. And as more and more lay people grow strong in the Lord, then more will answer his call to serve his people.

Yes, obstacles abound. Our culture of death worships instant gratification, Absolute individualism and a worldview rooted in materialism. But the culture of Ancient Rome in the time of Christ, especially within the walls of the Eternal City, was a similar one of practical atheism and hedonism. Somehow, Christ and his twelve Apostles managed to convert those first members of the Church. Indeed, Christ's first disciples, whose Faith was as small as a mustard seed, somehow managed to create a movement toward our Master that today commands the religious loyalty of two billion people. With God, all things are possible.

Whether we like it or not, the presentation of our Lord to a secular world remains the responsibility of lay people. Christ has chosen to live and work through us; people will encounter him in us to the extent that we live our lives in accordance to his will. They'll see him in us when we meet them where they are and love them as they deserve: with the love God has for us all. Surely this will evangelize more souls than whining from the sidelines, waiting for Bishops and Priests to perform our mission for us. Some of us may moan all they like that we'd have more priests if only Rome would allow viri probati to receive Holy Orders to the Presbyteriat. Meanwhile, our brothers drown in the secularism we've allowed to flood our world for far too long. It's time to bear the light and love God has given us through Christ Jesus. Let's leave the gnashing of teeth to those most used to it; the world needs us ministering to them. Let's roll up our sleeves and get going!