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Where have the seminarians gone?
But why? The term, "Irish Catholic" is part of the American vocabulary. From the Kennedys to Looney Tunes, the Irishman with his brogue and his rosary are so embedded in our consciousness that they have become stereotypes.
Two things have happened to change this. One goes back several generations: since Vatican II, the enrollment of seminaries in Ireland has dropped by 75%. This is forcing the Irish church to consider consolidating their parishes and sell some church buildings. It would have a negative impact on the preservation of Ireland's cultural heritage.
As an example of this drop in seminary numbers, in the Diocese of Dublin, 46% of the priests there are eighty years old or older, while two--that's two--are under 36 years of age. You don't have to be a "rocket surgeon" to realize that there is going to be a severe shortage of Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Dublin in pretty short order.
Among the Catholic hierarchy in Ireland, two things are being discussed, mostly in a positive way, and it isn't any surprise. First, they are considering the obvious disincentive of celibacy, and recommending that marriage be allowed for priests. Second, they agree that it is possible for women to have a vocation to the priesthood, and that they might be considered as candidates for ordination.
This is no surprise. Living as they do next door to the Anglo-Catholic Church of England, it isn't difficult to see that the institution of marriage has not done any damage to the church on the other side of the Irish Sea. Of couse, at the present time their discussion is falling on deaf ears in the Vatican. But the overall lack of priests may just set that conversation in motion.
I can hardly wait to hear the yelling from the converted Anglicans who went to Rome to escape from women priests, but I guess I'll have to wait for that.
For more info: check the story on Christianity.com: they have the details about the Irish church's reputation being "in tatters" as the result of an ongoing investigation of priest abuse that reveals more and more corruption. We won't see the end of this terrible saga for some time yet. You might also want to view the stunning movie, Doubt, that was produced last year, for an idea of what this was like inside the Church.
Comments
Those responsible for all this are the hierarchy and clergy who have seen themselves above the People of God, and have used and abused them. Do they not know their own scriptures? Jesus warned them severely about this:
Matthew 18: 6-7 "6 ‘If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of stumbling-blocks! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling-block comes!"
One doesn't need to be a rocket scientist--or a theologian for that matter to see what's gone wrong. Cultural Catholicism falls far short of truly spiritual Catholicism/Christianity. Europe, converted by the sword, has several culturally Catholic countries...but few believers within them!
These shepherds need to do penance & get out among real people to share the Gospel, not wield pow
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