So last week I had the privilege of watching the movie "Fishers of Men" which is a film promoting the priesthood. I got to thinking about why there seems to be a shortage of priests these days, particularly young priests, and what with the priest scandals that have happened rather recently- Fr. Alberto in particular. I compiled a list of my musings as to why there are such problems.
1. We don't pray for priests, seminarians, and for solid vocations in general nearly as much as we should. The work that those in the priesthood do is very hard and demanding. The devil also likes to go after them especially because of the role that they play as pastors and leaders in their congregation and to all of the faithful. He knows how important they are and if he can snatch away a priest or a potential priest that truly is called then this has a very significant effect on the church.
2. There is such horrible catechesis in so called catholic schools, parishes, youth groups, and especially in families. What with so few learning about the faith and what it really means, the beauty of the priesthood often fails to be seen. And what with catechists and even their families not living out the faith, then many young men don't realize what being catholic is all about and even leave the church.
3. Real manhood is greatly lacking and is under attack. How many positive male role models do young men have? Many of them have had negative relationships with their fathers. Some never even met him, perhaps at some point he abandoned the family, treated his mother with dishonor, worked so many hours that he ignored his wife and children, was abusive in some way, was distant, or made his son think that he wasn't good enough for him.
Manhood in our messed up world often means to see women as nothing more than objects to be used and lorded over or really that a man needs to have domination over people in general. They are taught to compete against others particularly against other men for whatever it is that they want no matter what the cost even at the price of morality and their own dignity and the dignity of others, so that they can be on top and have as many accomplishments as possible as far as the world goes for what a successful life is.
When are men ever taught God's vision of true manhood? How many men know what the masculine genius even is? When are they told that the root of the word masculine is "virtue" and when are they taught how to live that out? Since when are young men taught how to treat a woman with honor, which is apart of being a real man? We can see that they are not because of the prevalence of pornography, masturbation, hook ups, using and dominating over women often with violence, and the lack of the practice of making attempts to protect and stick up for them. We live in a world where we wonder who we are, search for meaning and fulfillment that we cannot find, and are looking for true love but we don't know how to go about any of this. In such an atmosphere being a real man is possible but not easy to say the least. In the words of one priest from the film Fishers of Men, "It takes a real man to be a priest." If manhood is so misunderstood no wonder there is such a shortage of priests.
4. Real womanhood is greatly lacking and under attack. This ties in very much with #3 in that men and women complement and bring out the best in each other. The feminine genius often teaches men what the masculine genius is and how to live it out and vice verse. Very much of the radical feminist movement that is so prevalent today is anti-man and anti-woman which causes a great deal of pain, confusion, disrespect, and all that is not love which everyone is truly longing for.
As it is said by Sister Joseph Andrew of the Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist when I heard her speak, that according to the Theology of the Body women, particularly female religious authentically living out true femininity helps to teach priests (and I'd personally like to add in men in general) how to live out their vocation. So if we really want to promote the priesthood, the influence of a female religious can significantly turn the tide.
5. We live in an all about me society and in it the sacrifices that a priest makes are seen as burdens. Afterall a great deal of time, effort, and patience is required and of course one must be celibate. So many men both young and old only see what they would be losing but not what they would be gaining. They have their eyes on the crosses along the way which is only the beginning but fail to see what lies at the end-The Resurrection.
6. We also live in a society where people are trying to take God more and more out of the world. It's typically seen as weird to show piety and to stick to one's religious beliefs despite popular opinion. Heck, being a solid catholic is being seen as really hard core, going against the grain. It's not easy being catholic and being as radical as becoming a priest is even more so. Even wearing the attire of a priest is bold for everyone can see who you are and what you are about. People see that you give your entire life to God. Because of their witness in the priestly wear many people come up to them asking their advice, paying them a complement for the work that they do, request that he hear their confession, and chat with them about Catholicism.
Many people bring up that if we got rid of the celibacy practice that the numbers of Catholic priests would greatly increase. True, there may be more but is that what is best for the Church or would that cause more problems?
Balancing work and family these days is hard enough without the amount of work necessary to be a priest. Some parishes can't afford youth ministers, or someone to run R.C.I.A., etc. and they are often the ones who have to do it. Meanwhile there is marriage preparation that they often have to do, confessions to hear (including when people schedule appointments at the times not specifically designated for that,) mass at least once a day if not more than that on the weekends, preparing homilies, performing wedding ceremonies, funerals, helping to govern the parish, being called in to mediate situations in parishes if need be, giving spiritual direction if someone asks for it, administering the anointing of the sick, being asked advice by parishioners and even non-parishioners, and there are probably other things that I have left out.
The point is that with a celibate priesthood they are more available to minister to God's people. Even with lay people assisting him, he still has a lot of work to do. This makes spending time with a wife and children very difficult.
Bishops, archbishops, cardinals, and dun dun dun...the pope have their plates really full too. Can you picture Pope John Paul II with a wife, children, and grand children to attend to during his years as the Holy Father or Pope Benedict? I sure can't! That would be incredibly stressful on them. The amount of work that church leaders have to do is great indeed. Not to mention the great multitude of canonized male celibate saints in the Church. So many great male saints have come about in the celibate priesthood over the great many years that it has been around for and we have received so much from these radically holy heroic men.
St. Paul was wise when he said in 1 Cor 7:32-34 that when a man is unmarried that he is more available for serving the Lord but a married man's heart is divided for he struggles to please both God and his wife. Objectors may bring up that St. Paul also said that he had a right to a wife and that the apostles, even St. Peter were married. Yet the is where a more literal translation of greek and also some other inferring come in. http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2007/0705lw.asp
The strain on a priest's family not only time and attention wise would exist, but also in terms of living. Bishops and archbishops move priests around the diocese so that a parish does not get set on a pastor for so long that there is a bias for the way in which a parish is run. Popularity contests have can have negative affects on a church. It hasn't always been this way. Before a diocesan priest remained at a parish for the rest of his life, yet time has shown that the newer way goes over better. Moving around though, is not easy on a family. Just ask families that are in the military that constantly move around or any kid that has moved to a new town facing the difficulties of adjusting to another school and making new friends. If his wife wants to have a career she would have to get used to job hunting. Overall, families prefer to just stay in one place where they don't have to keep starting their lives over again.
In today's world living a chaste life is frowned upon, yet this celibate priesthood is really radical in our over sexed world. Not to mention, since a priest is an ambassador of Christ and since Christ Himself took the Church as His bride giving Himself totally and completely to her even to the point of dying for her (Eph 5:25-27.) I've heard it said that a priest wears black not to look goth (LOL) but as a symbol of dying to Himself, giving Himself completely to the Church. If Christ took her for His Bride instead of an earthly woman, why should a priest not do the same? Also remember that a priest is called "Father" which shows that he is called to be a father to all of God's people. So priests really do have a wife and children, just not in the sense that we would usually think.
Of course The Church has not always had a celibate priesthood. The Church is a living and breathing thing, and with that comes growth and change in certain customs and practices. The celibate priesthood could change back again to allowing married priests. It is a discipline (which is capable of changing) and not a dogma (something that is not capable of changing.) It seems as if over time the Church seemed to realize that the celibate priesthood seemed to work better than the married one. It all comes down to love. If you ever want to know why the Roman Catholic Church does something then you can either get the short or the long version to that question. The short answer is love. Love is the root of it all for as Pope Benedict said in the title of his first encyclical "God is love." The Church decided that what was best for God's people was to have a celibate priesthood. It may end up allowing a married priesthood again but if it ever did it would take a very long time for that to happen. Only after a great deal of study and dialogue about the issue could such a change be made, but it seems as if the church favors celibacy.
I'm still not convinced that permitting a married priesthood would be the best way to solve the problem of the shortage in priests, but as I've been told in the end no matter what I think I am not the one to be making the decision. What really matters (as is in other decisions being made as well) is what God thinks. Even if the pope were to personally believe in something that is contrary to the will of God he must push that aside without his own personal bias getting in the way and to submit to what God decides through him as the Vicar of Christ. I rest safely assured that The Holy Spirit works through him and trust what the Spirit says.
