Fr. Larry Madden, S.J. Comments on Lessons From NOCERCC

The Georgetown Center for Liturgy and EnVisionChurch were present at the January national convention of the National Organization for the Continuing Education of Roman Catholic Clergy in Clearwater, Florida. Jeff Price interacted with the attendees at our exhibition booth and I attended the sessions. The conference theme was: Forming Priests and Presbyterates: To Teach, To Sanctify, and To Lead. Four dimensions of these three aspects of the ministry were discussed: the human, the intellectual, the pastoral and the spiritual. A number of good practical suggestions were made to strengthen programs of continuing formation.

But for many, and certainly for me, the most significant presentation on priestly ministry in the U.S. Church was given by Sister Katarina Schuth, O.S.F. who spoke of priestly ministry in multiple parishes. The data she presented was based on her book, Priestly Ministry in Multiple Parishes, published by Liturgical Press in 2006. The data is sobering and, for those of us who live in large metropolitan areas, i.e. in Archdioceses, it showed us a very different American church in the less populous dioceses and rural areas.

All of the data is from a 2005 survey. 69% of U. S parishes have 250 families or less. One third of all parishes have no paid staff. 44% of Roman Rite parishes are served by a priest with multiple parishes. 47% of pastors travel more than 500 miles a month to serve their parishes. The median age of U.S. priests is 65 years and 24% of priests older than 65 serve multiple parishes. 17% of priests come from another country. It was noteworthy that the overwhelming majority of priests testified that they felt respected and appreciated and 90% said they would choose priesthood again. It will not be long before every part of the church in the U.S. will feel the deleterious effects of the scarcity of priests – especially felt in the regular absence of the parish Eucharistic celebration.