The Future of the Church
Just found the best analysis of the current situation -- and the future -- of the Roman Catholic Church written by Tom Roberts, editor of National Catholic Reporter. He made the remarks in an address to a gathering of the Voice of the Faithful at Fordham University. You can read the entire speech. But here are some excerpts to sample.
On Speaking Out:
Don’t presume you have a voice in the church, even if you are deeply involved in working in the institution. It is a new experience, since the impulses of reform were gathered and given expression at the Second Vatican Council, that lay people should even seek to have a voice in church affairs. That has not been the norm for most of the centuries of church history beyond the first few.
The popular expression, “Pay, pray, obey,” is a flippant description of deeper realities. Scott Appleby, the Notre Dame historian, has taken to urging Catholics, in this era of scandal, to “Stay, pray and inveigh.”
On the sex abuse scandal:
We will continue to face the legal and financial fallout from the crisis far into the future. At the same time, I believe that long ago Catholics learned to forgive the sins of their clergy, whether the indiscretion be alcohol, drugs or sexual abuse. We Catholics understand individual sin, we are mostly merciful toward our priests and we realize the increasing pressures they are under as their numbers shrink.What would compound the tragedy of the sex abuse crisis is if U.S. Catholics become convinced that the bishops’ actions to date had satisfactorily dealt with the scandal and that we can now put it behind us.
On the priest shortage:
Today there are more American priests over age 90 than under age 30; by 2010 the number of active diocesan clergy, projected at just over 15,000, will be less than the country’s 19,000 parishes.
The number of “priestless parishes” -- those without a resident priest -- will rise from the current 3,000 (16 percent of U.S. parishes) and no one is certain by how much.
More than 3,300 U.S. parishes are led by pastoral administrators, of whom nearly half are lay, a third women religious, and nearly 20 percent permanent deacons.
On an interesting trend:
Meanwhile, over the past three decades, according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, enrollment in lay ecclesial ministry programs has more than tripled - from 10,500 to more than 35,000. They will join an additional 35,000 fully certified lay ecclesial ministers and 13,000-plus ordained permanent deacons.
Final thoughts:
Should we continue to just pray and pay? Perhaps. Perhaps not. You can decide. Just don’t do something because you’ve always done it.
Pray and stay? Certainly, but also remember to inveigh.
Stay informed and inform others - look for signs of hope.
And know that The Voice of the Faithful is a sign of hope.
Spread the word of hope.
Don’t be afraid to create a new wild moment of becoming.
Stay with it. You are faithful. You are the church.
