OPINION:
In the past few decades, many Catholic churches in the U.S. have closed, and thousands more are without a priest. Some try to “double up” and have priests serve more than one church, but this is a struggle for the clergy and the church members alike.
What is the reason for this? Always looming is the sexual-abuse issue, both in the church itself and in seminaries. Tens of thousands of faithful Catholics have left the Catholic Church because of it, as have good priests. Hopefully, this is now behind us.
Yet there are still key issues that have directly affected the number of priests in the U.S., and a major one is the Catholic Church’s closing of Catholic schools. Our children are the future of the church, the “fountain” that feeds Catholicism.
How many might have become priests had they been brought up with a good Catholic education? The focus on money rather than faith is contributing to the dwindling number of priests.
The final issue is the current lack of leadership in the Catholic Church. Many of the leaders have lost the respect of the Catholic faithful.
Why? They have been silent on influential so-called Catholics who push abortion, as well as on the government’s attacks on the church and the destruction of free speech.
Prayer for priests is very powerful, but we also need action by Catholic religious leadership. If done, the priests will come.
AL DILASCIA
Chicopee, Massachusetts
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