Bishop says talk of 'priest shortage' is nonsense
July 29, 2014
Priests in the Diocese of Rockville Center, New York, have taken issue with the claim by Bishop William Murphy that talk about a priest shortage is “nonsense.”
Bishop Murphy, in a recent blog post, said that although there will never be enough good priests to serve the Church, he refuses to speak of a “shortage” of priests. He continued:
Anyone who does simply does not understand the Church or, worse, is seeking to sensationalize or cast aspersions on the Church which, in our diocese, is healthy, vibrant and alive. There never will be sufficient priests but it is irresponsible and insulting to talk about “priest shortage.”
Newsday, reporting on the decline in the number of priests serving in the diocese, found a number of clerics from the Long Island diocese prepared to talk about the difficulties that arise when the number of priests in active ministry falls.
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Further information:
- LI priests' ranks dwindle, sparking shortage on Sundays (Newsday)
- Thankful for our good priests and praying for even more (Bishop Murphy's blog)
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Posted by: feedback -
Jul. 31, 2014 10:28 PM ET USA
Nonesense? How about, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest"?
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Posted by: Nuage -
Jul. 29, 2014 9:07 PM ET USA
The results of a sociological study of the Roman Catholic Church would indeed be fascinating. So many Catholic prelates and their employees exist in their own private reality, a parallel universe, a bubble world. These prelates convince themselves of a false reality they want to believe is real. Until this changes, no dent in the crisis can be made, and the Church will continue her downward spiral, hemorrhaging souls. These bishops have much to answer for. God help them; God have mercy on them.
