Priest shortage in the Roman Catholic Church
As a priest shortage, the situation of insufficient for the spiritual and pastoral needs of a specific area number of priests is called. The problem is particularly acute today in the Roman Catholic Church. In earlier centuries was a shortage of priests in the Anglican Church a reason for the formation of the Episcopal Methodist Church, especially in the North American colonies of Great Britain.
- 2.1 secularization
- 2.2 Mandatory celibacy
- 2.3 homosexuality
- 2.4 " reform gridlock "
Development of the priests number
The priest figure in the Roman Catholic Church is absolutely fallen in the last decades of the 20th century, it has been increasing since 2000, again slightly. In 1978 there were 416 329 priests, 2001, there were, according to the Congregation for the Clergy worldwide 405 067 priests and religious clergy in the Catholic Church, in 2006 it was again after the papal yearbook 2008 407 262. At the same time the number of permanent deacons rose from 5,562 to 29,204. The development is very different on the two continents: Europe and America introduced in 2000, 81 percent of the priests, in 2006 it was 78 percent. In Europe, the trend is downwards, while Asia and Africa have large growth rates.
A more meaningful indicator for assessing the pastoral care is the number of looked after by a priest parishioners. Worldwide, the number of Catholics per priest doubled in the period 1969-2008 of 1,428 to 2849th The number of parishioners per priest varies greatly between countries, and ranged in 2001 of 160,000 Catholics per priest in Saudi Arabia to 886 in the UK.
Germany
In Germany in the period 1990-2012 decreased the number of priests from 19,707 to 14,636.
The number of Catholics per priest in Germany rose in the period 1969-2010 from 992 to 1,628. The number of new priests, who have been trained in the seminaries of the 27 German dioceses, went into the last few decades back continuously and in 2008 was the first time under 100
Austria
In Austria, the number fell priest (1961 vs. Vs. 2001. 2011) from 6238 through 4478 to 3789. The number of members per priest rose from 980 (1961) about 1,343 (2001) to 1,426 ( 2011). The decline in the number of priests in Austria in 2011 led to the decision of the Austrian dioceses merge seminaries. The seminaries are merged in Austria follows:
- St. Pölten Eisenstadt (Burgenland ) and Vienna: the headquarters in Vienna
- Linz, Innsbruck and Feldkirch: Main location in Innsbruck
- Salzburg (at first completely self-contained )
- Graz and Klagenfurt.
Example shows the Pfarrer- Initiative, the aging of the Diocese of Innsbruck on: 2011 was the average age of active priests 63 years. In the deanery Lienz with 19 parishes and chaplaincies are 5 of 17 active priests four under 60, seven under 75 years and six 75 years and older.
Switzerland
In Switzerland fell (1961-2001) the number of priests on 4492 3091. The number of members per priest rose from 519 (1961) to 1,017 ( 2001).
France
The number of priests has declined in France from about 38 300 in 1980 to an estimated 19 000 in 2009 and has thus halved. 2011 there were only about 13 800 diocesan priests. The median age is 75, that is, half of the priests working is 75 years old or older. 2012 took place only about 100 priests ordinations, for 2013, only around 75 expected. The priest shortage is expected to increase further in the coming years.
Rest of Europe
Pope Benedict XVI. deplored the state of the shortage of priests in a speech on 11 September 2006. Some clergy numbers in Central Europe are relativized, since the whole Church in the affected areas even faster than the shrinking number of priests. So said Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone, Secretary of State of the pope, to a letter from Austrian clergyman, that the decline in priestly figure in Austria is closely linked with the decline of practicing Catholics, and that today is probably even less practicing Catholics to a priest in Austria came to earlier decades .. the chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, said in an interview with the Kölner Stadt -Anzeiger, there is measured by the number of young churchgoers today even more candidates for the priesthood than in the past.
USA
In the United States went from 1965 to 2012 the number of priests on 58 632 38,964 back. 3,389 parishes were without a resident priest in 2012.
Possible Causes
The possible causes of the shortage of priests in the Roman Catholic Church vary according to the circumstances of the affected areas and possible solutions will be discussed within the church.
Secularization
The increasing secularization in Western industrialized countries leads to a lower number of professing believers. Where the number of those who opt for the priesthood, nor decreases faster than the spiritual needs of the laity, thus creating a shortage of priests.
The Jesuit priest and sociologist January Kerkhof sees a cause in a too low number of children in Roman Catholic families, the parents of which discourages to encourage one of her sons in a decision for the priesthood.
Mandatory celibacy
Secondly, the lead for the priests of the Latin particular Church of the Roman Catholic Church (not for the Eastern Catholic Churches ) Mandatory celibacy to a lower number of Catholic priestly vocations; this is especially the case in Africa. A societal rejection of mandatory celibacy and the associated restriction of human rights inevitably leads to a lower number, since the acceptance of compulsory lifelong celibate life decreases. In the years 2000 to 2004, resigned because of a partnership, according to a Jesuit magazine 5380 priest. From 69,000 priests who have married in the last 40 years, have 11,200 regretted the step later and entered the priestly ministry after a separation or after the death of the partner again.
Homosexuality
According to a study published in 2002 American study found that 7% of the interviewed priests who laid down their office, the reason was that they did not feel sufficiently understood as homosexuals or supported, but the author of the study notes at the same time that the probability that homosexual priests resign laid, was significantly lower than in heterosexuals.
"Reform Jam"
Liberal Catholics such as Hans Küng see in the backlog of reforms, they diagnose the Roman Catholic church, a cause which brake the motivation for the priesthood, and thereby lead to the shortage of priests. The question of celibacy, the ordination of women and the common Eucharist are mentioned as areas in which reforms are necessary, but would be blocked from Rome.
Effects
The shortage of priests generally leads to a lower sacramental and pastoral care of the faithful in a certain area. In this step, if necessary, then a circumstances as they were previously known only in diaspora regions. For the pastor, however, this means that the distances are getting longer for them and they therefore have less time for the individual believer, especially if they are now responsible for a larger number of believers. At the same time the ratio of priests has risen to the daily take care of community members in some areas significantly.
In Germany and many other Western European countries, the number of priests has declined over the past two decades. So now arise due to the shortage of priests in the German bishoprics parish organizations. In addition, more priests from other countries, especially from Poland, India and third world countries are employed in Germany.
In the United States, the archbishop of Boston, Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley, the shortage of priests cited as reasons for the closure of dozens of communities in 2004, including five communities in which believers keep the church building occupied to protest against the closure.
In third world countries, especially in Latin America, however, the missionary is weakened due to the shortage of priests. By the mid- 1980s had overtaken numerically the Protestant pastors, especially Pentecostals in Brazil, the Catholic priests; currently have twice as many Protestants pastors in Brazil.
Opposing developments
Partial counter to the general trend, the offspring developed in the traditionalist priestly communities, such as in the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest and others. In 2010, belonged to these communities, which are assigned to the Commission Ecclesia Dei, a total of about 370 priests, which were offset by about 300 seminarians.
Proposals to reduce the shortage of priests
The pastoral theologian Paul Zulehner and Bishop Fritz Lobinger describe three commonly proposed solutions to reduce the shortage of priests. As a "traditional" solution proposal they describe the call to prayer for vocations reinforced, the intensification of pastoral care of vocations and advertising for church professions and the posting of priests from well -served areas in shortage areas. In "pragmatic " solution models laity and deacons take over tasks of the priests; supportive the size of the pastoral care units is adapted to the number of priests. " Reformist " approaches suggest the increase in the available for the priesthood group of people by changing conditions; usual recommendation to the change in the training of priests, the approval of the ordination of women and the abolition of celibacy for clerics. Zulehner and Lobinger complement these three approaches by a fourth way, by providing in addition to the celibate, academically educated " Paul Priest " with missionary and seelsorgerlichem order the " Corinth priests," whose duties are primarily in the church leadership and must be married.
Reform-oriented mergers within the Roman Catholic Church and the Synod of the Lucerne cantonal church, church lay initiatives such as the Initiative church from below, church, critical journalists, politicians like Doris Leuthard and theologians such as Eugen Drewermann propose two main approaches to address the shortage of priests before: the lifting of the celibacy and the ordination of women priests.
Since there are strong regional variations in the number of vocations, suggest some way to send priests from regions that are less affected by the shortage of priests, in regions that have fewer priests per believer. About a century ago Africa had not had a single originating from the indigenous priests. In some African countries, the situation in the last few decades, however, has completely reversed. In Nigeria for example, there are so many priests, that the local bishops have decided to share this wealth with other African countries. Priests are sent, among others, to South Africa and to Chad to support the local church. Next even its own missionary society was founded, whose members serve pastorally in the United States living black Catholics.
Nearly 1,400 of the total 12,571 active priests in Germany already came in 2001 from abroad, mostly from Poland ( 470 ) and India.