No vocations, no Church
This ideology has seen the lines between Priest and laymen deliberately blurred; examples of this blurring are found in altars in many churches being moved to the centre of the nave, the destruction of altar/communion rails, and a legion of laymen in the sanctuary looking for a job to do during Holy Mass.
As I reflect on the photo of Corpus Christi Seminary in Melbourne, I conclude that people looking at this photo could not be differentiated between those men studying for the priesthood and your average class at university.
The primary reason why seminaries in Australia are maintaining their numbers is because many of these students are imported from countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines. This is the case in most of the West.
Nothing is wrong with this in and of itself; however, the Australian Bishops who I have raised this very issue with are afraid to ask why more Australian men are not presenting themselves to study for the Priesthood.
As a seminarian, my Bishop simply dismissed my concerns as “getting hung up on insignificant things” and not to get “swamped in narcissism.”
This is a man with ideological blinders on. The Church can no longer afford this. Today, for the sake of future vocations, we must ask what is the seminary staff’s understanding of the Holy Priesthood, the Sacrament of Holy Orders and the delineation between Priest and layman?
Dress as witnessing to Christ
A visiting Bishop once gave a talk about being a witness to Christ. In speaking with him afterwards, he told me that one is free to wear clericals once ordained. What are the chances of a seminarian wearing clericals once ordained, when for the first six years of their formation they have been strictly forbidden from wearing them?
Conversely, when one looks at Orders which are flourishing, I struggle to find a single Order whose novices, candidates or seminarians are dressed casually. The Church is blessed with many examples of these flourishing religious communities, which publicly and externally display their witness to Christ.
Until the Church’s episcopacy looks at the root of the decline in the priesthood, however, many dioceses will continue to witness a steady loss of priests. If bishops continue to allow such policies in their seminaries, they will see the clerical ranks continue to wither.
Christ stated that “you will know them by their fruits” [Mt 7:16]. When we refuse to be a witness to Christ, we reject Him; subsequently we reject the One who sent Him [cf Lk 10:16].
DANIEL ATTARD is a sociologist who lives with his wife and five children in Melbourne, Australia.
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