There’s No Priest Shortage
AN EXCESS OF DISGRUNTLED LAITY
The perceived scarcity of priests in the Catholic Church is called a crisis. Observers wring their hands and warn that the Church will fall apart if she can’t get more priests. This may, however, be less a crisis than a blessing.
Let’s examine an oft-proposed cure. Liberal Catholics say the Church will have to ordain married men (and women). This, they promise, will release a flood of eager, well-educated young professionals to become priests (and priestesses), thus saving the Church.
But does the Church want a flood of eager, well-educated young professionals? Let’s look at other areas which were visited by such floods in our recent past:
· A horde of young urban planners was released on our cities. The cities turned from centers of civilization into crime-ravaged wastelands.
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