Speaking to the powerful Italian bishops’ conference Monday, Pope Francis tagged three “preoccupations” in the only country in the world where he rules as Primate: a “hemorrhage” of vocations, “evangelical poverty and transparency,” and the need for a “consolidation” of Italy’s sprawling number of dioceses.
Francis told the bishops he wasn’t sharing these concerns to “beat you up,” but rather as points for further “dialogue and reflection.” He also said he wanted to hear their questions, even their criticisms, because “it’s not bad to criticize the pope, it’s useful.”
On vocations, the pontiff didn’t mince words.
“How many churches and convents have been closed in recent years for a lack of vocations, only God knows,” he said.
Francis blamed the crisis in vocations on many factors, including “a culture of the provisional,” a “culture of relativism,” the “dictatorship of money”, a “demographic inversion” in which families are having fewer children, the impact of Church scandals, and the “tepid witness” given by some priests and bishops.
“What we need is a fidei donum [system] from one diocese to the other,” he said.
The term fidei donum comes from a 1957 encyclical of Pope Pius XII, which encouraged dioceses with substantial numbers of priests to release some of them for service in mission countries which didn’t have enough priests. Today, it’s most often employed in a reverse sense, as countries in the developing world are sending some of their priests to the West to compensate for priest shortages.
“I think of some dioceses in the Piedmont, with its grand tradition [which today lacks priests],” Francis said, referring to a region of northern Italy. “Yet in Puglia there’s an over-abundance,” he said, referring to a region of the comparatively under-developed Italian south.
“A fidei donum system in Italy … some of you may laugh, but let’s see,” he said.
Finally, Francis urged a serious examination of the possibility of consolidation among Italy’s 217 archdioceses and dioceses, along with one military ordinariate.
“A reduction in the number of dioceses is a pastoral exigency,” he said, noting that as long ago as 1964, Blessed Pope Paul VI had called for it. The test, Francis said, is whether all current jurisdictions have the personnel and resources “to sustain a truly functional diocesan organization.”
“There are some dioceses we can group together,” the pope said. “It’s not easy to do, but we can do it.”
Full story at Crux.
Clear unambiguous doctrine, a firm understanding of the faith, a directed purpose away from the movements in the world toward a spiritual life in Christ to fight for souls and their salvation has always worked. The communion for all, rights to sex, gender ideology, migration, refugee admission, sometimes awkward liturgies in some places simply don’t attract men. Something worked well for many years. It was dismantled. This is the result. What attracted me in my boyhood was the sense of the sacred, the mystery, the chants and music, the presence of God transforming my soul. Don’t see that often anymore if I’m not celebrating.
The Catholic Church does not include an ideology that permits communion for all, rights to sex or gender ideology. It does include rights to migrate and dignified treatment of refugees. It always has.
This pope himself is an effective argument to dissuade a man who is considering priesthood. If this pope is representative of what Catholicism is going to become, the direction it’s heading, why devote your life to it? Why sacrifice for it? Why suffer for it? No, find a wife, have a family, enjoy a middle-class life of happiness with family and friends, find a decent Mass to attend, if you can, or else just suffer through the madness and do the best you can with your family.
No surprise here. The only answer is to live the Commsndments of Christ without compromising the doctrine of His Church and to live His Great Commissioning – to go and make disciples of all nations. The Church in Her mission is given a Divine Mandate. God moves hearts in response. Change course and follow the ways of the world and try to disguise it? God will not call New vocations to that false mission.
“Fr. Perozich”: You are well intended and trusted, as a priest. However, Pope Francis, one must believe from his prior words and actions, has other policies in play. What to do, what to do, about no seminarians? Well, for one, the Church can admit married men, the infamous “viri probati,” thrown around by Zombie-Liberal Vatican clergy. For another, the Church can begin the longer road to consider admitting women.
Of course, both approaches are an insult to the Church, and its Apostolic Tradition (see, e.g., Abp. Schneider’s responses to questions published in OnePeterFive of May 17, 2018). Further, of course, Pope St. JPII already definitively spoke on the impossibility of women priests. But, who cares? The Pope and his…
Why am I not able to post any comments?
Amen Fr Perozich. HF said he wanted a “non-rigid” (loose) liturgy and a “poor Church.”
Suddenly he wants rigid and rich numbers of new vocations. HF is mistaken.
This is like reading, “The R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company regrets that there are so few healthy people any more” or “The Ku Klux Klan laments that America’s black population is not growing as fast as it once did” or “Joe the Arsonist regrets that so many nice buildings are no longer standing” ….need I go on?
Upon further reflection, I wish to state that by my previous remarks I did not mean to disparage the good name of the pope. I simply wished to make the point that I believe the very type of Church the pope is trying to perpetuate is responsible for the very dismantling of the priesthood that he appears to lament. I am convinced that the postconciliar vision of the priesthood is an emasculated shadow of wha the priesthood is and until the full sacramental uniqueness of the priesthood is appreciated and realized again, the hemorrhaging will undoubtedly continue. May God bless our pope and open his eyes to this reality.
I agree with Father Richard Perozich.