Doblin: Only One Man Awaiting Entry into Priesthood Training


The age of priests in Ireland is going up. Doblin, a metro area of almost two million, has only one candidate for priesthood training. Parishes are being closed and combined because of a lack of priests.

A solution is to allow women and married men to be priests. So far, this has been unacceptable to many in the pews and the hierarchy. The race is on between when the denomination will allow these women and married men to be priests and the death of the last single male priest. The latter will, of course, close the last parish. Why is this so hard to figure out?

The reason it is hard to bring about a simple and practical solution is that religion plays with people's heads. Self-destruction appears in religious heads as superior and a higher level of moral behavior. We on the outside can laugh at the peculiar thinking but sympathy is in order. When invisible gods latch onto brains it is hard for some to escape.

Consider the peculiar thinking in Catholicism. Those in the pews are encouraged to marry and have many children. I suppose this is said to bring happiness. But the clergy are forbidden to do this. Is that supposed to bring "happiness" also?

We know other denominations in Christianity also have severe restriction of who is allowed to become a member of the clergy. Some it is only males. Some it is married males. Some it is only heterosexual males and females. 

The economic model of almost all churches today requires preachers with other day jobs. The more budget churches the more total church members. It doesn't look like these budget churches will stem the decline but it could slow down the hemorrhaging of members.

I don't know if there is another country where Catholicism has collapsed as rapidly as it has in Ireland. That may be because the Catholic church held such an over-the-top grip on Ireland's politics and society. 

If there is a lesson from Ireland for the rest of both the Catholic church and all of Christianity it can be summarized in two words: Pull back. Pull back from the politics of abortion and moral advice of all kinds. Pull back from anointing yourself as a superior source of how others are to live their lives.

Pull back and maybe you will find some priests.   


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