UNITED STATES
The Tidings
By Rev. Richard P. McBrien
In the aftermath of the worst crisis to hit the Roman Catholic Church since the Reformation, one might have hoped that priests would enjoy something of a respite from all the horrible publicity and the acute demoralization that it produced. But not so.
The latest negative development --- radical reductions in pension benefits for diocesan priests --- has occurred in the very same place where the sexual-abuse scandal first broke in all of its shocking intensity back in January, 2002. Just like the sexual-abuse crisis, however, this latest problem will not ultimately be confined to Boston. It is sure to manifest itself in other dioceses and in other countries.
This newest crisis concerns priestly security in old age. A few decades ago, diocesan priests did not retire. Pastors remained in office until death. Some lived into their 90s. In larger archdioceses, like Boston, the senior curate (ordained as many as 25 or even 30 years) was, in effect, the pastor. He made all the assignments for the other curates (in some parishes there were as many as four or five) and almost all of the important decisions.