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	Voice of Faithful Wants Celibacy Rethought By Michael Paulson Boston Globe October 31, 2008 http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles_of_faith/2008/10/voice_of_faithf.html Voice of the Faithful, the Newton-based organization pushing reform in the Catholic Church, has launched an effort to get the church to rethink its position on mandatory celibacy for priests. The organization has launched a web site for its National Working Group for Priest Support on which it has posted correspondence with Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley of Boston. An excerpt from the VOTF letter (that's VOTF's logo at right): For many young men, the requirement of celibacy is a major obstacle preventing them from responding to a call to the priesthood. We have seen a 60 % drop in vocations in the past forty years, adding considerably to the workload stress of an already overburdened and aging priesthood. Solutions that have been proffered, such as recruiting non-native priests from poor countries, substituting communion services for Mass, lowering standards for admission to seminaries, parish closures, and priests pastoring multiple parishes, fail to address the long-term systemic issues that are at the root of the problem. Additionally, we point to what many believe are other consequences of the discipline of mandatory celibacy, such as a clerical environment in which many diocesan priests feel unsupported by their bishops, are distanced from their brother priests, maintain few close personal friendships, and look forward to retirement, only to find it a time of illness and loneliness." The cardinal's response, signed by his secretary, did not address the celibacy issue, but says: "Cardinal Sean is very pleased that there has been a significant increase in the enrollment at St. John’s Seminary in the past two years as candidates for the Archdiocese of Boston and neighboring dioceses have begun the program of discernment and priestly formation. We pray that with the help of God more men will generously respond to the Lord’s call to service as priests and that our Catholic community will encourage and support them in their vocations."
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