'We Will Be an Endangered Species'

Cork News
April 13, 2012

thecorknews.ie/articles/%E2%80%98we-will-be-endangered-species%E2%80%99-5134

Youghal priest speaks out as survey reveals changes in Catholic attitudes

Priests will be as "rare as hens' teeth" in 30 years if a number of issues are not addressed, according to a Youghal chaplain.

Fr Joseph McGuane was speaking following a new survey that shows the majority of Irish Catholics believe priests should be allowed to marry and female priests should be introduced. The survey commissioned by the Association of Catholic Priests revealed that 87% of Catholics believe priests should marry and 77% thought that women should be allowed to be ordained into the priesthood.

Additional information showed that 72% felt mature men should be allowed to be ordained and 60% thought that clustering of parishes might overcome the priest shortage.

Fr McGuane told the Cork News that he was "not surprised" by the findings, agreeing that it was the public view that equality should exist within the Church. He added that he could foresee changes happening "eventually" in the coming years, albeit only after major restructuring occurred. "In 1960, there were 80 ordinations in Maynooth, while in 1970, there were 38. In 2007, there were only four," he said. "I'm 66 now, and was ordained in 1970. This shortage of priests has been an issue since then. If it's to continue on this path, priests will be as rare as hens' teeth and I'd say we will be an endangered species."

Fr McGuane added: "For a lot of people, they see celibacy as selfish and lazy, it is just incomprehensible to the public."

The survey entitled Contemporary Catholic Perspectives, also highlighted that one in two Catholics who have heard the new missal wording prefer the previous version, with 33% finding it more difficult to understand. 43% are unfavourable towards the changes. "At best we have people mumbling in mass and at worse we have silence," said Fr McGuane.

Other findings showed 75% believed the church's teaching on sexuality was not relevant to them, most notably amongst younger Catholics, while three out of five disagreed with the church's stance on homosexuality. It was also highlighted that one in three people attend mass once a week. Just 5% of the 1,000 people surveyed said they never went to mass.