Lack of priests putting strain on planning

It wasn't unusual when Our Lady of Mercy parish in Albany recently noted the upcoming retirements of its pastor, Rev. John Waldron, and its weekend assistant, Rev. Anthony Chiaramonte.

What people in secular workplaces may consider unusual was that Father Chiaramonte was referred to as taking "early" retirement. He is 70 years old; Father Waldron, who marks 50 years of priesthood in May, is 75.

"The reality [of a priest shortage] is becoming much more real than it was several years ago," noted Rev. Ronald Menty, diocesan administrative advocate for priests and chair of the priest placement committee.

Shortage

A few years back, Father Menty explained, "people did not think we were serious" in talking about the shortage of priests in the Albany Diocese and beyond. They assumed that, if a pastor retired or moved to another parish, he could be replaced.

But "if anybody doubted the need for pastoral planning in the past, they see the need for it now."

The statistics speak for themselves: In 2007, three new priests were ordained for the Diocese, while seven died and five more retired. Three foreign priests also returned to their home countries; one man left the priesthood, and another moved south to serve there.

Statistics

That leaves 129 currently active priests of the Diocese, 106 of whom are serving in parishes. (The rest, including Bishop Howard J. Hubbard, are serving in other ministries.) Four of those will retire by the end of 2008.

Historically, the Diocese has relied on its retired priests -- there are 90 of them at the moment -- and on priests from religious orders to fill the gaps.

Order priests -- like the Franciscan friars who live at Siena College in Loudonville or the Augustinians who serve at Assumption/St. Paul parish in Mechanicville, St. Augustine's in Troy and St. Mary's in Waterford -- have celebrated Masses at parishes whenever possible.

But their numbers, too, are decreasing. "In the future, it is uncertain whether they will be able to staff parishes," Father Menty stated.

Demographics

Other factors also play a role in the changing Church: for instance, the continuing move of populations from cities to suburbs.

The Called to be Church process continues to move forward, and Father Menty expressed gratitude for the efforts all parish leaders -- clergy, religious and lay -- are making to squeeze in the required meetings and planning.

If anyone knows how much those plans for parish futures are needed, it's the administrative advocate.

"I really look forward to having a pastoral plan so I will have a direction as to how we deal with each situation that comes up," said Father Menty. "Right now, it's having to make a judgment about how to cover a place from now until they have a plan."

Decisions

In that process, he works with Bishop Hubbard; John Manning, director of the Pastoral Planning Office; and Elizabeth Simcoe, diocesan chancellor for pastoral services.

The quartet decide how best to fill vacancies at parishes on what they consider a temporary basis.

"We don't want to do anything that's going to contradict the pastoral planning process," Father Menty explained. Not knowing what each parish will propose for its future and whether those proposals will be accepted, "we don't assume anything on the table right now is the final plan."

Projections

The Diocese currently has 167 parishes, plus mission churches, healthcare facilities, colleges and other institutions served by priests.

Projections made in 2006 of priests available for ministry in the future predict that, in about 10 years, there will be 62 active pastors left to serve parishes.

By 2020, that number will be 37. Even taking into account that another 15 religious order priests and other "externs" may be available to help, and that 40 retired priests and 20 in special ministries may still be able to serve, that total will be 112 priests serving a Diocese of well over 400,000 Catholics.

"The Church has gone on," stated Father Menty. "In some cases, ministry has grown and flourished. The Holy Spirit continues to be present in the Church. We've been able to provide the Eucharist, which is the most important thing. People continue to grow in their faith."

(There are currently 19 priests of the Albany Diocese under age 50. The average age of active priests is 59; of retired priests, 78. Nine men are currently in the seminary or at different points in the formation process for the priesthood, said Father Menty. Their ordinations will be spread out over six years. Eight priests from outside the Diocese are currently serving here: four in parishes, two in apostolates to the Korean and Vietnamese communities, and two in other ministries.)

(03/20/08) [[In-content Ad]]