Priest: the advantage of having teenager sons and daughters

Recently, in what is considered a large parish, I asked about which activities were being organised for young people. Surprisingly the answer was practically none. Now in this parish, the population growth is incredible. Its truly increasing by leaps and bounds. The number of young people is immense…yet there were no activities in the parish, targeting such tender age. If one were to attend mass in this parish, unsurprisingly there are only people with silver hair!! Obviously the young people do go out and have fun…but there is no one to guide them. They do not come to church. Consequently there is no such uniting factor such as the church, in today’s society.

As a parent I know about the headaches of summer….the young people do not know how to spend their free time. There is the temptation of online games for boys and the watching of films or TV series for girls..not just for a few hours but for endless days. In some countries, there are summer camps which are a blessing. Yet there is no direct reference to their spiritual growth.

Besides, just walking with some young people and listening to their conversations, their kind of language..one sees that most of them, although they still yearn for a good quality life, the discourse of God and their personal spiritual growth is far away or maybe none at all.

Some years ago, we had the introduction of divorce and the resultant discussion. Practically in all countries (including Catholic Malta!!) it has been introduced with large majorities. Now, in some countries, the issue of gay marriage has surfaced and people have shown that they do care about such people and they do not want any discrimination. Again they have voted with large majorities. The issue of the contraceptives is considered to be buried once for all as the people are using them left, right and centre, although surprisingly there has been no change from Pope Francis. This brings a fundamental question: what about the church? Does it question it’s own teachings? Are ‘we right’ and them ‘wrong?’ The pope Francis himself said: Who am I to judge a gay person?

The friars in this parish are all cosy in their rooms happy of performing the miracle of mass everyday. Yet, do they realise that in most western countries, the people need to be evangelised about the basic things of religion? Just ask some basic questions (which we were supposed to learn by heart in our age), and you’ll be surprised with the quality of answers received! Do they believe that if we don’t care about our young people, there will be no church in the future?

This brings me to one fundamental choice: let married people become priests and they will change the church as they already have experience with most the daily conflicts, trials, debates and faith issues they face in their family. They already have the knack of approaching and directing young people. Let’s make use of them so that the church can benefit from such expertise.

All readers are welcome to continue the debate.

The role of a double life in a priest

One question which baffles most women is that of a double life. How can a priest: who is so near God; breathes God; thinks about God; prays to God; speaks about God etc…can lead a double life? He tells others what to do and how to avoid sin, yet he breaks his promise (or vow) and makes love to a woman and feels ok!!! To make matters worse, in some cases, he has more than one woman! That’s why some people call priests womanizers.

One has to remember that a priest is a public person. It’s so difficult for normal men to have a hidden lover let alone a priest. Yet some of them are most successful in having a hidden lover.

Let’s try to understand the mindset of a priest. Before we proceed let’s make it clear that we are in no way condoning such behaviour. We do not agree with such attitude and bad use of a woman friend.

The priest is feeling lonely. He feels the need to be loved. He needs somebody who knows him directly and in a personal way (remember he is always talking to crowds and when in confession he is dealing with problems of other people). Most of the parishes cannot afford two priests. Hence there is no comfort in sharing his daily experience of parishioners with another colleague. He is to be strong in front of other people especially his congregation. On the inside he feels that he is going to fall one day or another as he feels so weak.

As we have mentioned several times, it’s not easy to leave priesthood, for various reasons (maybe the most important one is the financial one plus housing). Besides, the gossip of the parishioners terrifies him. Hence the logical conclusion would be to open up to a person and to expose his real self. This might not be done immediately or on a conscious level, yet the deeper needs of a man win in the long run.

Priests, notwithstanding speaking badly about women (owing to the brainwashing experienced during the initial formative years), yet he feels the urge to experience a woman directly. He does see many woman and the many sacrifices they perform both in family and at work. Indirectly he does admire such people but he cannot admit it as it goes against all his previous teaching.

God works in mysterious ways. We do believe that everything that happens is not simply by chance. The encounter with his special person will bring about a new level of understanding and intimacy. It’s up to the priest and the woman, if they let such friendship grow and multiply. In most cases, it’s the priest who pushes forward such a relationship. Most women feel a lot of empathy for their hero priest. In most cases, the women will get to know the church and priesthood for the first time (in such a direct and personal way). They do suffer for their priests. They feel the need to provide an emotional shelter for their friend. They feel the urge to show empathy.

When sex takes place, obviously there is a unique intimacy between the two even though sex is viewed in a different way from both sexes. Most of the women are so happy that they’ll start to dream about the couple’s future. But disaster will soon strike as the female will realise that their priest does not want to leave his former wife (the church) even though he keeps procrastinating. In that case, it’s up to the female to either let go their relationship or else let herself being taking for a ride, as the priest will keep her hanging on for infinity!

One of the tactics employed by priests is that they force their woman to remain silent. The woman involved in such a clandestine relationship complies as she realises that she would be the victim if a word about their relationship comes out! Hence, unknowingly she would be the sacrificial lamb in the priest’s hands. In our experience it’s so hard to convince the woman to report the priest to authorities or at least to leave him, as the love link with the priest is so strong. Most of the women would still feel guilty even though their priest maybe disciplined by higher authorities for their own good.

Let’s make our blog alive by receiving the readers’ reaction. We are waiting for your response. May God Bless you all!

Understanding the Pope

One can find it difficult to understand himself/herself sometimes. It could become more complicated when one has to understand another person. But how about understanding a public person….such as the Pope? Well the journalists are all the time trying to decipher the Pope’s character and believes through public speaking and when he interrelates with people.

One knows that a public person is always very attentive in what one does and says. Indirectly one uses a camouflage so as to protect some of his/her thoughts from being divulged into the general public. The Pope carries a lot of moral weight, hence he is more cautious than a normal prime minister or president.

All Catholics, in one way or another they look up to the Pope to strengthen their faith. They look for consolation and hope. The Pope answers questions on a particular question. Now there is always the fear of being misinterpreted or given the wrong meaning (sometimes on purpose!!) by listeners. Well, all those trained in communication know really well that if there is a group of ten people, most probably there will be ten different interpretations for the same event. That is because we are not neutral to information especially when it comes from a Pope. The so called Catholics who belong to the ‘progressive’ or ‘conservative’ groups might give totally different interpretations to what they see and hear from the Pope’s mouth! Others let their emotions run wild as soon as they see the man in white clothes! There are some with a hidden political agenda, ready to kill their opponents by quoting the Pope’s message!!

The Pope himself might give different reactions to some issues which leaves readers more perplexed! With all these fears, we too try to give you the right picture although it’s not that easy. Obviously it regards married priesthood.

One one hand, the Pope is hinting for more participation from the laity (those who are not priests) as when it comes to selecting the bishop for a diocese. Yet when a priest needs to get married he does not propose to get married and stay as a priest!
In the selection of a bishop, we already have the parish councils. How is he thinking of consulting the laity? Is he going to make use of the parish councils or does he have in mind something completely different? Or plus the parish councils, is he going to include other people? Some people expert in politics would immediately point out some games people play in order to get elected. Yet in today’s world how can one appoint a new bishop without consulting the general public?

So how can one interpret this action vis-a-vis married priests? Is he in favour of married priests, yes or no? Or is he hinting that those who leave are ‘traitors’ (sorry for the harsh word) ? Does he prefer to select already married people (but not priests), in order to train them for priesthood? Which is the way to go? Why no bishop have asked for married priests publicly? Is it just the Pope who mentioned this idea? Or is it still too far away project? How is the church going to survive when we have so many parishes without a resident priest??!!

This is the reason why we as married priests, help other people. We cannot let the church be ruined just because of a man made law which is leaving many people without the Eucharist and any other ecclesial activity including reading of the bible etc…Deep in our conscience, we cannot say no to people who ask for our services. We are priests forever because once a priest is always a priest. This is true theology (the science which focuses on God). We cannot simply delete our priesthood!

Pentecost and Married Priests

We have just celebrated Pentecost. In lay terms it’s the birth of the church. The apostles were all behind closed doors and windows afraid of what might happen to them. On Pentecost day, the Holy Spirit descended upon all apostles and they left all their fears, doubts, jealousy and lack of faith behind, went out and started to talk in the name of Jesus. It was a big transformation.

In Europe in these last days, it seems that we are electing several governments. Our mentality is that we elect people to represent us whilst we continue with our lives. Is that a similar attitude in the church? How many people leave the church for one thousand and one reasons? Yet who is going to remain ‘in’ to bring about the change? It is an appropriate reflection on Pentecost’s day. Are we just young children who are happy to play with the toys whilst the other adults take care of us in the church? Pentecost was so transforming because the apostles realised that it was their turn to start speaking in the name of Jesus Christ. Do we have so many lay people available in the church?

Married priesthood is important because married people should be considered as a great asset for the church. It could be the building block for the whole church. It’s up to the people to ask their local bishops for married priesthood. How many of our readers are ready to pester their bishops to call for married priesthood?
This does not mean that it’s going to be that easy. Some bishops (example in the UK), are already too silent about it. But that does mean that we stop doing our part of speaking to them?

In most of our cases, we continued practising priesthood because people did ask us for our services. We saw many local areas where priests do not go. Lay people are left all alone. Who is going to attend to their needs? This is like an emergency. All people who can help are obliged to do so.

Emergency or not, Married priests feel that they have a special charisma for today’s people to bring God’s message. It’s the sign of the times. People who read between the lines should come to the same conclusion: we need married people to bridge the distance between priests and married people. Married people will look upon their priests in order to look for concrete examples on how to live the gospel in today’s world.

Baptised person: you are going to run the parish from this day onwards!

Who gives birth? Who is side by side with a new born baby? Who breasts feed the baby? Who answers the child’s questions? Who teaches him about God? The answer is usually (although there are some exceptions) a woman. Women, whether we acknowledge it or not, are the apostles who speak about God to their child. They are the ones who facilitate the relationship between God and the new born child. This continues for several years. Most probably during the teen’s years, existential questions may be asked by the young teenager which leaves some parents with their mouths wide open, in awkward silence.

Women are already acting like priests in their own families because they bring God to their family. What’s missing? It’s their input in the parish. We all know that more priests and bishops are becoming aware of the lack of priests in parishes (in Europe and North America). The first response is being that of amalgamating parishes. This is contrary to what people expect, because today we look for a sense of belonging in our parish. Now if the parish becomes bigger, that sense of community disappears. If that disappears, most probably church attendance will go down too. If that happens, what happens to Christianity if we don’t meet every Sunday? How are people going to learn how to find God in their busy lives?

One German bishop, is proposing a different path (finally). Yes lay people (those who are not priests), can manage a parish! Can you understand the meaning and the implications of it? Yes women too can manage a parish. The Holy Spirit always moves in hidden areas. There are many people out there who think that the Catholic Church will never change (it’s against our faith!!). Yet surprises will never stop in our life. The main problem is always the same. We have our own agenda and we want God to obey our ‘orders’. God will move his church when he deems fit. Obviously some of us who wish to hurry, will feel disappointed. Yet, as Catholics we have to bow to God’s will as we daily pray through our Father.

Now what does this mean? We need to prepare many lay people in order to take over our parishes. Obviously, they need preparation. When it comes to managing people, I do believe that some people are already highly qualified to do such job. The same goes for accounts and other daily running schedules. Yet the most important one (ie implying for married priests), they need to be trained in theological studies. This week I posted a link to a preacher who emphasized the role of women deacons in the early church. Now how many women know about that? Very few. If more lay people go to such courses, we could manage the church much better. Trained people is the best answer for tomorrow’s church because as we have seen in Germany, lay people one day will take over (with or without the consent of some priests!). Statistically this is beyond any doubt as future numbers will force the church to change path. The important thing is that we’ll have a good number of lay people who are prepared to take over as otherwise, unprepared and unqualified people will do more harm than good.

Let’s start thinking about the future, today or right now! May God Bless you all!

Please don’t publish my story

I was happy editing the latest story I had for publication……..I received an email where the person concerned tells me NOT to publish her story. This has been happening quite a long time. Why are victims afraid to have their story published?

This is common for all victims of criminal activity. We consider the fact that a priest who abuses his position of authority and trust, on the same level as that of a policeman who forces his victims to commit any illegal act under coercion.

One of the first steps is make the victim aware of what kind of action is she victim of. Victims, because of various reasons, cannot comprehend the seriousness of the act committed. As a defence mechanism in fact, in many cases they blame themselves rather than blame the man of God. Maybe it will be more devastating to their faith to admit that the man of God commits such criminal acts!!! Some of them try to camouflage it as ‘love’. In most cases the priest might be called a serial abuser of women. In most cases these women are in a vulnerable position (most probably emotional one) who simply cannot refuse some form of attention/cuddling/kisses etc.

The priest knows that as a public person he is at a very high risk if his story comes out. Living such high risk cannot be tolerated so he turns the tables by turning the abused person into a terrorised one. This game cannot be understood by the abused person as in her situation she feels too weak to react. She tries to console herself (mistakenly) by thinking that he is the only one who pays attention to her. In some cases the priest allures the victim by buying some expensive gifts.

The abuser, ie the priest, inflicts a sense of guilt or that of fear in his victim in order NOT to talk (like all criminal people), or write. The victim most probably lives in a highly inflated sense of fear. She is enslaved with this sense of fear. Maybe she feels sorry for him. In most cases it’s true that the congregation, again because the truth is too hard to handle, they might opt in for labelling the woman as a great sinner (they use another much stronger word!), when rumours start to surface. But this is another proof that a relationship based on fear is no relationship at all and there is no sign of love at all. How can we speak clearly to so many women who fell victims to their pastor?

We are all for support and education to ALL our victims. We need to make them aware of the game being played by their priest. We need to empower them to take action. Obviously, it’s easier said than done. But this is an important part of our pastoral outreach to such victims. We are not here to judge but rather to accompany these people in their spiritual walk of life.

We are all in favour of publishing such stories (although changing of names, places etc. might take place), because the people attending churches need to know what kind of priest do they have mingling with their families. They have the right to know. We cannot take away rights. Nothing to add nor delete. Secondly, it would be an eye opener for many others including some who are already passing through such experience. Thirdly, it would help our cause to press for married priests. Most of the priests, because of the celibacy promise, have become sexually dysfunctional. We have to make it very clear though that we don’t intend to push all priests to get married. We do acknowledge that not all people should be married, for various reasons. But married priests are a welcome change in the church in order to bring subsequent changes in the parish.

Finally let’s all remember that when one is doing a journey there are people at the beginning, half way through and those who are at the very end of it. In the spiritual world we’re in a journey. It doesn’t mean that one is better than the other. It means everyone is on different levels. Let’s remember that maybe before passing through a love experience with a priest, most of the readers would have condemned such women. Now after a personal experience they have walked further in their spiritual growth. Now they see a lot of hidden aspects that were hidden previously from their understanding. Let’s realise that everybody is progressing through such spiritual walk. Nobody is perfect. Nobody can feel superior to anybody. Let’s welcome everybody on our blog without the fear of being judged or labelled.

The priest and today’s world

The media and the common people are very creative when they invent stories especially involving a priest who has just left. Most probably they give a reason to something that they find extremely hard to digest! The usual answer is that one left to get married!

Although in some cases it might ring true, yet in most cases, we encounter a different picture. The priest is not so happy with his surroundings, happenings or way of life. In the quoted article, one finds an ex seminarian (one who is studying for priesthood), who is not happy with the way of life the friars are living in the monastery. He feels very uncomfortable that whilst his mother has to make both ends meet, in his monastery there is a superfluous luxury notwithstanding the fact that they took the vow of poverty! The most important thing of all is that it has effected his spirituality. Although for others it may seem to be trivial, it cost him his place in the monastery. He couldn’t accommodate this divorce between what he believes and what he sees daily in the monastery.

One of the most terrible lies is that priests don’t get married because they need to be 24/7 for the people of God. Many years ago people used to call them to come and accompany people at their hour of death. Now that job is practically gone except maybe in hospitals. The problem with most priests is that they view their work according to the number of masses or sacraments they need to administer. In most parts of the Western world church attendance has gone down so practically they have much less work to do especially during weekdays. On the other hand circumstances have changed and most people are not be found during the traditional eight to five working shift.

Mass and sacraments have lost their magic touch for the common people. People need to be evangelised. People need a human contact with the church. They need to be taught many things about religion as they are ‘ignorant’ in most religious issues. Most probably they would get the wrong impression of the church because in many cases it’s mostly silent in the digital world! When people are passing through a difficult/loving phase in their lives, the church is mostly absent. Even attending mass, in most cases it is something very anonymous! This is a fact which seems not to preoccupy bishops when amalgamating parishes!

Most probably the biggest issue (which goes unnoticed by many), is that most priests, outside the sacramental world, they don’t know how to deal with it! The still don’t know the importance of building a real community in their parish. They were never trained how to do pastoral work properly (it is not simply the distribution of the sacraments). Pastoral work should culminate in the person finding Christ and building a personal relationship. Now before embarking on such an adventure, one needs to know the flock. There are various ways and means how to get to know the flock but the best one seems that of family visiting. It is physically demanding and time consuming, yet it yields the best results. It builds a good bond between the priest and the parishioners.

As priests are transferred from one parish to another, the parish council seems to be the most appropriate one in order to work hand in hand with the pastor. How are relations with the pastor? We can find various examples yet very few parishes provide professional teaching and caring for it. The parish council is another largely unknown ‘thing’ in the parish. Most people are never introduced to it. They never vote for it so how could it be an effective instrument in the hand of the parish?

Then there is the church in general. The priest comes into contact with many relationships, hidden or otherwise. Yet he is representing the church. In many cases there is an internal conflict between what the church believes and what the faithful are living. Some people prefer to ignore such conflicts. Others simply leave the church, others try to find a leeway. Many pastors know that such conflict is bound to get bigger all the time if the hierarchy (people at the very top of the church), do not live in the same conditions. Recently I had a discussion with some religion teachers. They were surprised that the church hasn’t changed her mind when it comes to contraceptives. The fact is that these religion teachers have taken a different answer to such challenge in their married life which is beyond that of the church. Now what about priests and their internal conflicts? How would they solve them?

We hope of providing some food for thought to our readers. As usual, we didn’t cover all that needs to be written down. But that’s a big plus for our readers to start writing immediately in order to provide more shades about the mentioned topic!

Married Priesthood and the face of the New Church

Recently the Pope himself said that maybe he won’t visit some countries as by that time there would be a new Pope! This is no new news. Many priests are very old. Will they live beyond 100 years? Most of them will surely die before reaching 90 years, maybe 80. It’s a time bomb that we knew about it a long time ago. Most of the priests serving today are over 60. So some mathematics will help us to get to know the future. Who will serve the parishes then?

We never had any doubts that married priests will form part of the future church. This is simply because of one reason: there won’t be enough priests. Even the most dogmatic and anti-married priesthood supporter will accept the fact that most parishes will become priest-less!!!

On the other hand, it seems that most non-married priests are still resisting the idea. Is it worthwhile to launch a ‘battle’ against such priests? They are still in power and they know how to play the game of authority. It would be a suicide. Most of today’s priests are never going to leave the comfort zone. We explained the various reasons in past issues. One can go back and see why it’s so difficult for a priest to start a new life as a married person.

Any other solution? Yes. This is the biggest change we need to do. Enough with waiting a higher authority to say yes. Let’s start today. How? By looking for the right people to manage a parish. There should be a never ending of list of people who have a kind heart and are ready to serve their community. How about encouraging them to take a leadership role? The challenge today is that if a religious community dies, it will be very difficult to substitute that kind of community with something else. Our communities will become anonymous when there is no unifying factor such as religion.

In practical terms, what does it mean? Well, managing a parish, besides involving managerial skills (which they might possess already), it calls for one to be well versed in theology. How about starting a course today? There are universities which offer evening courses in theology. Obviously this might a take a long time and it needs highly motivated people! That’s why we are suggesting the idea today, so that by the time the call for married priests comes out, they would be already qualified for the job!

What about the priests who left the parish are living their love dream? Well, seeing the needs of so many people, gives them authority to continue living their priesthood. They can start their own communities which will surely include many people who had left the community many years ago. Like Jesus in the gospel they will start discovering new people who live in the periphery of the church.

In one line, we can’t be critical about the Catholic Church without ourselves dirtying our hands in the process of helping out to create a new face for the church! Let’s work!

Married Priests: the fine print

How do you feel when a friend forgets all about you, then one fine morning he calls you and asks you a favour? On one hand you are thankful that he/she remembered you. On the other hand you realise that friends are not there simply to be used by others! If friendship has died or has been forgotten, why ask for a favour after such a long pause?

This is the effect married priests feel at this moment in time. Married people will be allowed to become priests but only in areas where priests are needed! In the church where there is a talent, it is for the common good ie for the whole community. So it should be shared even in those churches where apparently there are more priests.

Indirectly one is giving a hidden message. Well we don’t want married priests, but you know, we don’t have priests, our churches are closing. So between two evils let’s go for the lesser evil (ie Married priests)!! We’ll have married priests but only in areas where they are needed urgently!! Maybe a place in the bush where people don’t mind at all having a married priest. Indirectly it’s saying that marriage is not compatible with priesthood. Maybe we still have remnants that marriage is bad or sinful, or in more modern terms, distracts the priest from his daily duties?

Who is judging where the most needed areas are? In today’s world, is it enough to have a sufficient number of priests for the distribution of sacraments? What about evangelisation, especially in Europe? Do we have a sufficient number of priests? Who visits families? What is the place of the priest in today’s cities?

Many of our readers are asking: what about today’s priests? Can they get married? Well we have already stated in the last post that the Pope is looking for married priests to be ordained priests and not priests to get married. But we do agree with most of our readers and ask the same question: why are priests being excluded from marriage? Is it the fear that most of them will be married? Is it the fear that a priest together with his woman would be more difficult to control? Is it the fear that celibacy would be seen in a different light? Is money the problem?

Notwithstanding all the good intentions of the Pope, we didn’t hear of any single place in the world who has officially asked for married priests. Maybe it’s still too early to hear such news?

We don’t know what are the criteria to select these people and/or if there is any age limit. We’re still in the dark in an age when such news travel around the globe with the touch of a button. Maybe the Vatican is still thinking with a medieval age mentality.

Let’s be positive notwithstanding that we don’t see any tangible signs! One of our readers has suggested a poll where we can voice our opinion. Please do visit this site and write your opinion: Link. In the meantime one can write directly to his bishop to voice his/her opinion about married priests. Please remember that if we don’t speak about this issue, nobody will, as most people who are in favour of change are far away from the parish and won’t be attending mass in the near future.

The Pope is for married people who ask for priesthood and not priests who ask for marriage.

We were happy that most readers sent us quotations from newspapers about the Pope’s recent pronunciations about married priesthood. It seems that finally our readers are taking a more active role. This is the church we want to see worldwide. Baptised people are not simply receivers where they are happy to receive instructions from priests. They have a mind, a soul, a heart and a lot of experience how they experience God. Consequently, God can use anybody to bring changes in His church. This is not just theoretical but practical because the Pope is becoming aware that in most parts of the world, the church is disappearing simply because there is no one to tell people about the Good News. He has to resort to married people as otherwise the consequences could be disastrous.

This is a big improvement because now it’s coming from the mouth of the Pope. Obviously as usual some people are looking for more rapid changes in a shorter time. Some are completely against celibacy. Well we were never against celibacy. We are against celibacy when it is imposed and it is chosen at a very young age (over 18 years of age criteria is simply not enough!). Celibacy has its value in the church. We do believe that there are people who live celibacy in a wonderful way notwithstanding the sexual abuse crisis. Let’s not put all priests in one basket, although we do admit that these are very few.

Some people thought that the Pope would let his priests the liberty of choosing either to remain celibate priests or else get married. In this regard, it seems that he chose a conservative attitude by keeping things as they are. He is for married people who ask for priesthood and not priests who ask for marriage. There could be reasons for this: is he afraid that most priests would go for marriage? Indirectly is he saying that marriage might disrupt the spirituality of priests who are used to live alone? Is he afraid that maybe they need to pay more the priest because he has a family? Or maybe he is going after mature (of a certain age) married people, whose children are married and settled? Implying again that a true family (with young children) would hinder the priest from working in a parish? Again, one might imply that he is looking for mature people (of a certain age) in order to avoid more sex scandals?

On the other hand, calling people to join priesthood, means they need training. That means another challenge for seminaries (places where priests are trained). Are they going to join the celibate ones? Are they going to be trained in a separate place? What about the training years? How much do they need? So in practical terms we still have to wait for seven to eight years more to see married priests. In the meantime we have several priests who are not practising any more that could be called instantly where they can start to serve immediately. What’s wrong with going for this option?

We don’t know what’s inside the mind of the Pope but we were surprised that he let out his opinion with a newspaper. Is it the right channel to give out his views? Or maybe there are problems with the Vatican PRO system? What about the rest of the world? Aren’t there mature people who might give their opinion too? Or are we still in a pyramid where decisions are simply taken by those at the top? This is just one subject where the rest of the world thinks differently than those living inside the Vatican walls…..At least this Pope is more near us mortals, than the rest of the bishops, priests etc….

Again let’s not fall into depression. Let’s not give up! Let’s go for the hard work. We need to go out and share our opinion with the rest of the church. Let’s show them that we’re prepared. We need married priests even where there are a good number of priests. A married priest has a different charisma. He has something which others might not have. On the other hand, the needs of the baptised people are growing. People look out for God especially in dark moments. Where is the priest in such moments if they are so tied to the parish with all its activities? Like children in a family, today’s children need more attention and care then when we used to have sixes and sevens!! Same wise for the church. The church cannot do without a good number of priests, married and non-married ones in these days as the needs of the baptised people grow each day.