TWO significant issues face our Australian Church now and into the future.
They are:
- Our current shortage of priests.
- Our greying congregations.
At this time, the Catholic Church in Australia is facing a critical shortage of priests.
Fr Michael McCarthy, who is the rector of Holy Spirit Seminary in Brisbane, recently wrote: “It is in 10 years’ time that all of the dioceses in Queensland will experience an extreme shortage of priests” (August 2006).
We note the efforts of our bishops. We are informed of our deanery planning.
Parish councils, who face the daunting task to engage our parishioners to become a proactive laity in parish ministry, have called upon us.
We are preparing for the issue of a priest shortage.
Are we ready for the other daunting task, that of ministry to our rapidly growing, greying congregations?
We have all, no doubt, noted the majority numbers of ageing parishioners who attend our Sunday Masses.
What we may not have thought about is the fact that these numbers are set to increase because in our overall world population the number of aged persons is rapidly growing and they are living longer.
Throughout our young history, our Australian Catholic Church has provided ministry across the life span of its adherents.
Priestly and religious dominance ensured the nurturing of our faith and did much to ensure that those religious and social issues that came about in time were met.
They taught our children, ministered to our people, cared for our elderly, and buried our dead.
Today we have a serious shortage of priests and religious. We are finding ourselves in those situations akin to Catholics in other regions of the world where the laity have become the front-line presenters of our Catholic faith.
Isn’t this set to be our situation in the not too distant future?
Today, thank God, we have the legacy of a sound Catholic education system for our children. We know that our teenagers and young adults are being challenged in their beliefs and we all constantly pray that the Holy Spirit will guide them.
Our adult Catholics struggle with a range of faith issues, some of which have caused a drain away from the Church.
That brings us to our greying congregations. What is to become of them? How and by whom will adequate and meaningful ministry be delivered to them?
Even though the problem is complex it is not insurmountable.
One thing is crystal clear, and that is unless we collectively seek to understand the issues, plan to address the issues and undertake a shared commitment to addressing the issues, then we can expect to fail to be obedient to God’s great commandment which would have us love our neighbour – in this case, greying congregations.
Leaders from across the mainstream Churches, social scientists, medical practitioners, primary and mental health providers and local Church and community groups are gearing up for this ageing population explosion. Is religion ready?
Leaders from across all faiths give us a broad insight into this greying, ageing group’s need to be part of the Church’s focus – indeed to require a special focus in order that we might address their issues.
Research literature offers a broad picture of faith thinking and Church action.
Towards this end some examples are:
- The letter from the Catholic Bishops of the United States (1999) – “Blessings of age: A pastoral message on growing old within the faith community”.
This pastoral message has three stated purposes:-
“To affirm and challenge older people, acknowledging both the blessings and the losses of later life and recognising that interdependence, not dependence, is a true gospel value.
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To form a fresh perspective, one that sees older persons as active participants in contributing to the Church’s life and mission and in meeting the spiritual needs of its members.
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To develop structures, especially in parishes, that encourage and facilitate the contributions of older people.
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The Pontifical Council for the Laity (1998) issued “The dignity of older people and their mission in the Church and in the world”.
It says: “This pastoral message covers the following ground: The meaning and value of old age, the older person in the Bible, the reality that the problems of the old are problems of all people, the Church and older people, and guidelines for pastoral care with older people. -
The Christian Life Commission of the Southern Baptists Convention (1977) presented a position paper looking at the Bible on the nature of ageing, characteristics of the aged, the responsibilities of older persons and the care of older people
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The United Presbyterian Church in the US (1973, 1979, 1981) issued a policy statement on ministry to and with ageing persons.
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This policy statement considers the rights and responsibilities of older persons. The policy included suggested ways that the local Church can meet the needs of the elderly.
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The Reform Jewish movement has begun developing a “Sacred Ageing” program for congregations.
What do we need to do?
Parish councils and parishioners have to be informed of the wide variety of types of senior adult ministries, including clubs, telephone reassurance, trips, prayer groups, visitation, nursing homes, legal services, arts and crafts, housing and advocacy, etc.
The Pontifical Council for the Laity (1998) points out “the reality that the problems of old age are problems of all people”.
Members of our greying congregations need be affirmed and challenged in their role towards one another.
They have to be involved in developing structures, especially in parishes, that encourage and facilitate the contributions of older people, recognising that interdependence, not dependence, is the true gospel value.
The greying congregations shouldered responsibility, along with our pastors, for our parishes down through the years. When it comes to the future and the looming crises of priestly shortage and greying congregations, is religion ready?
Perhaps the question should be are we ready?
Robert Massey, who is nearly 70, is completing a Masters degree in Population Health at the University of Queensland.
