“We are managing on our own.”

Last year, Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith, secretary for the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments addressed a conference on “The Parish and the New Evangelization” in Rome. From Catholic News:

Archbishop Ranjith answered questions from the conference participants after his address.

A priest from the Netherlands, who presented his country as “the most secularized country in the world,” asked for encouragement “because we are so marginalized — we try to find any kind of means, like the media, to show our presence.”

Archbishop Ranjith answered, “It is good to use all the means available and to think that sometimes ‘dreams can become reality’” but “the most important thing is to feel strong and trust in God … and to pray.”

He gave the example of his diocese in Sri Lanka, which has a large non-Christian population. Catholic laypeople go and visit the Muslim or Hindu families, he explained, and “they have tea together and discuss about religion.”

“The sad thing would be to give up,” the archbishop affirmed. “Be strong, be courageous, you will succeed.”

A priest from Belgium asked if closing parishes reflected a lack of faith. Archbishop Ranjith offered the example of a spiritual partnership between a Sri Lankan diocese and a German one. When a German priest died, Sri Lanka offered: “I will send you the best priest I have.”

The German diocese considered the proposal but eventually decided to close the parish. This “‘we are managing on our own’ means closing churches,” Archbishop Ranjith lamented.

Unfortunately, this attitude pervades many Western dioceses, including Scranton. Remember Futurechurch?

As for the priests? The days when a priest actually belonged to a parish are long gone, and the bishops know it. They don’t really want more priests – too much hassle. (If they did, they’d be on the phone to India, Nigeria and Poland and have two dozen priests on their doorstep by next Monday.)

Called to Holiness and Mission, with its call to close nearly a hundred churches is Scranton’s way of saying, “We are managing on our own.” Instead, we need to restore our Catholic culture. We need to import priests from countries overflowing with vocations to work in our new mission land. We need to stop discouraging priests and priestly vocations.