PRESS RELEASE

FROM THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PRIESTS OF AUSTRALIA

RE:  The Submission from the Executive

of the National Council of Priests of Australia

to the World Synod of Bishops, XI Ordinary General Assembly.

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The Preface to the working document for the Synod begins:

“From the very beginning, the Church has drawn her life from the Eucharist.  This Sacrament is the reason for her existence, the inexhaustible source of her holiness, the power of her unity, the bond of her communion, the source of her dynamism in preaching the Gospel, the principle of her evangelizing activity, the font of charity, the heart of human promotion and the anticipation of her glory in the Eternal Banquet at the Wedding Feast of the Lamb (cf. Rev. 19:7-9)

We want to affirm the above statement very strongly. 

We share the hopes expressed in the Synod Document’s Preface and five major themes –

• There is a deep longing - hungering - planted in the hearts of all people which only Christ can satisfy.
• There is a crying out for genuine community across the world – and the Eucharist can be the source and inspiration for this.
• There is an ongoing need for catechesis around the mystery we celebrate, and much to be learned from the various ways and traditions in celebrating Eucharist across the world over 2000 years.
• There is and always will be a need to deepen our understanding of the various elements of the rite as we celebrate the Eucharist of the Lord.
• And finally – Mission!  Eucharist, every celebration of Eucharist ought of its essence lead to a transformation of our daily lives and a transforming of our world.  Every Eucharist is an occasion to make a serious commitment to fight the tragedy of hunger, the affliction of illness, the loneliness of the elderly, the hardship of the unemployed and the struggles of immigrants.

We believe however that there is one big question that needs urgent attention as well as the above:

Where are the ordained ministers to lead the celebration of Eucharist reverently, regularly and effectively?

Our Catholic tradition demands an ordained priest to lead the celebration of the Eucharist.  We need to set the wheels in motion to DRAMATICALLY INCREASE the numbers of ordained priests.

We believe that this is the key to ensuring that the Eucharist becomes all that this Synod of Bishops wants for the Church and the world.

We would like to see a goal set across the world that the Church aims to have an ordained Priest for every 50 Catholic families / 200 people – and train and support these priests to lead the celebration of the Eucharist reverently, relevantly and regularly – within that community of 50 families / 200 people.

Then and only then do we begin to address the heart of the problem.

In regard to achieving this dramatic increase in the numbers of ordained Catholic Priests we believe that there are at least 6 strategies which should be explored thoroughly, through honest and open discussion, and supported and encouraged by a world wide exercise of prayerful discernment.

Vocation is very much about God calling.  The discernment about WHOM God is calling to Priesthood at this time is possible only if the whole Church is speaking to God and listening to God.

We would like the Church, locally and across the world to explore these six strategies, mindful all the time that God is the One who ultimately calls people.

1. We need to promote the vocation to Priesthood, including some clarification about what Priesthood involves.
2. Single and widowed men of good character and standing in their community could be appropriately trained to lead the celebration of Eucharist within their community.
3. We ask the Church to seriously consider extending the invitation to Priesthood to married men.
4. We would welcome serious consideration of the re-instatement as Priests-in-ministry of Priest who have resigned from the Priesthood in order to marry.
5. Should not consideration also be given to allowing already ordained Priests who seek to marry, permission to do so and continue in ministry?
6. Finally, there is abundant material across the world which explores the history and questions why all Catholic Priests have to be male.  Is this really by Divine direction?  Is it fair and just that open and honest debate about the history and theology of women in Priesthood is restricted so heavily?

Everything mentioned in the Instrumentum Laboris is very important as we continue to draw the people of the world into the Mystery of Jesus through Eucharist.

But most critical of all issues is the truth that many thousands of Catholic communities around the world are losing their identity because they are unable to celebrate Eucharist regularly, reverently and relevantly.

“The Church makes the Eucharist and the Eucharist makes the Church” as St Augustine said.  Making the Eucharist available to every Catholic Community is the most pressing issue facing us all: and at the heart of this is the need to ordain many more people as priests!