Voice of the Faithful Supports Dialogue on Optional Celibacy in Response to Priests Shortage

Voice of the Faithful is supporting an Open Letter to U.S. bishops about beginning a dialogue surrounding optional celibacy that could help alleviate the impending crisis in the number of our priests. Several priest organizations and national church renewal/reform groups also are joining this effort.

Studies show that half of the 19,302 active diocesan priests plan to retire by 2019. We are ordaining about 380 new diocesan priests each year. If the rate of ordinations remains constant, as it has for more than a decade, we will have only 13,500 active diocesan priests to serve our 18,000 parishes in just eight years.

To sign the Open Letter online, or to download paper copies to circulate among family and friends, or to download a free organizing kit, click here. Only your name and diocese will be included in the online listing if you wish, or you may remain anonymous.

The Open Letter will be published in one or several national Catholic publications in 2011 and 2012. Every effort will be made to contact individual U.S. bishops and officials at the U.S. Bishops Conference.

If you wish to read about VOTF's position on optional celibacy, click here, and then click on the Optional Celibacy link, which will be in the list of links to reports and presentations that were made during VOTF's National Meeting in Detroit last month.

We hope you will join us in supporting this important effort.

Sincerely yours,

Donna Doucette, Executive Director