Sunday celebrations without priests reveal clergy shortage

Published: 2004-04-06

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (CNS) -- Parishioners who attend the 8:30 a.m. Sunday Mass at St. Ann Church in Nashville recently got a glimpse of the impact of the church's shortage of priests. The pastor, Father Philip Breen, had to go out of town for the weekend and could only find substitute priests to say two of the parish's three weekend Masses. So instead of the usual 8:30 Mass, Deacon John Casey led the congregation in the rite for a Sunday celebration in the absence of a priest. "I think this is something that's going to happen more and more," Deacon Casey told the Tennessee Register, newspaper of the Nashville Diocese. The difficulty in finding a substitute priest is just one symptom of the growing crisis of a shortage of priests, Father Breen added. "We have to recognize there's nobody on the bench" to call up when needed, he said. As priests grow older with fewer new priests being ordained to replace them, the shortage is projected to grow more severe. "I'm sad that we've come to this," the priest said.

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