U.S. mission priests want church updates -- but on the short side

Published: 2007-09-11

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Priests serving in U.S. mission dioceses say they could benefit most from updates on Catholic thinking and practice -- but keep it short, please, they said. The desire for information and resources was one of the findings of a survey conducted on behalf of the Chicago-based Catholic Church Extension Society and the National Institute for the Renewal of the Priesthood at the Washington Theological Union. The survey findings were made public in early September. Priests responding to the survey said they would also benefit from information on such multicultural issues as Hispanic ministry, immigration, inculturation, multiculturalism and working with diverse cultures. They added they would also like to know more about evangelization, catechesis, ministry to nonpracticing Catholics, the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and liturgy. "Most of these pastors are isolated from brother priests, and unless they are reading church magazines, books or are following the daily religious news on the pulse of the church and innovations it is generating, they risk becoming status-quo priests who lack the energy and creativity of new ideas related to their ministry," said a summary by Father Eugene Hemrick, who conducted the survey.

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