The priest shortage: a proposal

Catholics are deeply concerned about the priest shortage. Few sexually normal young men want to sign on for a lifetime of celibacy and the ones who do often leave, which is frequently a good thing. It seems to me that much of the problem could be solved by changing the structure of the diaconate.

What if young men were offered the opportunity to train for the priesthood without being ordinained into the celibate diaconate. At the same time, they could have a second, secular major like law, accounting, education, psychology, or whatever. As younger men, they could serve as financial directors, teachers in catholic schools, accountants, or whatever their secular occupation is. In return, perhaps their children could get scholarships to Catholic schools or maybe the church could help them by arranging favorable home loans or good health insurance. Having these young men serve the church in a secular capacity would free the priests to tend to religious needs rather than economic ones. Then, when these men were older and if they were unmarried at that point, they could be ordained into the priesthood--after their hormone levels had declined and they had had children.

Modern medical technology enables people to live longer, healthier lives, meaning that a priest ordained at age 65 might serve a decade or more.

This suggestion solves another problem. Many priests really don't know how to manage large budgets or how to be administrators. Having others handle these jobs would no doubt save many churches from undergoing severe financial trials. Over and over, I have seen compassionate, spiritual priests mismanage church funds, not from dishonesty but from lack of knowledge. I have also met priests who were wonderful administrators but amazingly insensitive people.

Just my thoughts on the vocation crisis.