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TIME: Almanac 1990
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1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso
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1990-09-19
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RELIGION, Page 98Priestless RitesCatholic bishops okay services led by nuns and lay people
The nation's 302 Roman Catholic bishops were in a celebratory
mood last week as they met in Baltimore to mark the 200th
anniversary of the founding of the first American diocese. But
their deliberations quickly turned sober as they confronted thorny
problems that dominated the agenda. Among their actions: a response
to AIDS that urges compassion for those with HIV infection -- and
strict chastity as the only sure way to avoid the disease -- but
sidesteps the bishops' earlier qualified toleration of condom
education; a reiterated call for a Palestinian homeland and
security for Israel; and a stepped-up antiabortion campaign.
Some of the most passionate talk, however, centered on what
many bishops consider an equally critical problem: the growing
shortage of priests. By the latest count, at least 1,000 of the
22,733 U.S. parishes have no resident clergy. The future looks even
bleaker. The number of priests (now 53,522) -is certain to decline
as the population of Catholics (54 million) increases. By the year
2000, experts estimate, there will be only half as many active
priests as there were in 1965, when there were only 46 million
parishioners.
Prompted by those alarming demographic trends, the bishops
endorsed a new rite that, if approved by the Vatican, can be used
in place of Sunday Mass in parishes where no priest is available.
The "Order for Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest"
allows a bishop to designate a deacon or a nonordained sister,
brother or lay member to lead a prayer service based on the
Scriptures. The bishops took care to see that such services will
not mimic the Mass. The rules do provide, however, for the addition
of an optional Communion service using sacramental bread previously
consecrated during a Mass.
Some bishops were troubled by the prospect of substitute
services. William McManus, a retired Indiana bishop, warned that
the strong tradition of Sunday Mass could be undermined "if we
bless this monster." Bishop Raymond Lucker of New Ulm, Minn., urged
a study of the priest shortage that would face such issues as "Why
can't we ordain people other than celibate males?" For the Vatican,
however, that is a question not open to discussion.