Fewer priests serving larger congregations is an ongoing cause for concern for the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy in the Archdiocese of Detroit.But Catholic administrators say the dwindling number of young men entering the seminary to become priests has not created a crisis even though they would like to see more men and women become priests and nuns.
Since 2000, the highest number of priests ordained in any year was nine in 2004, the low was one in 2007, and eight are expected to be ordained in May.
The Rev. Tim Burney, chief recruiting priest for the Archdiocese, said there are 18 men currently enrolled in the four-year program that precedes ordination at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit.
Burney visits the Archdiocese's 280 parishes regularly, talking to students in the various religious programs.
"I spend a lot of time with our youth, planting seeds, talking about vocations and telling them that God is calling each and every one of them," he said. "I ask the young men if they ever considered being a priest, brother or sister."
The Archdiocese also sponsors junior high days at the seminary. This year 300 seventh-grade students visited to see what life prior to ordination is like.
There are more than 90 seminarians at Sacred Heart, which is on Linwood and Chicago Road in Detroit. Burney said 36 of the seminarians will serve in the Detroit Archdiocese, with the rest headed for other dioceses in Michigan and other parts of the country and world.
Dr. Michael McCallion, director of pastoral resources and research for the Archdiocese, said the priest-to-people ratio in the Detroit area has grown. He said not long ago there was one priest for every 2,000 Catholics, and now the ratio is one for every 2,500.
"There are more people practicing the Catholic faith and fewer priests," said McCallion, who teaches sociology at Sacred Heart.
He said the Archdiocese has 665 priests, and that there are enough priests for the 283 parishes. However, the number of priests includes retired and sick priests, those working at hospitals, as chaplains and some work at retreat houses, he added.
Over the last 15 years, Catholic churches have closed and have consolidated with stronger parishes. Churches are offering fewer masses than they did 40 years ago, church officials say.
McCallion said nationally the Catholic population is up. He points to new immigrants, such as more Hispanics with 85 percent of them Catholic. He also said Hispanics for the most part go to Mass every Sunday.
Burney said there are fewer priests for a number of reasons, including fewer Catholic schools and social dynamics dominated by television, books and movies.
"We sometimes allow ourselves to become very fixated on the things of the world and we lose track of who we really are - a child of God," Burney said. "We are sending a lot of mixed messages to our children. The noise is so loud and these things are so accessible to young people that leading a life as a celibate man or woman is farther from their thought process.
"When we had a lot of priests and sisters (nuns) teaching in the schools and running the parishes, young people saw them every day working in the community where they lived. Young men and women don't see that visible sign like they once did."
McCallion said back in the 1960s there were two priests at most churches and the schools were filled with nuns.
That's no longer the case.
"When we compare our priest-to-parish ratio, it's not that bad here," he said. "If you go back 100 years the priest-to-people ratio is about the same as it is today if you factor in the deacons and lay ministers we have."
McCallion said in the United States the priest-to-people ratio is one priest for every 2,000 people. In South America it's one to 7,000 and in Africa one to 5,000.
"When you compare us to a lot of European countries, we're a priest-rich country," said McCallion. "We have some concerns but it's not all that bad."
Four years ago the Archdiocese had 306 parishes. It now has 283.
"We're holding our own," he said.
God called
The Rev. Robert Fisher is pastor of St. Lawrence Church in Utica - the second largest Catholic parish in Macomb County to St. Isadore in Macomb Township. He said he became a priest because he sensed it was what God wanted him to do. He said he worked for the Catholic Youth Organization at its camp near Lexington, Mich., and really liked working with people in a faith setting.
Fisher said he was studying computers and business at the University of Detroit when he decided to explore seminary life. He said he initially wasn't sure about becoming a priest, and thought of getting married and having children. Now, 16 years later, he is pastor of one of the largest parishes in the Archdiocese.
"I thought this is what God wants me to do," Fisher said. "I went to the seminary and had a sense that I was going in the right direction.
"I did my internship at St. Malachy (in Sterling Heights) and have been at it for 16 years. I really love my job and it's a blessing to serve our Lord."
Noting that Catholic families are getting smaller, Fisher said parents once would encourage their kids to become nuns and priests.
"Parents now want to be grandparents," he said.
Young men considering the seminary shouldn't be deterred by the academic requirements, said Fisher, noting those who struggle are given a lot of help. He said the education is intense and a seminarian really gets to know himself and God.
He also said he believes that women becoming priests is a dead issue, that it won't happen in his lifetime. However, he was quick to point out that women have contributed so much to the church in lay ministry.
Sister Mary Kathleen White has been a Felician nun for the past 19 years, and currently serves as principal of the grade school from where she graduated, St. Thecla. Located near Groesbeck and Metropolitan Parkway, St. Thecla is the only Catholic elementary school in Clinton Township, the state's largest township with just under 100,000 residents.
"I became a nun because I had a good experience with the sisters I had while attending St. Thecla," Kathleen said. "The nuns here were kind to me and I thought I would like be that kind to others and walk in their footsteps."
She said the principal at St. Thecla in the late 1970s gave her a little extra tender loving care when her mother became ill. She enjoyed her overall experience and decided to become a nun after she graduated from Regina (formerly in Harper Woods) High School.
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