The road to priesthood has become shorter. Youths opting for celibacy within the Roman Catholic Church would now be eligible to be ordained as priests within three-and-a-half years instead of the present four years.
Sixteen bishops of Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa and Chhattisgarh, who oversee the operations at St Albert’s College, Ranchi, one of the largest theological colleges in the country within the Roman Catholic Church, said that the present four-year curriculum for the Bachelor of Theology course has been brought down to three-and-a-half years.
The changes in curriculum would be effective from the next academic year. On an average, St Albert’s College, Ranchi, produces 50 priests a year, from among those qualifying for the theology course at the undergraduate and postgraduate level.
Church sources told The Telegraph that the Roman Catholic Church is facing a severe shortage of young priests, particularly in Europe and the US.
They pointed out that unlike Protestant churches that allow women to be ordained as priests, the Roman Catholic Church continues with its policy to keep women out of the altar, leaving it with no alternative but to speed up the training period of young priests.
“Bishops from Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa and Chhattisgarh, oversee the functioning of St Albert’s College, Ranchi. Today, 16 bishops from these four regions assembled at Ranchi and reviewed the functioning of the college with regard to the tasks and challenges ahead. This is, however, an annual exercise,” the rector of St Albert’s College, Father C.R. Prabhu told The Telegraph.
In yet another major decision, the group of bishops, today suggested that separate residential accommodation would be given to nuns, who are being sponsored by various church organs from all over the country to study at St Albert’s College, Ranchi.
“At present, only male priests are provided with accommodation within the college premises. Over the past five years, a number of nuns are also being sponsored by various missions to study theology at St Albert’s College. Though women are banned from being ordained as priests, yet they are being sent to do their theology bachelors to equip them to take on other tasks within the church,” Prabhu said.
Since no accommodation facilities exist now, around 12 nuns are staying outside the church premises.
The group of bishops today suggested that a separate hostel would be constructed outside the college premises dedicated to women, Prabhu said.
With these changes, the Roman Catholic Church hopes to overcome the staff crunch problem across the country and abroad.
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