Topic of the week – There is no shortage of priests

Of all the arguments in favour of ordaining married men, the idea that we should do so to resolve an alleged priest shortage is surely the weakest (Letters, 18 April). It is not true that in England and Wales we are short of priests: the numbers of ordinations have collapsed, yes, but not in proportion to the large-scale disaffiliation that began in the 1960s.

Partly because of the influx of ex Anglicans, we now have a higher ratio of priests to people here than anywhere in the world bar Malta – and far higher than was common before the Second World War. It is also three to four times higher than countries with fast-growing Catholic populations.

Yes, our priests are ageing, but in line with our congregations. Meanwhile, we have a sharp, if still numerically small, rise in new young Catholics and in 20-25 young men entering priestly formation each year since 2020, which more or less corresponds to that influx.

Deciding to ordain married men should be made on its merits, not to meet a mythical shortage of priests. And those merits should weigh the impact of reinforcing the current confusion between ministerial leadership and sacramental priesthood which a recent Vatican report has highlighted the need to abandon.

You can greatly increase the proportion of clergy to people by opening the priesthood to married men and women, or you can promote the missionary, synodal conversion of our parishes called for by Popes Francis and Leo, from which flow the ministries the Spirit is calling forth: some to the priesthood, most to other ministries for which – as both Popes tell us – we now need to make room.

Maybe – though it’s doubtful – you can do both. But looking out for and encouraging these new signs of ecclesial growth seems a far better place to start from than anxiety about priest numbers. In the meantime, surely closing and amalgamating parishes is the obvious “solution” to the collapse of cultural Catholicism, just as building parishes was the obvious response to its expansion a century ago?

AUSTEN IVEREIGH, HEREFORD

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