The Bishop writes…
At Petertide, I had the privilege of ordaining seven deacons (two of them to be permanent deacons) and three priests. It is, of course, what bishops are for – to send labourers into the vineyard, and ordinations are both joyful and solemn occasions.
Pope Benedict has proclaimed a Year for Priests which started in June which is to focus on the crisis faced by the Roman Catholic Church in the lack of vocations to the ordained priesthood, the lack of morale among many of its priests and the changing nature of their ministry. Anglicans face similar challenges.
The Year for Priests is not intended to undermine the ministry of the laity, but rather to focus on the role of the ordained ministerial priesthood within the priesthood of all believers. At the very heart of the priestly ministry is the celebration of the Eucharist and the representative role that goes with ordination.
In Wales, we know that many of our stipendiary priests will be retiring over the next few years and the numbers being ordained will not replace them. We also know that we need young people to be ordained and that we shall need to be more flexible in the ways in which we train people for ordination. It is more than teaching theology – it is about priestly formation and a way of life. It is about being prepared to be sent and spent in the service of God. Priestly ministry is focused on the Cross and we can never have it on our own terms. It is about integrating the spiritual, intellectual, pastoral and human elements to produce priests for the Church and for the world.
We need to prepare our priests for the ministry of the future and to prepare them to work in teams with other clergy and the laity. They will need to be more accountable and to engage in life-long learning and spiritual development if they are not to suffer ‘burn out’ and that terrible clerical tendency to cynicism which kills the spirit.
In July, Bishop Lindsay Urwin OGS (photo above) came to talk to a Clergy Synod about renewal and at the end of August, I shall be taking our clergy to a diocesan centre in France for a time to pray together and to be together. Please pray that it will be a time of blessing and recognition of the wonderful gift of ordination.
Bishop Gregory of St Asaph is going to chair a group looking at how to foster vocations to the priesthood, but the seeds of vocation are often sown when lay people see the potential in someone and ask, ‘Have you ever thought of being a priest?’ We have a good number exploring their vocations within this diocese and I am grateful to Canon Ambrose Mason, our Director of Ministry and to our Vocations Advisers for the care they give to such people, but we shall need far more priests in the near future and we need to encourage young people to explore a life in the priesthood.
+ Dominic