A Letter To Bishops

To the Editor:

As a regional representative to the CORPUS movement in the State of Connecticut, and in the interest of sharing public information to all of the in interested community, I request that the following open letter to our brothers, Bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States, be printed in The Newtown Bee.

We write to you out of our passion and love for God, our commitment to the ministry of Jesus and the gospel mission, and a deep respect for ordained priesthood within the Catholic community.

We’ve all experienced the fear of the apostles as they gathered in the upper room, uncertain about their future and the direction to take. We understand Peter’s hesitancy about “relaxing” the requirements for Paul’s converts to The Way. Rarely has the Christian community experienced mandating events such as the first Pentecost, or Paul’s meeting the Spirit of Jesus. More often, movement in the Church has been based on the pastoral needs of the Community of Believers.

In the spirit of Paul challenging Peter about the needs of the early Christian community, and in response to your own recent public recognition of the priest shortage, we say to you…

The discipline of celibacy is less recent than that of optional celibacy, and holds hostage from the people the Eucharist and other sacramental ministry.

The drive to maintain a celibate male clergy runs counter to the movement of the Holy Spirit among the People of God, many of whom have already been called to ordained priesthood.

The arguments supporting the ordination of married and single men and women are historically, theologically, and pastorally sound and have been privately endorsed by many of you.

The challenge to meet the growing needs of the Catholic community overwhelm and stress our shrinking population of canonical priest brothers.

The members of Corpus, for the past 25 years, have stood ready to serve, speaking out on the need to reform and restructure ordained priesthood for service to the People of God.

The number of married Roman Catholic priests who continue to minister to the pastoral and sacramental needs of the faithful is significant, growing, and gaining acceptance daily.

“What good father among you would give his child a stone when asked for bread?” You hold the Eucharist-centered, sacramental needs of your sisters and brothers in your hands. We urge you to make those needs paramount and to recognize the gift and grace existing in a renewed and expanded priesthood.

Respectfully,

The Rev Leo McIlrath

The Women and Men of Corpus

13 Sugarloaf Road, Sandy Hook          August 8, 2000