Is it fair to say the synod is unlikely to support married priests?
I think that’s right. I’ve not heard a strong call supporting it. Even Eastern churches that have married priests have expressed caution. Yet the synod has also bluntly acknowledged the problems created by the priest shortage. If a married priesthood is not the answer, what is? In Washington, D.C., on Friday, there will be a press conference to present a project called “Fishers of Men,” which reflects an increased effort on the part of the bishops to look at vocational recruitment. When there is a sensitivity to vocations, and a strong effort on calling people to ministry in the church, the results can be surprising. In Spokane, for example, over the next three years we’ll ordain eight men. In a diocese with 45 priests total, that’s a considerable percentage. Some dioceses are experiencing the same thing, others are not. In Spokane, we have a good vocations director who works well with the other diocesan priests. We also have our own college preparatory program, which has worked well f
