Well, this is the first time I've heard the term "orthodox" applied to Roman Catholism.
As for priest shortages, a recent Toronto Star article addressed this:
Quote:
Well, this priest shortage: 55,000 parishes globally without their own resident priest, 3,000 in the United States alone. In Canada, a 50 per cent drop in the number of priests since the late '60s and dioceses scrambling to replace retiring clergy with young blood, much of which is foreign-born.
Worldwide, there were 405,067 priests in 2001, up from 404,082 in 1961, which officials claim proves the clergy are not fleeing vocations for secular life. However, in that period, the number of Catholics doubled, largely with gains in Latin America and Africa, which means a higher ratio of worshippers to priests, while in Europe, historically the backbone of Catholicism, the priesthood shrank from 250,859 to 206,761.
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So the priests are mostly in develoing countries, but not in western Europe and North America. Parishes here are disappearing, and we've all heard about these problems. Beryana, do you think they should fly priests in from Africa and Latin America to replace the older gentlemen in this part of the world? After all, the number of priests are growing there.
And I guess you probably don't think Anglicans are real Christians and following the Bible to its fullest because they ordain women. In fact, the first woman Bishop in Canada will be honoured by her high school (and my alma mater) this spring as a "distingushed Old Girl."
ETA: here's the link to the priest article:
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Con...acodalogin=yes
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