Inside this week's Pittsburgh Catholic is a full page-and-a-half list of the largest number of priest transfers that the Diocese of Pittsburgh has seen since a sweeping reorganization more than 10 years ago.
The retirement of seven of 314 active diocesan priests set off a chain reaction, causing 20 priests to move and five to take charge of two parishes. Priests ordained as few as four years are being appointed pastors, sometimes of large parishes.
Priests ordained in the late 1950s and early 1960s -- which had by far the largest ordination classes in U.S. history -- are now in their 70s. The canonical retirement age is 75, though some retire at 70 for health reasons. The diocese has 314 active priests for 214 parishes. Not all priests work in parishes. Some serve in hospitals or other specialized ministries.
All this takes place as parishes engage in "Envisioning Ministry" discussions about how they would manage if they lost one priest -- which would leave many parishes with no resident priest. Representatives of neighboring parishes are meeting in 56 clusters to consider such measures as coordinated Mass schedules, shared staff and shared sacramental preparation. Although that sounds like the reorganization process of 1992-1994, which closed 39 churches and merged 163 parishes into 56 new ones, it is not intended to produce mergers.
One of the biggest changes is in the length of time it takes for a newly ordained priest to become a pastor -- the person responsible for everything that happens in a parish. A priest ordained in 1965 could expect to wait 25 years to be placed in charge of a parish. More recently, the minimum training period was six years. Now any priest who has taken the diocesan pastor-training program is eligible.
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