Priest shortage in the Catholic Church

A priest shortage describes the situation of a reduced number of priests in a certain area, especially in the Roman Catholic Church.

Cause

There are different causes for this phenomenon. On one hand a smaller number of the faithful leads automatically to a a reduced count of those in priesthood, because these can only come from those who are faithful. This is predominantly the case in Western countries.

On the other hand, a life without marriage leads to a reduced number of those in priesthood, which is especially the case in Africa. A societal rejection of life without marriage inevitably leads to a reduced number, because the acceptance of a celibate lifestyle declines.

Poverty and dire situations in South America lead mostly to the phenomenon of priest shortage.

In contrast, the causes of priest shortage in Europe are to be seen in the increasing secularization.

A further cause, which is frequently seen by analysts in surveys, is the fact that studied homosexual men have rarely chosen this occupation in the last 20-25 years in Western/Central Europe, electing instead to choose a different career path and find a life partner, and no longer using priesthood as a "hiding place."

Effect

The priest shortage leads to a sacramental and pastoral deficiency for the faithful of a certain area. The distances, which must be covered for a visit to a mass, baptism, etc. become ever longer, since the reduced number of priests understandably leads to a reduced amount of services. On the other hand this means for the priests, that the distances become greater, and they thus have less time for the individual churchgoer, since they must care for a greater amount of them.

In the United States and many other countries, the number of priests in the past two decades has substantially declined.