Overseas Clergy- A blessing or exploitation? (Main Forum)

by Gail , Sunday, May 27, 2012, 16:38 (361 days ago) @ Debb

Thanks, Debb. Two quotes from this stand out:
"For the next decade it should be possible for Australia to gain priests from overseas,
despite the fact that in absolute numbers, the shortage of priests is often in fact much
greater in countries from which we are receiving priests, than in Australia itself."

.."A second reason is the wealth of Australia and similar countries. Some Australian
and U.S. bishops are funding training to African priests studying here, who also
celebrate Sunday Masses, and this supports the diocese back home. Some U.S.
dioceses are paying a fee to African dioceses for the use of their priests. It is also
true that some migrant priests to Australia save much of what we would see as a
paltry income to send home to their families and to former parishes. Compared to
what a priest in rural India might earn, say $15 per week, his income here is
immense. Some migrant priests hold collections in their parishes for church and
charitable needs at home. Therefore there is a financial attraction in coming here."

Whenever there's a financial incentive, we need to do some soul searching. What is the real cost to these priests and the communities they leave behind? What of the cultural challenges? When we rationalise our reasons for importing them and pretend it's an even exchange, then what does that say of us?

I have seen for myself the work of Indian priests amongst the desperately poor Dalit classes in their own country. India's priest-to-lay ratio is much higher than ours. Let's not fool ourselves. Here in Oz, we have access to all sorts of social services. We seek these priests to basically deliver what the "Eucharist is a Noun" crowd are after: Holy Communion every Sunday. We can cover all the other "pastoral" services we need elsewhere. Not so in India! I saw many faith communities from the lowest of castes, whose only champion in their society was the local priest. To think of these men being removed from that work because we "need" them, appals me.

An old priest I worked with years ago used to show me the minutes of the Dio COPS meeting from time to time. I saw one report concerning progress on our priest-import initiative. It was listed in point form, and one point was: "We shall be asking the bishop for his best men".

So not only do we go over there with financial incentives, we expect to cherry-pick the best of them! I was shocked. Who do we think we are? The ones with the financial upper hand, I suppose. What a position to put the source bishop in.

These are the hidden issues we need to think about. I would like to think the priests at the COPS meeting challenged that attitude, but I don't know. The minutes didn't elaborate.

Anyway, as Martin points out, it's only a matter of time and the shortage will be world-wide. And there are most definitely countries with greater needs than ours. In the meantime who knows what sort of cultural struggles these men who are sent here face. And we're not facing up to the reasons we cannot provide for ourselves. So many issues...

'"Then one little boy said, ''but the emperor is wearing no clothes''...". H C Anderson'