Regarding the recent Herald News headline, "Diocese likely to close churches" — Catholic church and school closings have become common enough so that we can now, I think, call it a trend. Church officials struggle, unsuccessfully, to come up with ways to reverse this trend.
Well, here are a few suggestions: Back off, at least a little, from the church's disdain for and unacceptance of alternative lifestyles. Young people today are much more accepting of people who are different than previous generations. If an institution rejects large groups of people for what young people consider unfair reasons, the young people will reject the institution.
Today's church suffers from a shortage of priests. There are two solutions, and they are so simple. One: Allow priests to marry. In the early days of the church, priests could marry. Two: Accept women into the priesthood. I do not expect that this will happen any time soon. The Catholic church is a hierarchical "boys' club," and I do not think the fellows who run things are in any way inclined to give up their power. A stated reason for barring women from the priesthood is that Jesus chose all men for his apostles. Well, given this reasoning, perhaps the priesthood should be limited to men who sport full beards, wear shabby robes, and are ... Jewish.
Finally, the reason for many of these parish and school closings is their inability to pay their bills. I find that rather perplexing, given that the Catholic church is one of the wealthiest institutions on the planet.
Michael J. Clarke
Tiverton