Letter Lays Out Lay Possibilities for Helping Priests

By Mary Donovan

John Concordia dropped off a letter he and Joan had received from Fr. Raymond F. Halligan, O.P., Executive Director of the Dominican Friars Guild in New York. In this letter, Fr. Halligan himself was forwarding a letter written to him by a psychologist, Dr. Rob Furey. It is a letter strongly supporting priests and setting forth ideas about how the people served by these men can do more to help them.

Dr. Furey writes that he has an idea how to increase the number of priests.

"We can pray for vocations and I am sure that helps," he said. "But we can do something else. We can take better care of the priesthood."

Dr. Furey said no matter how many changes occur in the Catholic Church, priests will always be recruited from the human race. They are wonderful people, but people nonetheless. They need to see that they are appreciated and that their work is meaningful. They need support and encouragement. And they need to take a breather now and then or they will wear out just like the rest of us.

"Don’t expect a priest to be perfect," he said. "Allow him to be human - and then appreciate what he has done with his gifts. Ask yourself: "would I want to be a priest in my parish?"

"Along with asking what their priest can do for their parish, parishioners should start asking what their parish can do for their priest.

"I’m concerned that we are not doing enough to help our priests. As a result, far too many develop compassion fatigue," he said. "When compassion fatigue sets in, caring human beings can be reduced to bitter and confused individuals who feel abandoned and alone. Their decision making may become impaired."

Dr. Furey said he is afraid Catholics have abandoned far too many good priests.

Too often we mistakenly believe that a calling to the priesthood involves only God and the person being called," he said. "Actually, callings to the priesthood are about God, a human being and a community. Vocations will increase and become stronger as we build communities that value, respect, appreciate and assist those who are called to the priesthood."