There is no such thing as a part-time Catholic priest: the sacramental character of Holy Orders is permanent. However, a priest can work part-time in ministry, and that may prove a solution to the lack of priests.

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The most talked about solution to the lack of Catholic priests is the ordination of married men. Unlike the ordination of women, married priests represent no innovation within Catholicism. As a matter of fact, such a step would signal the restoration of the practices of Early Christianity and mirror Jesus’ choice of Apostles.

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God’s revelation cannot be blamed for ordaining only men and excluding women: it is simply a Church practice that can be changed when necessary.

One option to end the crisis over vocations to the Catholic priesthood is to ordain celibate women. (For the sake of argument, let us separate married status and gender.)

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On balance, the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United States achieved its basic goals of stating remorse for the pedophilia scandal and showing solidarity with the vigorous cultural diversity of the U.S. Catholic Church. What the papal visit lacked was a direct encounter with the 800 pound gorilla in the Catholic sanctuary: vocations to the priesthood.

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Television spins everything: so do newspapers and commentators. This basic fact of American life carried over to the just concluded papal visit of April 2008. I don’t place myself over and above the crowd, but perhaps because subjectivity is so inescapable, it bears analysis.

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The Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI in Washington National Stadium presented to the nation the diversity of Catholic America.

Yes, the camera lens captured the near-Hollywood splendor of flowing costumes, the grandeur of operatic voices and the majesty of orchestral trumpets. But these were interwoven with the hymns and languages Catholic worshipers experience every Sunday in local parish churches.

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Pope Benedict XVI’s first message to Catholic America on his historic 2008 visit came early – on the airplane, in fact. The pontiff said he was ashamed of the abuse of children by Catholic clergy. He promised to do everything possible to see that such things do not happen again. There is likely to be a heated debate between those who believe this statement satisfied papal obligations to move beyond the scandal for the good of the Church and those who think it was superficial and self-serving.

I don’t anticipate any quick resolution of the matter, and still less a smoothing over of raw emotions. Before reengaging in the debate, however, a few items need to be recognized.

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He is afforded all the pomp and circumstance of a monarch, but his title is the Italian diminutive of “Daddy.” Some of his predecessors called for war, even leading troops into battle; others died pursuing peace. Some have been pedophiles and skirt-chasers; others ascetic saints. Through twenty centuries of ups and downs, the pope has remained as a fixture in Catholicism. His role is so basic to the Church, that everyone knows the rhetorical question: “Is the pope Catholic?” (The answer is: “Yes, because no other religion would take him!”)

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I have become convinced that the best way to study religion is to view theology through a materialist prism. If that sounds too academic a premise, the common sense equivalent is simple: Study living religion! In my opinion, we cannot view religion as merely a set of beliefs written down somewhere. The way people put their faith into practice is the more accurate measure of how important those beliefs really are.

To give an example for Catholic America, I would cite the practice of birth control. The Church encourages some forms of birth control and bans others: those are the things written down as doctrine. The actual practice of Catholic couples, however, is the material measure of the value of those pronouncements. How-the faith-is-practiced, in other words, needs to be included in assessing what-the faith-preaches. The mix of the two is lived religion.

This blog will explore the dynamics of lived religion in contemporary Catholic America. The Church will be at the center of my focus, but the institution is greatly affected by cultural expression and sociological changes.

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