NOVALICHES Bishop Roberto Gaa has called on the faithful to pray for more Filipino men to enter the priesthood amid a growing shortage of priests in the country.
In a report by CBCP News, Gaa urged the faithful to pray for men willing to dedicate their lives to priestly service.
"We appeal to you to pray for your priests and pray for new vocations, even if the priesthood is difficult," Gaa said, as quoted by the official news agency of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).
"If we pray for more priests, more servants, then we can continue to share God’s graces with you," he added.
Gaa said the Diocese of Novaliches currently has only one priest for every 70,000 parishioners.
Speaking during the ordination of two new priests and two deacons over the weekend, he noted that the last priestly ordination in the diocese took place about three years ago.
“Ordinations have become a rare sight not only in Novaliches but also in other places because no one wants to become a priest anymore,” he lamented.
The CBCP said the ideal ratio of priests to parishioners is 1 to 2,000.
Last year, CBCP data showed there were about 11,000 priests serving 80 million Filipino Catholics — a ratio of one priest for every 7,000 faithful.
“We cannot minister to all of you,” said Gaa, who chairs the CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Vocations. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)