IN SPITE OF COVID AMY HAS £ 50,000 A YEAR TO SPARE – £150,000 OVER THREE YEARS
When I was in St Peter’s Cathedral – 1978 – 1983 we had no fancy paid ministers.
The priests, or at least some of them we the youth ministers etc.
My day started off at 9 am visiting the primary school in my area.
At 11 am I went to our girl’s secondary school with 1500 girls in it
I had a sandwich with the staff on the staff room and ministeredto them there
In the afternoon I went to our boys, St Peters, secondary school.
I then did some house visitation.
I saw people in the presbytery from 6.30 pm until 7.30 pm.
I then went to the parish youth club from 7.30 om until 9
Every night, as it eas the Troubles I walked around the perimeter if the parish to see was well before going to bed.
We had 8 Masses for 12,000 people every Sunday.
On Sunday afternoons I brought minibus loads from the youth club for a drive, either to a park or an amusement arcade.
Wrongfully, as I now see I seldom too a day off.
I was 26 and full of energy.
It did not bother me in the lease.
We had no youth ministers, no funeral teams, marriage teams or lay pastoral assistants.
I loved every minute of my work and I as close to the people as I could posdibly have been.
To this day, 38 years later, it gives me joy to bump into former parishioners, who recall our time together with great joy.
ARE TODAY’S PRIESTS LAZY?
Not all of them, especially the older ones But many are.
They say Mass and do a funeral or two and talk about being exhausted.
In Kilkeel I had 6 Masses on some days and never complained about being exhausted.
I also say to complainingpriests: “How could you cope with an 8 hour day on a building site”?
I And so many newly ordained these day are into Latin Mass, vestments, cassocks and spending hours each day with their other priest friends drinking pink gins and talking about the gay scene.
If you want to the priesthood can be a very lazy, cosy life.
And while these priests ate not doing any work they are paying lay employees and using volunteers to do their work for them.
GOD BE WITH THE DAYS WHEN PRIESTS WERE MEN AND PANSY WAS THE NAME OF A FLOWER,” 😁
BISHOP PAT BUCKLEY 