(2005-02-04)
By Louise Haggett

Hundreds of Roman Catholic parishes have closed their doors in 2004, unsettling thousands among their flock. The closing of Churches has been going on for nearly 20 years due to a shortage of priests, but the problem is more deeply felt at this time because of the public revelations of the Church's sexual immorality, resulting in large financial settlements forcing more churches to close.

So what is a person to do if he wants to attend Mass during Lent or arrange for special services like a Lenten retreat? Call Rent A Priest!

CITI Ministries (Celibacy Is the Issue) is a lay Catholic organization that has spent fourteen years locating and recruiting priests who married so they could fill the spiritual needs of the people. CITI's website www.rentapriest.com provides not only the Canon Law basis for utilizing the services of married priests, but also free contact information.

Affectionately known as Priests Without Borders®, married priests are available to anyone who request their ministry. When asked, they will baptize, celebrate a home Mass, give First Communion, teach the Bible, legally marry and remarry, anoint and bury. They can visit nursing homes, hospitals, prisons, do retreats or provide assistance to corporations as human resource managers. Some married priests preach in other denominational or non-denominational churches, even though they are still recognized as Roman Catholic priests.

Church law also allows Catholics to invite married priests as celebrants inside their own Church building if they have no priest presider for the Sacraments. This was recently affirmed by a canon lawyer whose thesis at Belgium's Leuven Catholic University was based on CITI and Rent A Priest. Canon lawyer Jennifer Haselberger wrote, "The faithful have the right to approach 'suspended' [married] priests for the sacraments." Since an obligation to do this is expressed in the Code of Canon Law, it would seem that in ministering of these people the 'Rent-A-Priests' are acting in a canonically valid way." In order to activate these laws, the request must come from the public.

For more information regarding confession, Lenten Mass or other service in your area, log on to www.rentapriest.com or call 1-800-PRIEST 9. CITI Ministries is a 501.c3 nonprofit organization based in Framingham, Massachusetts.