Throughout all the years of my involvement with the Church, the parish has been taken as the crucial ecclesial institution. Talk to almost anyone involved in Catholic ministry over the past 50 years and you will hear ample criticism of lots of aspects of Church life, but you will, almost without exception, hear praise of the parish. I think here of Fr Andrew Greeley’s lyrical evocations of the parish as a uniquely successful social and religious institution.
Certainly within the context of diocesan priesthood, parish work is the unquestioned default position. Ministry outside the parochial setting – hospital work, seminary work, teaching, administration, etc – is acceptable, but it is generally seen as not quite what a diocesan priest ought to be doing. I think it’s fair to say that the overwhelming amount of our money, time, energy and personnel go into the maintenance of parish structures.
