Diverse group of Catholic organizations supporting call to honor the priesthood

The board of the National Federation of Priests’ Councils (NFPC), with support from the USCCB’s Office of Priestly Life and Ministry, has asked Catholics to designate Sunday, October 26, 2003 as "Priesthood Sunday."

A wide array of Catholic organizations are endorsing or supporting the initiative. Among the early supporters are the National Association of Lay Ministers, Serra International, Pastoral Summit, the Raskob Foundation and The Official Catholic Directory.

NFPC President Robert Silva said he hoped the event would help focus Catholics on the Priesthood as a central reality in the life of the Church, as well as give Catholics a chance to honor the hard working, honest priests who have suffered as a result of the recent scandals.

The readings for this 30th Sunday in Ordinary time call attention to Priesthood ("You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedeck" and the story of Christ, as Master, healing the blind man).

The USCCB Office of Priestly Life and Ministry suggests that the lay faithful of each parish, school or other ministry develop their own special way of marking the day and honoring both the priesthood and their own priests. Special liturgies, celebrations and the opening of a dialog between priests and lay people are encouraged.

A website has been established (www.priestsunday.org) to provide ideas for liturgies, social celebrations, reflections, dialogs on the priesthood and other events.

NFPC, which represents a majority of America’s 44,000 priests, focuses on improving collaboration in dioceses between bishops and priests.