An Austrian bishop has warned that the Eucharist is in danger of “drying up”, because the Church is not prepared to change rule on who can be a priest.
Former Vienna auxiliary Helmut Krätzl has called on bishops to take up Pope Francis’s request to “make courageous suggestions” in order to stop eucharistic scarcity.
“We must open new doors including discussing that of priestly celibacy”, Bishop Krätzl said.
The Eucharist should be available where people live, he insisted.
He did not agree with bishops who said the Eucharist should be worth travelling a certain distance to.
Bishop Krätzl cited the example of a remote Brazilian diocese where consciousness of the Eucharist was lost if Mass was only celebrated occasionally.
Catholics tend to drift to other denominations in such cases, he feared.