Modernist church is dying. Now there are shortages of stealth priestesses and pseudo-clerics.

Diocese of Innsbruck desperately looking for new pastoral staff

This from Linz....they say everything begins in Linz, but actually this is the beginning of the end

Head of the diocesan personnel department, Schallner: Within the next five years, a quarter of all priests and pastoral assistants will reach retirement age

The Diocese of Innsbruck is desperately looking for new pastoral staff. Many positions are already vacant - especially in the area of pastoral care, there is a lack of specialists, emphasised the head of the diocesan personnel department, Michael Schallner, in a report in the "Tiroler Tageszeitung" (17 July). The fact that a quarter of all priests and pastoral assistants will reach retirement age within the next five years further aggravates the situation. There are currently 27 vacancies. Reasons include a high turnover in certain areas such as youth ministry, but also a high part-time rate and a salary level below that of the private sector.

The situation was particularly tense among priests and pastoral assistants: "There had been a big shortage for some time, but now it has become really acute," Schallner was quoted as saying in the "Tiroler Tageszeitung". "Perhaps our human resources development has not always been effective. And we already know that this could come to a head again. Because soon the so-called baby boomers will retire." In the coming years, a total of 52 pastoral staff would retire. "That's almost a quarter. How and whether we will even be able to absorb that, I am not at liberty to say."

For the many volunteers, the situation is additionally stressful: "They are frustrated because a lot of work is left on them. These people somehow try to maintain the basics. But without pastoral assistants, it's not that easy." In this respect, the staff shortage limits the diversity of the church. In the coming years, the diocese is therefore challenged to "invest a lot of energy to enable people to be active in pastoral work.

In order to work in the pastoral field, one needs a theological degree or in-service pastoral training. This is offered by the "In-service Pastoral Training Austria" (BPAÖ), for example, with regard to the training of pastoral assistants.

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