Point 1 of the simple ten point plan for extending ordination
anywhere in the world, mentioned in July on this site is:
(i) “The Ordained Minister, one of a number elected by his fellow parishioners, is duly ordained, says Mass and helps to provide the Sacraments,
under the authority of the Bishop or Archbishop.”
Simple though this is, there are certain caveats, we think.

(a) Pope Benedict some years ago mentioned the idea of the extension
of ordination , i.e. to individuals who were “probati”, ie “approved”.This
is obviously implicit in elected parishioners being ordained.
Any added level of “approval” below this is surely unnecessary. The concept of “vocation”, whatever that actually means,can be set aside here : acceptance for election should be enough. In any case, most regrettably for the secular priesthood, as the scandalised world knows, it has proved impossible to assess “vocation” accurately , even for the rectors of seminaries with six years to do it in.

(b) 25 years is considered a fair definition of a generation. Hence, Generation 1 : 1-25, Generation 2 : 26-50; Generation 3: 50 upwards.
Who to elect ? A fogey is a fogey , lay or clerical. Last week’s Jesuit magazine “America” warns about what it calls “clericalised laity”, although in a slightly different context. (Come on- you know them, I know them. One of the two priests hearing confessions last Christmas Eve in a Glasgow parish took ill. With many waiting, the other priest gave General Absolution -and was reported to the Archbishop).
At the far end of Generation 3 as the writers are, and given that many congregations are weighted in favour of age, we can say that perhaps we should consciously leave it to the other 2 generations. Yes, even the last part of Generation 1.
A moment, some may say. Young men of only 25 saying Mass and bringing the Eucharist to the people ? Years ago in Scotland on 29th June in any year dozens of young men would have been unleashed on Scotland’s parishes to do just that. Why not now ?
Once again you may feel that vineyard labourers, as ever, seem to be getting the rough end of the stick. Others, elderly secular priests possibly among them, may feel that if you fancied the job, you should have gone for it away back when.
But the point is, of course, the Eucharist. If it is not too late, the creation of Ordained Ministers may provide our young people with a way out of their apathy or even antipathy to participation in the spiritual life of the parish. To see in Sunday Mass not just an elderly and in some ways an alien figure but a parent, a relative, or even a well-known parish figure bring the Eucharist and the spiritual energy of the Church into their lives , in their own Church and their own district is something they must not be denied.
And to take a step which could bring the Eucharist to China would be a pivotal moment in world history, and the lives our young people will lead.