It is becoming more and more difficult to find a priest to deliver the Last Rites to dying Catholics these days. This is a problem all over the country.  Priest shortages have been an up and coming problem for years but this shows the most when someone is very ill.

Gregory Aymond, Archbishop of New Orleans, says that in this country there are now fewer priests as well as fewer young men who are willing to become priests.

The death bed ritual, which used to be known as The Extreme Unction or The Last Rites, has undergone quite a change for the Catholics recently. This used to be obligatory but has now been replaced with a new sacrament. This is called the anointing of the sick.

According to Aymond, it is no longer as it used to be years ago or as it has been seen in the movies where a priest administers the Last Rites to someone dying. Now people are encouraged to have this new rite performed before ever going into the hospital. It is considered to be a community celebration rather than an isolated event.

Hospital chaplains are quite scarce these days.  Executive Director of the National Association of Catholic Chaplains, David A. Lichter, says that were nearly 900 members who were priests. That number is now a mere 458 and a lot of that number are elderly. This puts a dying person in the position of either having to plan to receive the sacrament or hope they can find someone at the last minute.



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