Hospital Chaplains in Demand

Growing scarcity of hospital chaplains to offer last rites noted.
The AP (1/28) reports, "Finding a priest to be at the bedside of the dying is becoming harder and harder across the country. The shortage of priests has been a problem for years, but its implications become most clear at dire times for the ill." Notably, "New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond says that across the country there are fewer priests and fewer young men who want to become priests." Data show that "hospital chaplains are now scarce: of the 23 hospitals in the Greater New Orleans Area, only five with Roman Catholic chaplains. And even in those hospitals, personnel are frequently unaware of the chaplains and don't call them."