“ In 1989 at the US Bishops Conference the bishops were to vote on the following guideline – ‘An order for Sunday celebrations in the absence of a priest’. Bishop Emeritus William McManus urged the bishops to contemplate the implications of this vote which he said amounted to a de facto acceptance of priestless parishes and move away from the Mass as the centre of parish life and he continued ‘Are we prepared to make a value judgement that it is better to have priestless Sundays than to ordain married men or women?’ The guidelines for priestless liturgies were approved 225 to 18 with one abstention.”  

This is a quote from a Dec 20 article in the ACP-Ireland on-line publication here:  http://www.associationofcatholicpriests.ie/2016/12/eucharistic-starvation-and-the-need-for-priests/   There are 6 more articles since then on the issue - just go to the home page and start connecting to recent articles.  

Germans, Irish, Brazillians - may we see more brave priests join this effort.