by Roy Dahl
Northern News Services

NNSL (Dec 22/97) - If you think it's hard getting hold of a dentist, try getting a priest.

There are only seven working in the dioceses north of 60, two in Nunavut and five in the west. Worse yet, it seems there are no Northerners who want to become priests.

Bishop Denis Croteau is praying someone will answer the call -- soon.

"I think many people up here have the impression the priesthood might be too demanding, or that they're not worthy of the calling," he said.

He also fears the requirements of the job are simply too stringent for some to live by.

"The life of a priest is a life of sacrifice. You're under service to people 24 hours a day, you get shelter and food and not much spending money," he said.

"To be a priest, you cannot marry, cannot have a family, and many young people have said they want families".

Croteau said that while recent efforts to get a Dene priest may have failed, he is still hopeful someone will step forward.

Maurice Lockhart was turned down recently by the church in an effort to become a priest. Croteau said despite having some ideal qualities, one factor worked against Lockhart -- his age. Maurice Lockhart is 84 years old.

In the Eastern Arctic the situation is even worse, where only two priests serve virtually the entire region.

Currently, one priest is in Iqaluit and the other is in Igloolik. Between them, they try to cover an area almost one-third the land mass of Canada.

Trips to each community to provide eucharist and conduct mass are expensive and infrequent. Several communities, like Pond Inlet and Arctic Bay, don't see the priests at all.

Serving the spiritual needs of some 20,000 Inuit with only two priests, even makes it hard to take vacations, said Reverend Frederick Homann, let alone conduct church business.

"When one of us leaves for a vacation, or a trip to our Diocese, it means the other has to cover the workload," he said.

Services in the Eastern Arctic are provided in both English and Inuktitut, with the exception of Iqaluit, where French is included.

The diocese has been making long-term plans, he said, that include providing language training to incoming priests and identifying local volunteers with interest in the priesthood.

Those efforts have resulted in sending one Inuk from Arviat to study theology in Ottawa.

But despite that success, the church is still not represented in communities like Pond Inlet and Arctic Bay. Something that bothers Homann.

Croteau admitted the priesthood is not for everyone. There are strict rules governing conduct, attire and education. Priests have always had heavy social and religious burdens to bear, including the requirement to be celibate, he said.

Rev. Basil Boudreau of Yellowknife admits it's not always easy to live the life of a priest. However, he says there are benefits to his job that make it well worthwhile.

"There are so many times I feel humbled because I'm in a situation where I can see how God works in people's lives," he said.

Boudreau says he believes the declining number of priests shouldn't be a major concern because, "the situation allows the community to become more involved in church activities".

Even though the church is strict in its adherence to the prohibition on married in the priesthood, Boudreau acknowledged it does allow them to administer to believers in other ways, offering married men an opportunity to become "lay ministers", conducting a variety of services ranging from baptisms and weddings to funerals.

But administering mass and performing the eucharist are functions that remain the domain of a priest. And with fewer priests each year, the workload just keeps rising.

Just seven priests serve 38 communities in six regions, including the Kitikmeot, said Croteau.

"Right now, three of those priests are on loan from other parts of Canada. I would love to have one priest from each region we serve."

Croteau's problem is made worse by the dwindling number of priests being ordained by seminaries across the country.

Attendance in seminaries is now about half of what it was 10 years ago, said Rev. John O'Flaherty of St. Peter's Seminary in London, Ont.

"There seems to be a lack of ability to make a permanent commitment to anything," he explained, adding that recent sex scandals involving church members, and smaller families in general, have not helped recent efforts to recruit potential priests.

But while the seminaries are dealing with fewer students each year, the Mackenzie Diocese has new problems to deal with.

Within two years, the three priests they "borrowed" will return to their own diocese, while the remaining three face imminent retirement. Croteau hopes someone will answer the call soon.

"Ideally, I would like to see a priest serve a region who comes from that region," he commented.

Croteau said if a well-respected native man in his 30s with some biblical training stepped forward, he would have no problem in helping him fulfil their calling as a priest.

Until then however, his diocese may just have to make do with borrowed priests and unanswered prayers.