KANSAS CITY (MO)
The Kansas City Star

By HELEN T. GRAY
The Kansas City Star

Monsignor William Blacet rises early to start his prayers. He celebrates Mass every day at Our Lady of Good Counsel. He hears confessions and gives counsel. He conducts weddings and funerals.

He cruised past his 90th birthday in December.

“I was not ordained to retire,” explains the oldest pastor in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. “As long as I can do the duties of pastor, that’s what I want to do.”

But is the spirited and beloved priest at the Westport church a poster child for the aging Roman Catholic clergy? Nationally, the average age of all priests is now 63, up from 35 in 1970, according to a study of the widely acknowledged problem. In the Kansas City area, that number is only slightly better. …

The upheaval to which Offutt…