Priest Vocation Crisis? Yea Right!

[Dave]

Priest Vocation Crisis? Yea Right!

Peter and Paul Ministries

Dioceses corrupted by heresy in the United States cry for women priestesses and married priests because their seminaries are empty. The latest disclosure of vocations by the Church’s annual statistics are surprising! Worldwide, the number of major seminarians stands at 110,000 up from the dismal low of 60,000 in 1975. In other words, we have had a 75% increase in the number of seminarians over the past two decades. The increase in vocations has even been seen in parts of the United States such as, in the dioceses of Arlington (VA), Denver (CO), Philadelphia (PA), Lincoln (NEB), and Peoria (ILL). Father James Gould, vocation direct for Arlington Va., said, “ that their problem is that they don't have enough beds for all the priests that they are ordaining.” (about 23 in the past 2 years) The diocese of Lincoln with a population of just 84,000 Catholics has 45 seminarians. Compare that to unorthodox dioceses such as Milwaukee (Catholic pop. 680,000) and Los Angeles (Catholic pop. 3 million) and their seminaries are empty.

Why are some dioceses in the United States and many others around the world experiencing a springtime in vocations? The answer is those dioceses which promote loyalty to the pope and the magisterial teaching of the Church are fulfilling the needs of young men seeking the priesthood. The candidates today see the errors of the 1960’s and 70’s and do not want to become politically correct priests which stand for nothing and fall for everything. Orthodox diocese have been mobilizing priests and lay people to call young men to the religious life despite the opposition of those who rail against a male, celibate priesthood. So while dioceses infected with heresy cry and make lame excuses because the young are not buying their agenda, orthodox bishops and vocation directors have been cooperating with the Holy Spirit and getting results!

STUDY IN USA VOCATIONS:

Human Life International conducted a study of 15 unorthodox and 15 orthodox diocese in the United States from the period 1956 to 1996. Brian Clowes Ph.D. found that orthodox dioceses have five times more ordinations than their unorthodox counterparts during the same time period. The orthodox dioceses also had 12% more priests in 1996 than in 1956. Hard to believe, but true. Source: Call to Action or Call to Apostasy? Brian Clowes Ph.D.

Major Seminarians Worldwide:

Oceania-861

North America---------------5,413

Central America----------------------------------------9,589

South America--------------------------------------------------------------------------------18,041

Africa---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------18,156

Asia---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------25,169

Europe---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------28,641

Priests in United States: 1965 - 58,132

1995 - 49,551

Priests Worldwide:

404,336

Edited September 20, 2003 by Dave

[God Conquers]

cool

[lizofhungry]

:o very shocking to me that we are a-okay with priest vocations...i wonder how the women are doing in terms of vocations? do you have any info on that?

[Paladin D]

Why should unorthodox dioceses exist?

[cmotherofpirl]

Why should unorthodox dioceses exist?

So we can pray they become orthodox!

It happened in Denver :)

Edited September 21, 2003 by cmotherofpirl

[Paladin D]

So we can pray they become orthodox!

It happened in Denver

But what causes a dioceses to become unorthodox? I mean, can't they replace the clergimen?

[cmotherofpirl]

But what causes a dioceses to become unorthodox? I mean, can't they replace the clergimen?

Yes priests can be replaced.

But the trouble starts at the top.

If a bishop is lax , the priests follow his lead.

In the early American Church, bishops were chosen for their administrative skills more than theology. We were a young country with millions of Catholics to lead.

Bishops heavily relied on theologians. When the theologians went off the deep end, the Bishops strayed into liberalism right behind them.

Europe with a far older seminary system did not fall prey to this (except the Dutch and Germans).

It is said at Vatican II that the Europeans were shocked at the low level of theological knowledge of the American Bishops.

You must understand the 1950-60's. We had just won a war. America was booming. Science and Technology were the new frontier of life, all the old was falling away to the bright future. All the old standards were disappearing. We could do anything, fix anything, be anybody we wanted to be. Freedom and prosperity were the new words. Theologians assured everybody in advance of the Council that all the rules would change. Birth control would be acceptable, clergy could soon marry, women would be priests and maybe even Pope one day.

Rome was far away.

We are now paying the price of the sins of your parents and grandparents.

The sins of the fathers are inDouche visited upon his children...

[cmotherofpirl]

And let me point out you just don't say to a Bishop you are fired, unless there is a very grave scandal.

If you make a mess the Holy Father expects you to fix it. He expects penence and reparations like any other good confessor. Canon law has to be followed to the letter.

THere has to be complaints, investigations, counseling, time to see if the Bishop reformed, more counseling etc,and if that doesn't work - appointment of another Bishop under him to learn the ropes, and finally retiring him or promoting to an obscure post somewhere where he can do no harm.

Remember we are talking about a sucessor to the Apostles. Even Jesus had to put up with Judas.

[ThereseFlower]

Erm, I don't mean to start a big heated debate or anything, but why is it that women are not considered right for the priesthood? I have seen female ministers in other Christian faiths; Catholicism seems to be the last Christian faith that has held onto this.

Is there some doctrinal rule against it? I need some clarification.

Thanks bunches in advance. ^_^

~TF~

Edited September 21, 2003 by ThereseFlower

[Aloysius]

Pope John Paul the second declared from the chair of Peter that the Catholic Church has no authority to ordain women.

this is because throughout all of Judaism, the precurser to Christianity, Priests were all male, Jesus Christ ordained mento be priests, Jesus Christ, the High Priest, was male

who are we to go against 6000 of what God's people have done.

that's the short answer. There's all sorts of little theological reasons you could say, but that should finalize it for ya enough, right? we just be followin Jesus. We just be followin the Bible. otha denoms just be followin the world on this one.

[Dave]

Good question, ThereseFlower.

First of all, Jesus only chose men to be His Apostles. Now, in that time women were considered inferior to men. Well, Jesus broke all sorts of other social rules. Interesting that he didn't break the one about women . . .

Actually, if Jesus allowed Himself to be bound by society's rules on the inferiority of women, He'd have been guilty of the sin of sexism. Well, we know that Jesus never sinned. So it's go to be something other than the gender roles of the day.

You see, when a priest consecrates the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, he's actually acting as "alter Christus" -- another Christ -- doing what Jesus did at the Last Supper. We know Jesus is male. Thus, it just wouldn't be fitting to have a woman to consecrate the elements.

[Anna]

If Jesus had felt that women should represent Him in the priesthood, wouldn't the ideal priestess have been the Blessed Virgin Mary, she who bore Him in her womb?

But she chose to be a handmaid of the Lord, and to receive the Sacraments from the hands of the Apostles, rather than to admister the Sacraments alongside them.

She chose to attend the Masses they celebrated, rather than to concelebrate.

I think it is a call to all womanity, to look to Mary as a model for our own spirituality.

Pax Christi. <><

[ThereseFlower]

Ahhhhh...... ::lightbulb turns on over head::

I get it! ^_^

So in order for us to be able to follow Christ better, it is easier to have a representative of Him that is the most like Him physically. And in His appointing of apostles to follow in His footsteps, He established the beginnings of the Church. The Church continues to follow His example today, not out of sexism, but more out of trying to more closely follow what Jesus actually did.

Yay! Boy, when I finally start RCIA this semester, I think I might be the most learned newbie there. LOL

Thanks a lot, guys.

~TF~

[Dave]

Yup, you got it right on! :D

I thought of something else too. Jesus is the Bridegroom, and the Church is His Bride. You can't have a male bride or a female bridegroom. So men mirror Jesus the Bridegroom, while women mirror the Church, His Bride.

[JP2Iloveyou]

Everyone here has basicly summed it up nicely, but for what it's worth, I'll just add this. God knew that he created men and women differently. Secular society and modern feminism have robbed women of their dignity by making them hate the fact that they are women. The Church doesn't allow women to be ordained to get people mad, to ostracize women, or to continue with the "old, tired idea that women are inferior to men." The Church does it out of love and respect, first of all for Christ who established the Church and would have ordained women if he'd wanted to, but secondly out of respect and love for women themselves because the Church knows that God has certain roles for women to play that men simply can't do. A man's role is (almost) always to be a father. He is either a biological father or a spiritual father. A woman's role is to be a mother, a nurturer. The Church, in her infinite wisdom, knew that men and women have different roles in society and respects that.