Dwindling Priests?
Has the Sexual Abuse Scandal Affected the Number of New Priests?
In recent years, the number of men seeking the priesthood in the United States has dropped dramatically. What events have precipitated this decline?
For the last several years the number of men pursuing the priesthood in the United States has been dropping. In fact, nearly one-third of all new priests are foreign born, according to a 2004 study. This was substantiated by a 2006 study which found a continuation of the same trends.
In the study, compiled by Dean R. Hoge of the Life Cycle Institute of Catholic University, of that one-third that were foreign born, roughly half came from the Philippines.
An easy assumption would be that the recent sexual abuse scandals have had a negative impact – but it’s just the opposite according to one priest. “The Lord would not let us go through that – a death in many ways – without giving us new life,” said Rev. Jason Jalbert, Associate Director of the Office of Vocations for the Diocese of Manchester, NH. Rather, he sees a different reason for the drop in men seeking the priesthood. “We don’t live in a culture where it (priesthood) is promoted that much,” he said. “We live in a materialistic society where success is seen in terms of wealth and power.”
Additionally, there has been a culture shift. It used to be commonplace for priests to also serve as coaches, teachers, etc. Now the only place many Catholics see a priest is in church.
But Rev. Jalbert has seen resurgence in his diocese in New Hampshire. “Vocations is the work of all Catholics,” he said. In order to support that, he has been celebrating what he’s named Seven Trumpet Masses since last January. Over 1,000 people have been gathering regularly to celebrate with the specific intent of praying for vocations. A concerted effort outside these Masses has also been made by Rev. Jalbert and others. He spends nearly every weekend traveling to parishes to speak on vocations. This media savvy priest also makes the first step for a man beginning his journey towards priesthood as easy as a click away with multi media presentations and websites.
These efforts are being rewarded. The number of men interested in “come and see” weekends or discernment groups has risen. His work, to aid in the discernment of vocations doesn’t end with men becoming priests. God calls each of us to vocation, whether as a priest or other religious or as a parent, an office worker or laborer. “We have to work at making sure people can discover what their vocation is,” said Jalbert.
