[TChad]

Can the Church afford to lose 30-50% of new priests?

Is there a reliable source for those numbers? I keep hearing the same numbers, but they are never sourced.

[bnelson44]

That number is based upon the estimate that 40% of the current crop of priests are homosexual. There is no factual evidence for this, just 'gut feelings'.

[escapefromboston]

Its probably the same source that says 10% of the general population are homosexual (when it is 3% at most)

[Clemenza]

I attended Catholic High School in the mid-1990s and then a Jesuit university. Its amazing how many "Father Liberace" types there are out there, so 30-40% seems about right.

Remember that until very recently, men with homosexual leanings who came from Catholic families entered the priesthood as a way to remain faithful without betraying their sexuality. Once in, they met others such as themselves and failed to deny their sexual urges, leading to the lavendar culture of many seminaries.