[sinkspur]

Is it harder to keep young males in the Church then young females?

Define "young." Most Catholic parents bring their kids to Mass with them, even as teenagers.

I don't know of many parishes that rely on "young males" 18 and over to serve at Mass, so I'm not sure what your point is.

Even in the old days, when I was serving Mass, most Catholic boys were not altar servers, and only a handful ever darkened the door of a seminary, much less ever reached ordination.

This "well, we've got to restrict altar service to boys so we'll have future priests" is an old wives tale, in my experience.

[Conservababe]

I have enjoyed this thread...except for the overt Catholic bashing from some posters.

I will put in my two cents worth.

If the Catholic Church withstood guitar masses, they can remain steadfast forever.

LOL

[Clintons a commie]

And yet up until the wonderful "renewal" we always had plentiful vocations to the priesthood, the vast majority of good quality. And now most mainstream seminaries or nearly empty; and the few guys they do get treat the place like a gay bathhouse.

Groups like the Fraternity of St. Peter don't have enough room for all of the vocations they attract. The tree is known by it's fruit.