Hmmm. Did a better Yahoo search and found that the CARA 60%-decline statistics do exclude minor seminarians.
Nationwide shortage of new priests troubles church
Monday, July 1, 2002
In 1965, there were 8,325 graduate-level Catholic seminarians in the country. By 1995, that number plunged by more than 60 percent, to an all-time low of 3,172, according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University. [emphasis mine]
We all know the numbers and we all know that there is a dearth of priests in some areas. But this does not address why there is NOT a dearth of priests in the more orthodox dioceses and why there IS a dearth of priests in the progressive dioceses - which is the topic of this thread.
82 posted on 10/29/2003 6:43 PM PST by american colleen
Excuse me, but I thought the topic of this thread was “So, is there a priest shortage?” which Fr. Kowalski seems to answer in the negative, arguing that 1) there has only been a “fairly small decline” in the number of US priests, because he is counting only from 1991 to 2001; 2) that worldwide the number of priests has increased from 1990 to 2000 (although he admits it is slower than the growth rate of the worldwide Catholic population); and 3) in the US some bishops have better vocation numbers than others (he won’t come out and say it, but he implies that the conservative bishops have the better performance records).
My posts #60, 64 & 74 addressed only point #1, and the overall implication there is no crisis (“So, is there a priest shortage? It is fairly common for the press, Catholic or secular, to report about a shortage of Catholic priests that is usually described as a crisis for the Church.”), because I think his time frame is too narrow, and he does not address the "greying of the clergy" issue.
Please look at the sources you are using! My gosh! CNN and a website which extolls the virtues of RENT-A-PRIEST?!?
77 posted on 10/29/2003 6:29 PM PST by american colleen
But my real concern is that you find yourself in the company of liberal, modernist, progressive Amchurchians.
91 posted on 10/29/2003 7:00 PM PST by saradippity
Well, as Sinkspur points out, the source of the stats is neither CNN nor an anti-celibacy website, but the Center of Applied Research in the Apostolate. My initial Yahoo search pulled up those two sites and they had quotable paragraphs comparing the 1960s to the late 1990s / early 2000s.
And I ignore the “you find yourself in the company of” ad hominem because my mother always taught me that the argument “your evidence must be wrong because I disagree with your interpretation” is fallacious.
Do read St. Chuck's post #101,which lays out the entire Old Testament story of Solomon,the contesting mothers and the baby.
Is that organization you cited based out of the same Georgetown University where professors and students walked out on Cardinal Arinze's rather orthodox,conservative commencement address?
Please know I know there is a problem with a decreased number of priests,but when people who claim they love the Church just reiterate the same old laments it does nothing to help resolve the problem and in fact,eases the way for a "liberal" solution.The only way to get the Tridentine Mass celebrated more often and in more places is to get the Church back in order first.All the Tridentine Masses in the world will do nothing if they are offerred by homosexual priests,divorced,married and women priests with no allegiance to the Holy Father and Magisterium.
My hope is that we can work together to bring back the Church Christ established to bring us home to the Father.