Lots of farm boys entering seminaries, as in Rockford and Lincoln and Fargo, and Omaha.
Oklahoma City and Tulsa both have very "orthodox" bishops, yet their numbers are down. Is the bishop in Arlington "orthodox"? Seems to me I've read an article here where he was trying to kick a priest out of his diocese who was squealing on a priest who broke up a long-time marriage.
Anyway, perhaps Dean Hoge will explore these dioceses and draw a statistical correlation.
And, it's interesting that the Pope seems not to want to move any of these "orthodox" bishops into the larger sees. He's had a couple of shots with Bruskewitz (Boston, Milwaukee), yet Bishop Fabian is still on the plains.
It could have to do with how well these men will be received by the priests in place.
O'Malley, your own archbishop, for all the jumping up and down here, seems to have already fallen out of favor.
If FReepers were in charge of screening seminary candidates, the number of priests would dwindle to a handful.