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I'm not sure who you're talking about! I know tons of zealous, orthodox young men who are answering the call to the priesthood and religious life.

It's true that the numbers aren't where they used to be ... but I recall that it was the "pre-Vatican II" Church which produced a flood of vocations during the 1950s ... most of which turned out to be the flimsy "I joined the Sisterhood because it was like the PeaceCorps" kind of "non-religious" vocation.

The upsurge in vocations going on now is authentic, and made up of people who are willing to take flak for Jesus.

Young, Orthodox, Growing:
Fathers of Mercy
Legionaries of Christ
Franciscan Friars of the Renewal
Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word
Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary -FSSP
Domincan Friars, Province of St. Joseph ***These guys in particular are great!!!***

So I guess you are talking about the same "springtime" that JPII was trying to sell before he died, like WYD (ever notice the WYD cross is not a crucifix, I guess to appease the Protestants in the name of ecumenism?), the same "springtime" John XXIII promised at V2?

The myth that is popular among certain Catholics is that things have gotten better in the last decade or so, coinciding primarily with the pontificate of John Paul II. Actually the statistics don't bear this out — in fact, the rate of decline has accelerated in some cases. Look at the number of priests.

In 1975, three years before JPII was elected, there were 58,909 priests. In 1980, two years after his election, there were 58,621, a one percent decrease from five years previously. But the pace of the decline has picked up since then — 57,317 in 1985; 53,111 in 1990; 49,947 in 1995; 45,713 in 2000; 44,874 predicted for 2005; 37,624 in 2010; and 30,992 in 2020.
• Seminarians: 17,802 in 1975; 13,226 in 1980; 11,028 in 1985; 6,233 in 1990; 5,083 in 1995; 4,719 in 2002.
• Sisters: 135,225 in 1975; 126,517 in 1980; 115,386 in 1985; 103,269 in 1990; 92,107 in 1995; 75,500 in 2002. . . .

It's true that the numbers aren't where they used to be ... but I recall that it was the "pre-Vatican II" Church which produced a flood of vocations during the 1950s ... most of which turned out to be the flimsy "I joined the Sisterhood because it was like the PeaceCorps" kind of "non-religious" vocation.

Vatican II was announced in 1959 and convened in 1962. The Peace Corps wasn't conceived until 1960, and not founded until 1961. The kind of "vocations" you ridicule would be conciliar, not Traditional. Not that you should let silly things like facts get in the way of celebrating the New Springtime...