I was sent this news:
France: Number of Ordinations at A Low
Only 88 French candidates will be ordained priests this year, announced Eglise.Catholique.fr (June 22). 52 of them belong to dioceses. It is the lowest number of ordinations in at least a decade, compared to 122 in 2022 and 130 in 2021.
Meanwhile, Francis has blocked priestly ordinations in the flourishing Fréjus-Toulon Diocese already for the second year running. The Novus Ordo Community of Saint Martin is also down to seven new priests, compared with 14 in 2022 and 26 in 2021.
The same decline can be seen throughout the world, including Poland.
Five of the 88 belong to the Fraternity of Saint Peter, compared to 6 ordinations in 2022 and 3 in 2021.
Meanwhile, I heard that in France the number of ordinations in the traditional communities is a significantly large percentage of all ordinations.
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The Traditional Priest will be Doctrinally sound ,Strong and ready to do battle.
The Few, the Holy, the Traditional Priesthood.
Without resorting to a tinfoil hat…I’d be on the side of saying that the handwringing is for public consumption, but they really don’t care when behind closed doors over brandy and cigars. Otherwise why would classical/traditional seminaries, orders, and clerics be under a scanning electron microscope and the pink palaces and leisure centers that have a pious name sign on the highway operate pretty much as always.
I was part of the generation of “Goodbye, Good Men” which is why I’m still a layman. Pretty sure it’s not gotten any better here in the states, window dressing changes notwithstanding. It’s not even hidden anymore….but it’s the 1000 lb elephant with lactose intolerance in the room that’s being ignored, and even denied, evidence to the contrary.
Seems to me the US bishops have the same odd combination of public hand-wringing over the dearth of vocations coupled with a resolute disinclination to implement the Things That Have Been Shown to Work.
Recall the tenure of Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz of Lincoln, Nebraska. In his twenty or so years in that diocese he fostered so many vocations to the priesthood that he had to do that rarest of all things today— he had to build a seminary! If I recall correctly, by the end of his time as Bishop of Lincoln, his seminary was producing greater numbers of priests each year than our major metropolitan Archdioceses. From tiny little Lincoln!
Did the USCCB clamor for +Bruskewitz’s wisdom, in order to replicate his success across our nation? Was he asked to head up a USCCB committee to make recommendations for other bishops? Did a single brother bishop send his vocations director to Lincoln to see for himself how to duplicate the man’s astonishing success?
I believe we all know the answer to all of the above is ‘No’.
All those weeds the dark one planted abouts and amongst the Church are flourishing and choking the Flowers of the Church.
The powers that be don’t care about pathetic ordination levels. In fact, to some extent, low vocations to the priesthood advances their agenda.
“This is a sign from the Holy Spirit that we need women deacons tout de suite!”
“This is a sign from the Holy Spirit that we need women priests!”
“This is a sign from the Holy Spirit that we need married priests!”
“This is a sign from the Holy Spirit that we need out-and-proud gay priests!”
“This is a sign from the Holy Spirit that we need gay-married priests!”
Don’t laugh. All this and more is coming to an ongoing synod near you. The liberal protestants whom they ape already have all these.
“Putasne vivent ossa ista?… Et ingressus est in ea spiritus, et vixerunt : steteruntque super pedes suos, exercitus grandis nimis valde.”
And one day, just like that, all those long shifts with hairdryers in the valley, all those mail-order bone whitening kits… all of it will have been in vain. And won’t that be dreadfully embarrassing.
Clinton,
Lincoln has a college seminary, for the study of Latin, Greek, and Philosophy. For theological studies it has always been necessary for Lincoln seminarians to go elsewhere, usually Mt St Mary’s in Emmitsburg.
Lincoln also had the practice, starting under Bp Flavin, of sending two young priests to Rome every year for graduate study in theology or canon law. I knew some of those men during my Roman years. They were all solid priests and good guys.
Consequently, while other dioceses were
Consequently,
were trying to deal with a priest shortage and fewer vocations, Lincoln has seen the number of priests increase–a 31% increase since 1990.
should be:
Consequently, while other dioceses
Brian D. Boyle:
I can reassure you that the “product” has improved dramatically here in Milwaukee. And if can improve here after 25 years of Rembert Weakland, it can improve elsewhere.
Clinton and Bryan Boyle:
Good comments. While I am glad I wasn’t a seminarian fresh out of high school I did spend part of my discernment process at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia about 17 years ago. Lincoln sent seminarians there for Theology. One seminarian who was ordained years ago was Fr. Steve Tomlinson who has an interesting vocation story.
I can also say that Mount St. Mary’s of the West (Cincinnati) has risen up within the last 20 years. Last I heard they ran out of room for seminarians and were in the process of building a new residence. The Fathers of Mercy send seminarians there now too which should speak for itself.
Good to hear about Milwaukee. Vianney in Denver I heard is pretty good.
My home diocese (Texas) has been on the upswing. Eight men ordained last month and the last five or six years has seen ordination classes of at least four. Men are rising.
I was part of the generation of “Goodbye, Good Men” which is why I’m still a layman. Pretty sure it’s not gotten any better here in the states, window dressing changes notwithstanding.
As someone else shared, the turnaround in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati since the “Goodbye, Good Men” era is indeed remarkable, especially since the diocese itself was featured in the book. With a few exceptions, the dozens of young priests ordained here the past 20ish years are doctrinally solid and Tradition-friendly. And please pray for us; our ordinary, Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr, turned 75 last week.
There are in the building next door 29 men on retreat discerning to enter seminary for the Ordinariate Chair of St Peter in Tx. The Ordinariate parishes may supplant Bishop McButterpants crew in the not so distant future. That doesn’t even include the dozens of men such as myself waiting for Diaconate Formation classes at the seminary to start back up.