Study of never-married Catholics gives insight into future of vocations
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In a survey of Catholics age 14 and older, about 12 percent of males and 10 percent of females said they considered a religious vocation at least “a little seriously,” a study by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University found.
The findings, released Oct. 9, give church leaders a vast array of data on which to base positive messages about religious life for teenagers and young adults, said Father Shawn McKnight, executive director of the Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which commissioned the survey.
“When you consider 12 percent of all male youth and 10 percent of all women … just a very small percentage (committing to a vocation) would make a tremendous difference,” Father McKnight told Catholic News Service.
“The survey offers solid evidence, credible evidence to base our judgments on how to promote vocations,” he added.
Broken down, 3 percent of male respondents and 2 percent of female respondents indicate they have “very seriously” considered a vocation, according to the study, “Consideration of Priesthood and Religious Life Among Never-Married U.S. Catholics.” It was commissioned by the USCCB secretariat.
Projected over the Catholic population of the United States, those figures represent 350,000 never-married men and more than 250,000 never-married women who may have very seriously considered a vocation, concluded CARA researchers Mark Gray and Mary Gautier, who conducted the study.
In the United States, there are 39,718 priests, 17,816 deacons, 4,518 brothers and 55,045 sisters, according to the 2012 edition of the Official Catholic Directory.
The study involved 1,428 people, about 65 percent of those invited to participate. It was conducted online. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.
The data collected in the survey shows that personal relationships with adults — parents, teachers, clergy, men and women religious, and campus ministers especially — can be a key factor in whether a young person considers a religious vocation.
Fewer than 10 percent of the respondents said, however, that anyone ever encouraged them to consider religious life. Among those who did receive encouragement, both males and females were nearly twice as likely to consider entering religious life, according to the study. [More]
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19 Comments
Dear Catholic Lady, more than half of the priesthood are now married and have left active ministry of priesthood. Almost all of the priests that I grew up with who were wonderful priest for 5,10 15 25 years are all marrried. What a loss to the church. I work with a former Maryknoll priest who gave many years in india, He is now a grandfather. Rome, put its head in the sand and will not address this but continues to push for celibacy as the few coming into the seminary, and of the few 90% will leave because of celibacy. Question/ ARE ALL THESE MEN RONG? The church in America is importing priest from Africa and other countrys who cannot relate to the American culture and speak English. as five former priest are setting with their wives and children in the pew at sunday mass. Catholic lady, smell the coffee.
Hey Catholic Lady, so is what your saying the wife of a doctor his a hinderance to his practice of medicine and to his patients?
Are you also saying that a doctor can’t balance his family life and love relationship with his wife?
You insult every married couple, husband and wife if you hold to this. Married people compliment one another they don’t hinder each other.
Tony, I apologize, it was never my intention to insult anyone .. I am not saying that it can not be done but speaking as a woman, it is most difficult to balance the life of a Christian leader with family. ( Also Tony, it might be helpful for you to ask the wife of your doctor for an honest opinion) – Further; St. Paul was not saying that a priest could not marry, only that it would be easier for him if he chose to stay single.. And Catholic Guy, I am thankful for your comments but please do not assume that I am ignorant of the whole of St. Paul’s letters, as I am a student of scripture..
Catholic Lady please forgive me if I came on very strong in my response I feel I may have been inappropriate.
Sometimes it can be very difficult for man to understand women. Although God made us to complement one another, women have a very different thought process and a different experience of this world. So Tony, you are forgiven for your harsh response. Blessings
Experience tells us what the CARA survey does not: the “serious consideration” of a vocation typically yields to the desire for family, in the form of spouse and childre, currently not allowed under canon law.
A lifetime of celibate chastity is a delicate, perhaps heroic balancing act for which very few candidates are adequately prepared for what lies ahead of them on the day of ordination or profession. And when something goes wrong (as in sex abuse, or just the simple desire to get married), the church today shows neither compassion nor gratitude for the men and whoen who have answered the call, been found worthy, then run afoul of the system.
Back to the drawing board.
Florian, many of the Commuities of Religious Men and Women are attempting to work very closely with former members for mutual support.
. . .with mixed results. Former members may be sources of funds, goods and services to current members, while some communities (eg, Glenmary) actually respect the many contributions the former members made while active. Incidents of sex abuse lead to estrangement which is bridged only with great difficulty, if at all.
Years ago, during my short-lived membership in the Knights of Columbus, I proposed that the money available from the K of C in support of vocations should go toward establishing mentorships for young men and women to shadow priests, nuns & brothers, to learn more about religious life. My comments were duly recorded and promptly forgotten, because the K of C is a group of narrow-minded, rich men who think they know how to do everything. I left when I learned that my dues money was more important to them than my participation. But I have seen the good that can come out of shadowing a priest or nun. The K of C didn’t want the trouble of establishing something new, so they simply contributed to the tuition of men already in the seminary. I consider myself qualified to comment on this, as I spent five years in the seminary.
Tony is right! In America and the Western world of 2012, Celibacy as much as the church pushs for it, is in reality a hindrince to men who would enter the priesthood. The Easter catholic clergy in Europe are married. Celibacy is a vocation and should not be a MUST for being ordaained a priest. In America Greek Orthodox priests, Episcoplian priests, are married. Its all about power and CONTROL. we all talk about it and say the same thing, there’s got to be married priests. Priests say this privitaly. Rome cannot think outside of the box. Yes, this servay says people have thought of being priest, but thats as far as it gos due to the stumbling block of celibacy. My cousin is a married deacon. He was telling me that all of his class mates 17 men were at some time studing for the priesthood and left because of celibacy. Now that have the second best thing. and a wife and children. Sadly, Rome is so unbending and cannot read the signs of the times, be open to the Holy Spirit. It must stay in its comfort zone.
James; perhaps the stumbling block of “Celibacy” is much needed both for the benifit of the young man thinking about entering into full time service to the Church and to the Church itself. It is a very rare woman who can watch her husband go out the door to sit with a dying church member while she nurses her very ill, perhaps dying child. It is a very rare man who can divide himself between two such great loyalities and responsibilities, His family, His Church…St. Paul in his letter to the Corinthians (l Cor. 7:32) writes: I want to to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord, but the married man is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please his wife, and his interests are divide. And the unmarried woman or girl is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit, but the married woman is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benifit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.
St Paul writes: I want you to be free from anxieties…
There are Priests of the Eastern Churches united to Rome who have been for hundreds of years. What you say is and insult to these priests and their wives, it is also a slap in the face to the wives of former Anglican priests and their wives now united to Rome .
Married
Should be. Married
Tony; what I say in no way is disrespectful of Protestant ministers or the Priests of the Eastern Churches. It is indeed a rare marriage that can withstand the presures put upon the family of a church leader, that is the TRUTH, Tony, whether you disagree or not. And it is St. Paul who wrote to the Corinthian Church saying celibacy is a better choice – not I Tony..
A religious vocation is a great response to the challenge of being of full service to the church and to the world. The freedom offered by poverty, chastity and obedience is a benefit to set one self free for total service. It is beautiful when taken freely. But, none of those vows shoul be imposed upon a person particularly as a condition for ordination to priesthood.
Celibacy should be a choice in the Latin Rite for Priests.
To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is well for them to remain single as I do, But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry, For it is better to marry than to be aflame, with passion. 1 Cor. 7:8. also..Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. 1 Cor.6:19
Catholic Lady, if you read the entire First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians, it is clear that he is advocating celibacy because he expected Jesus to return soon, and he felt it was not the time to be starting families. In I Cor. 7:26, he says, “This is what I suggest, because of the present distress.” In 7:29-31, “I tell you brothers, the time is running out… the world in it’s present form is passing away.” Later, in I Cor. 9:5, refering to the rights of an Apostle, he says, “Do we not have the right to take along a Christian wife, as do the rest of the apostles.” Clearly he was not opposed to apostles (the forerunners of bishops) being married. The church may choose a celibate clergy today, but do not presume that this is based in scripture. The Orthodox clergy read the Bible, too.