At a retreat for priests at Ars, 'The joy of the priest, consecrated for the salvation of the world', Cardinal Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna answered the questions of journalists regarding priestly identity and the crisis of vocations. Text is translated (rough-and-readily) by me from Famille Chretienne.
Q: What are the causes of the vocations crisis?
My conviction is that vocations do exist—for female religious, priests, men and women—and that they are numerous. But often, they get nowhere because of the climate of indecision in our society. Who gets married nowadays, except the most fanatical Catholics? This indecision plays an important role for the lack, not of vocations, but of fulfilled vocations.
In many families, there is no joy that a son might be a priest or a daughter a nun. So, people are called, but who hears?
We also feel the effects of the crisis [of vocations] in recent decades. The vagueness of the formation and the identity of the priest have meant that many have drawn back. Meanwhile, during these last thirty years, in Europe or in America, there has been a widespread phenomenon: young people are moving towards the faith of the Church: a few seminaries and new communities are full of vocations.
Some colleagues—a bit liberal [un peu soixante-huitardes]—conclude that "These young people seek security, they are cautious, they dare not confront the world, etc.. " without seeing that it was their own secularized way of life, their flat and purely horizontal theology which had no attraction for youth! That is why I propose that in our chapters-general, our diocesan meetings, we begin to ask ourselves: "Where are vocations going to come from? Why?" Be honest enough to look closely. The answer will be easy, but we must dare to confront the reality.
3 comments:
Drat. I was hoping it would be about the Cardinal confronting reality, not saying we ( - other people) need to do so :-)
The website linked to is a new one to me. The comments are interesting especially the one at 11.53 documenting some of the 'abuses' in the liturgy etc in France. Sadly attending Mass in France is still a case of 'I wonder what the Priest will do/say next!'
The commenter asks when the Church in France is going to do something about it and ends up saying 'Les jeunes ont soif' - Young people are thirsting (for the truth) as they are in Britain.
PS I meant to add I like Fr's translation of 'soixante-huitards'. I had always thought of it as more 'revolutionary' (1968 was the era of the students' uprising and a lot of unrest in the country), but liberal seems to fit well.
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