Will They Ever Understand The Vocations Crisis?

With the arrival of the Holy Father on American shores, you all knew that these types of articles would make their way into the main-stream press. This one is from the NY Times. Now to be fair, the NY Times absolutely hates Christianity, and most certainly hates Catholicism. That is as true as the sun rising in the east every day. But it didn’t used to be that way. In 1943, the NY Times praised Pope Pius XII as the ONLY European leader to raise the alarm regarding the plight of Europe’s Jews, calling him “a voice crying in the wilderness.” Boy, have times changed!

I send this article out to many good friends, in order to once again highlight the continuing puzzlement of the higher-ups, who simply “don’t get it.” As I like to say, “Even a blind man can see the reasons why vocations are down the tubes!”

Let’s review: The hundreds of vocations that the Archdiocese of New York used to enjoy took place during a time when the Mass was celebrated in that awful language that no one could understand. Dare I say its name? Yes folks. It was in…..Latin. And the priest had the audacity to “turn his back” to the people. The altar was……hold on, this may be too much to bare….it was against the wall, and the tabernacle was actually…cover your eyes….actually on the altar. Now added to these outrages, only men could serve in the sanctuary, and only altar BOYS were allowed. Everyone had to receive at the….here we go….at the altar rail, on their knees, and on the tongue, given by the priest. Horrible!!!

Priests actually had the audacity to wear colorful hand embroidered chasubles, and some useless things called birettas, cassocks and maniples. Can you imagine that? Not one piece of beautiful, earth friendly polyester to be seen.

Priests gave something called a “sermon” where they actually taught the truths of the Faith, and had the very bad habit of discussing things like morals, sin and Hell. (I get the chills just thinking about such awful days as those!). What were they thinking? No talk of love, the Super Bowl, the latest cable show?

The Lord’s Prayer, during this terrible time in the Church, was actually said by the priest as the people kneeled (except if one were at something called a “High Mass”). Can you imagine? No hand holding allowed, and absolutely no kiss, handshake, or high-five of Peace. Unbelievable!!

Lastly, can you believe that only the organ was used (no guitars??), and a separate choir (kept out of sight in the choir loft) sang hymns in that old, dead language…Latin? No “On Eagle’s Wings???”

Women Religious wore full habits, instead of the “liberating” polyester pant suits of today. And children were actually forced to use the “Baltimore Catechism” with which they had to memorize the truths of the Faith. That is almost akin to child abuse!! Thank goodness we don’t live in such times when the Church was acting “Triumphant,” where she taught that she was the One, True Faith, that she alone was the means of salvation.

But here’s the strange part: In 1965, the year the Second Vatican Council ended, and all of the above still held sway, we had approximately 48,000 men in American seminaries. How can we now have less then 5,000 men in our seminaries, since we have changed every possible thing in the Mass, the way of teaching the Faith, and with all that wonderful “help from the laity?” Why aren’t the seminaries full? Why is the Archdiocese of New York, Los Angeles, Tucson, et al, struggling to attract men?

We do have a very real and massive problem. As one very old priest told me several months ago, “Maybe the Holy Spirit wants to decrease the number of priests in order to allow the growth of the laity?” My response was “WHAT?” Dear God, Almighty! That, ladies and gentlemen, is certifiably nuts!!! Let’s do some basic math: No priest equals no Eucharist. No Eucharist equals no Mass. No Mass…well, you do the math.

I will leave you with this thought: As almost all dioceses around the world struggle to attract men to the priesthood (that is, those that haven’t closed their doors), the newer orders of priests who ONLY celebrate the old Mass, the old ways, the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP), Institute of Christ the King, Sovereign Priest (ICKSP), Clear Creek Monastery, and numerous others, are OVERFLOWING with vocations of young men on fire for Holy Mother Church. None of these orders of traditional priests have a vocations crisis! In fact, most simply do not have enough bed space for all the applicants.

Now I ask all of you. Why is that? Something to contemplate the next time you are asked to “pray for vocations.”

___________________________________________
The New York Times

April 15, 2008
Facing Decline, an Effort to Market the Priesthood
By DAVID GONZALEZ

The banners hanging in the main corridor (that's their first problem!) of St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers declare, “Through Faith We Grow.” The class portraits that line that very same corridor tell the opposite tale. Half a century after the halcyon days when several hundred men at a time studied to be ordained as priests for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, only 22 are enrolled.

Even more alarming to Catholics, although six men expect to be ordained in May, none are entering the first-year theology program. While seminary officials attribute the sudden drop to extra preparatory course requirements that went into effect this year, it is nonetheless a jarring development.

“You do what you can, as well as you can, for as long as you can, and hope it works,” said Bishop Gerald Walsh, the seminary’s rector. “I’d be optimistic if we had enough clergy present for young people and willing to talk to them.”

He will have enough — and then some — on Saturday, when Pope Benedict XVI visits the seminary for a prayer service and youth rally. The pope’s mere presence will be a jolt of encouragement to the seminarians. It will also offer them and other priests and nuns the chance to mingle with 20,000 young people and plant a seed for vocations.

There will be flashy videos, with quick cuts, stirring sound tracks and fearless priests on New York streets. Goody bags will include glossy post cards of the pontiff emblazoned with the word “Willkommen!” — and the Web address nypriest.com, the seminary’s recruiting site. In coming weeks, the archdiocese will send its schools posters that announce, “The World Needs Heroes,” including one of black-suited priests crossing an intersection — looking like “Going My Way” meets “Reservoir Dogs.”

Officials of the archdiocese do not apologize for embracing Madison Avenue marketing to counter a sharp decline in vocations.

An increasingly secular and materialistic culture, reluctance among the young to accept lifelong celibacy, and anger over the church’s handling of sexual abuse scandals have all contributed to the precipitous drop, the officials say.

Vocational directors recognize that the public’s confidence has been shaken by the scandals. They have chosen, however, to focus their marketing campaign on an upbeat message.
The Rev. Luke Sweeney, director of vocations for the archdiocese — which covers the Bronx, Manhattan, Staten Island and seven counties west and north of the city — says the church must make its case if it hopes to reinvigorate a priesthood that is increasingly elderly. “How do we get the ‘cool’ factor back into the priesthood?” Father Sweeney said. “If we don’t sell the priesthood, we can’t legitimately ask a young man to consider the priesthood as a vocation.”

What the seminary lacks in numbers, it may make up for in intensity and eagerness. The seminarians speak of finding a joy and purpose that eluded them in secular careers.
“We live in a very confusing world, a world where there is a lot of evil in it, and good men need to step forward,” said Brian Graebe, a former high school teacher who is finishing his first year. “You can stick your head in the sand, or you can do something to change it. What more heroic life is there than to touch these eternal mysteries?”

St. Joseph’s Seminary — informally known as Dunwoodie, after its neighborhood — is hardly alone in its diminished fortunes. Nationally, the enrollment of seminarians in four-year theology programs has been flat for the last decade, currently numbering 3,286, said Sister Katarina Schuth, a professor at St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity, part of the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. More than a quarter of those seminarians, she said, were foreign born.
“It’s a tough time for the church,” Sister Schuth said. “Dunwoodie has lost proportionately more than most. It really is a puzzle, given the huge population of New York and the boroughs.”
When St. Joseph’s opened in the late 1800s, its stone castle, topped by a gleaming cupola and perched majestically atop a hill, was described by Bishop Bernard McQuaid of Rochester as “the grandest seminary building in Christendom.” It was also, according to the Rev. Thomas J. Shelley, a Fordham University professor, one of the most progressive seminaries of its age, with an intellectual tradition to rival the best Catholic universities, until a Vatican crackdown on modernist thought a century ago led to a more orthodox approach.

Still, priests who were seminarians during the 1940s and ’50s recall a tranquil place whose daily rhythms were marked by the clanging of the bell for classes, meals and Mass. Many came from immigrant, working-class homes where the religious life was seen as a step up.

The Rev. Gerard J. DiSenso, who grew up poor in the Bronx, said the first time he had a room all to himself was when he entered the seminary in 1947.

That he was surrounded daily by more than 200 seminarians was encouraging and humbling.
“You sensed that you were not absolutely needed,” said Father DiSenso, who is now retired. “There were enough candidates that the seminary could afford to discharge people.”
He still goes to the seminary weekly to use its library, though he has little contact with the few men who are now there. “It’s like a shell of itself,” he lamented. “It’s completely different.”
Yet some changes have been for the better, he and other priests of his generation say. Unlike past years, when seminarians hardly left the grounds, today’s students come and go. They are assigned to work in parishes each summer to learn the demands they will encounter upon ordination.

And while enrollment is down, it better reflects the city’s changing demographics, in that there are more Hispanic candidates, both at the seminary and in a program aimed at cultivating high school students for the priesthood. In addition to the 22 seminarians to be ordained for the archdiocese, 14 candidates were sent to Dunwoodie by religious orders.

The biggest change, however, is in the age and backgrounds of seminarians. Decades ago, young men entered the seminary in their teens. Today, many have college degrees and have worked in business, science or even the military — experiences that can give them an added measure of empathy for their congregants.

“They have more experience in the world, more than we had,” Bishop Walsh, the rector, said. “They’re probably a little more secure in their choice.” Among the current seminarians are former teachers, engineers, executives and even a funeral director.

At 39, Ronald Perez is the oldest candidate for ordination next month. A former paralegal at a Midtown law firm, he moved to New York from Los Angeles 10 years ago to change his life. By the time he decided to become a priest, he had worked at a failed manufacturing company and a dot-com that missed the boom.

His decision to become a priest was gradual, he said, coming after years of involvement in activities at his home parish, St. Patrick’s Cathedral. He credited the talks he had with visiting seminarians for nudging him closer to the religious life. Like many other contemporary candidates for the seminary, he started studying philosophy with other prospective priests.
“The door was open, so if it was for you, go on, but if not, leave, no questions asked,” he said. “That first year was crucial. It gave me a chance to look back at my life and the world around me. Nothing I could have done as an engineer or a paralegal would give me contentment and happiness. Something was missing. I realized what it was: becoming a priest.”

The other great shift in recent decades has been a growing conservatism among seminarians, marked by an emphasis on ritual and on being set apart from the laity. In interviews, some older priests said their ministry was rooted in a deep understanding of the social and material needs of their congregants. Younger priests and seminarians emphasized the sacramental aspects of their vocation.

“Something that attracted me was the priest’s proximity to Christ at the Mass,” said Steven Markantonis, a second-year student. “He is using the same words Jesus used 2,000 years ago, when the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ.”

He said that after ordination, he expected to be “nothing more” than a parish priest tending to his congregation’s spiritual life.

“Regarding their social needs, it is a fine line,” he said. “You have to know where your job ends and another person’s job begins.”

Dean R. Hoge, a sociologist at Catholic University who has studied recently ordained priests, said there were indications that they were less collaborative with the laity. “They are more concerned about their status of being set apart,” Dr. Hoge said. “The younger ones are more concerned about moral teaching. The old guys hate to even talk about that.”

He cautioned that the American laity, now the most educated in history, want to have a bigger say in parish decisions.

Bishop Walsh, who once served as a pastor in Washington Heights, home to many struggling immigrants, said the church had to be understanding of its members and their burdens.
“Many people in the parishes I was in had jobs on Sunday that they had to do to put food on the table,” he said. “That is a religious value, too, raising a family. We can’t say, if you do not go to church 52 Sundays a year, you are failing as a Catholic.”

His seminarians, he said, should be gentle to the people in the pews. “People will never forget the priest who is nasty to them,” he said. “They could care less about who knows theology.”
However conservative the younger generation of clergy may be, Bishop Walsh said, it is increasingly committed to working with young people. For winning new recruits to the priesthood, no brochure or video can compete with the friendship and example of a parish priest.
Anthony Mizzi-Gili Jr. still remembers the priests of his childhood, men who graduated from Dunwoodie and earned his trust and admiration. After years of indecision, he ultimately followed in their footsteps and is now a third-year seminarian.

During midday Mass last week, he played the organ with gusto, as the chapel reverberated with “Sing With All the Saints in Glory.”

Afterward, he took lunch in the refectory, which was built to hold hundreds but now could fit the entire student body at a few tables. Mr. Mizzi-Gili looked around but refused to sound discouraged. “It shows vocations are still there,” he said. “Regardless of the numbers, we’re still there.”

Hmmm... What Do You Think The Chances Are That The Archbishop Of Than Franthisco Was Praying With Them?
Or was he busy raiding collection plates to scrape up bail money for the Fag On The Run?

Here's some of the article from World Ney Daily; (Emphasis mine)
Watch sparks fly as 'gay' activist mob swarms Christians
Residents of homosexual district: 'We're going to kill you. We know who you are'

Hundreds of homosexual activists rushed out of bars and swarmed a group of Christians who were singing songs in San Francisco's Castro District – and some even threatened to kill the worshippers.

A group of Christians had been singing and praying in the "gay" district for several days, but they never expected an angry mob would run them out. However, that's what happened Friday night.

One woman who was attacked told her story with Pastor Lou Engle at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City. She said the group's fellowship had been peaceful for several nights before the riot.

"People would come stand with us and join us," she said. "We got to pray for some people." But then angry men began yelling profanities and warning the Christians to leave the district.

(Warning: Video may contain offensive language)



One asked, "Why are you here?" The leader of the group said, "We're here to worship God, and we're here because we love you."

A group of men approached the Christians and covered them with a large cloth, backing them into a corner. Then the angry mob began swearing and growing larger. The bars began emptying out, and a crowd completely surrounded the Christians.

The worship group began singing "Amazing Grace," while an estimated 500 "gay" advocates sang, "We Shall Overcome."

The woman said she and her friend were doused with hot coffee. One man took a Bible from her friend, hit her on the head with it, pushed her to the ground and began kicking her. People began lunging at the Christian group, blowing whistles in their ears.

"They started saying, 'We're going to kill you,'" she said. "They started taking our pictures and saying, 'We're going to kill you. We know who you are." Then she said a man jumped through the crowd and pushed her forehead.

Just then, a squad of police officers arrived in riot gear, surrounding the Christians and forming a protective human wall. She said the police told them, "You have to leave if you want to make it out." When the group continued praying, an officer came back and said, "You don't have a choice anymore. We're going to escort you out."

The officers then took the Christians to their cars. The angry mob began lunging at them through the riot gear and chanting "Shame on you!" Some yelled, "We are going to follow you all the way home!" Others called the Christians "hypocrites."

One man screamed into a camera, "We don't ever want them coming back. Do you understand that, other Christians? Do you understand that, other Mormons? I'm talking to you, people. Yeah, you. Stay out of our neighborhood if you don't like us. Leave us alone!"

Learn about the intimidating tactics and brilliant marketing techniques being used by "gay rights" activists – read David Kupelian's controversial blockbuster, "The Marketing of Evil: How Radicals, Elitists, and Pseudo-Experts Sell Us Corruption Disguised as Freedom."

The woman said her group had merely organized a peaceful fellowship and wasn't there to condemn homosexuals. "We hadn't preached," she said. "We hadn't evangelized. We worshipped God in peace, and we were about to die for it."

"Their rights were respected," Joe Schmitz, an opponent of Prop. 8, told San Francisco's KTVU Channel 2. "They got a chance to go ahead and pray on the sidewalk, and I had the opportunity to express my freedom of speech, which is telling them to get out of my neighborhood."

The following day, approximately 20,000 people marched in San Francisco to protest passage of California's Proposition 8 protecting traditional marriage. Several thousand people conducted other protests around the nation in cities such as Manhattan, Chicago and Los Angeles. According to reports, many protesters feeling emboldened by the recent election chanted, "Yes we can!" – a slogan popularized by the Barack Obama campaign.

What Was I Saying About The Government Coming For Our Priests?
Slowly... slowly

In overwhelmingly Catholic Columbia, an arrest warrant was issued against Archbishop Fabio Betancourt Tirado of Manizales. His crime? The archbishop refused to comply with a lawsuit over his decision to dismiss a seminarian for robbery and homosexual activity.

From Life Site News;

MANIZALES, Colombia, April 27, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - An arrest order against Archbishop Fabio Betancourt Tirado has been temporarily suspended for ten days by a Colombian court in Manizales--the order was issued after the archbishop refused to comply with a lawsuit over his decision to dismiss a seminarian for robbery and homosexual activity, according to a Catholic News Agency report April 26.

The former seminarian accused Archbishop Betancourt of discriminating against him over his homosexual activity while he was in seminary--he is now enrolled in a Protestant seminary.

The Manizales court must decide within ten days whether or not to revoke the arrest order.

If something like this can happen in Columbia, how much further in the future do you think it'll be before the round-ups commence right here in the good ol' US of A?

Especially is House Resolution 1592, better known as The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Protection Act of 2007.

This bad-boy is a fast-tracked congressional plan to add special protections for homosexuals to federal law would turn "thoughts, feelings, and beliefs" into criminal offenses. In other words... this bill adds "enhancement punishments" to anyone deemed guilty of a so-called "hate crime" against any given homosexual. Example; if someone should have the audacity to speak an 'anti-gay epithet' during any given crime, more punishment is tacked on.

From World Net Daily (linked above);

Keep in mind that in New Jersey, it's already a "hate crime" to communicate in a manner likely to cause "annoyance or alarm."

"One would not expect a reasonable person to feel threatened or feel fear of harm as the result of an innocuous communication. Nevertheless, the entire faculty at Ohio State University's Mansfield campus apparently agreed that university librarian Scott Savage was guilty of threatening behavior for a simple statement in 2006. His 'threat'? Recommending four books for freshman reading… The four books were "The Marketing of Evil" by David Kupelian (which I posted about back in 2006), The Professors by David Horowitz, Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis by Bat Ye'or, and It Takes a Family by Sen. Rick Santorum."

The recommendation made three professors feel "unsafe" on campus and the entire faculty voted to file charges of sex discrimination and harassment against Mr. Savage for "anti-gay hate mongering," Lavy wrote. The charges were dismissed later, and Savage now has responded with a lawsuit against several university professors.

Just how far off are we from having our own priests carted away for stating from the pulpit that acting upon homosexual desires is an "act of grave depravity"? Or even by saying that acting upon same desires is "intrinsically disordered"? Oh, by the way... both of those specifics I gave are straight out of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. 2357 to be specific.

But anyhow, I don't think that the majority of the USCCB should ever worry about the PC Gestapo coming for them. Hell... I can't think of many groups that are more "gay-friendly" then our very own stalwart defenders of The Magesterium.

Comrade Barry Will Take Care Of My Credit Card Bill
So why did I even bother paying my bill to begin with?

Oh, dontchya just love Socialism? Nothing beats the Nannyocracy, does it?

Here's some of the article from Reuters.com; (Emphasis mine) Obama to hold town hall meeting on credit cards

WASHINGTON, May 8 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama will hold a town hall meeting next week in New Mexico to promote congressional efforts to reform credit card practices, the White House said on Friday.

Banks such as Bank of America Corp (BAC.N)>, JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), Citigroup Inc (C.N) and Capital One Financial Corp (COF.N) face a new set of rules issued by the Federal Reserve last year aimed at reining in abusive credit card practices. (Didn't the people who signed-up for these credit cards do just that --- sign-up? Here comes that nasty personal accountability again.)

The rules are to be implemented by July 2010, a date some lawmakers and consumer groups complain is too far away to help struggling consumers. (Maybe some of these 'struggling customers' should have held off on that big screen plasma TV... ya think?)

U.S. lawmakers are trying to codify those rules in legislation and send it to Obama this month to sign into law. Legislative efforts are aimed at stopping credit card companies from imposing certain late fees, restricting retroactive rate increases, as well as other questionable billing practices and marketing to minors. (Too bad. This is what happens when we worship our impulses.)

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters on Friday that Obama will focus on legislation and urge lawmakers to "get something done on an issue of tremendous importance to middle class families. (Now that was a safe little statement. Long on 'I feeeeeeel you', but short on specifics.)

"For many people credit cards provide an opportunity to finance purchases," Gibbs said. "But we think there's a more equitable way to do that and I think that those reforms are on their way through Congress." ("Equitable". How much more equitable could it be!!?? If Joe Schmo failed to go into his agreement with whatever credit card company with both eyes open... that's his fault. Oh, and what "reforms" do you have in mind?)

The American Bankers Association trade group, which represents many of the biggest credit card issuers, have warned that legislation could reduce the amount of credit available and make it more expensive for card users going forward. (But everyone who gets their credit card bailed-out will be beholden to the government. And that's exactly what they want.)This kind of reminds me of a posting I did back in 2006 entitled "The Theology of Victimization". A heavy chunk applies here;
A saw a few commercials lately that have gotten my brain housing group kicked into high gear.

The first commercial was for a miracle diet pill. The hook went along these lines... stubborn belly fat is not your fault! The second one was for some get-out-of-debt-painlessly scam, and their hook was if your in credit card debt over $5,000, you are a victim!

First off, I have stubborn belly fat because I shovel too damn much chow down my throat. Secondly, I have $5,000 in credit card debt because I spend too damn much money on superfluous bullshit that I don't really need.

Lent is a matter of hours away, and that got me to thinking. How many times have we heard huckster priests with their happy-happy joy-joy, I'm OK - your OK sermons? Too damn many... that's how many. Any shyster who dares preach that we mere humans are essentially good, simply doesn't know their basic theology. Sure, we strive to be good, but then that nasty old Original Sin rears it's ugly head. Face it, it's easy to be evil, it's tough to be holy. That's why we strive for holiness.

I've come to three basic truths that miracle diet pill manufacturers, scam artists, and Satan hate to hear;

1. Stubborn belly fat ~ my fault
2. Credit card debt ~ my fault
3. Sins on my Immortal Soul ~ my fault

...and don't let anyone tell ya different.That was over 3 years ago. I've got a current outstanding balance on my Visa of $10.99. Oh, and I've lost 75 pounds.

Damn it all... I should have waited for The South-Side Stooge to descend from the clouds to the columns. He would have paid-off my credit card, made my teeth whiter, ensured I could run faster and jump higher, fight women off with a stick, have self-esteem, friends, kissable fresh breath... you name it.

By the way, if anyone should want to know the secret for getting out of credit card debit, I'll tell ya. Shhhhhh..... come closer.

Take a pair of scissors to your credit cards.
Pay your damn bills.
Only spend money you physically have.

The PC Gestapo Strikes at Ohio State
Much like the entire Duke Lacrosse Team... guilty by accusation

Scott Savage, the head honcho librarian at OSU is up on sexual harassment charges.

Specifically, what did this man did that was so terribly wrong? He's recommended.... that's right, just recommended... that freshmen have David Kupelian's controversial best seller, 'The Marketing of Evil' be added to their required reading list. It's irrelevant that Savage is on OSU's First Year Reading Experience Committee. Silly me.

The school's Office of Human Resources put Savage under "investigation" after three professors – Hannibal Hamlin, Norman Jones and J.K. Buckley – filed a complaint of discrimination and harassment, saying the book made them feel "unsafe."

Here's a laughable example of said 'harassment';

Buckley: "As a gay man I have long ago realized that the world is full of homophobic, hate-mongers who, of course, say that they are not. So I am not shocked, only deeply saddened – and THREATENED – that such mindless folks are on this great campus. I am ending now, with the hope that I have seriously challenged you Scott, and anyone who "thinks" as you purport to do. You have made me fearful and uneasy being a gay man on this campus. I am, in fact, notifying the OSU-M campus, and Ohio State University in general, that I no longer feel safe doing my job. I am being harassed."

Well cry me a river, sugar britches.

Commenting on the controversy surrounding his book, Kupelian said: "It's disgraceful that this university's faculty members would destroy an innocent man by calling him a 'sexual harasser,' just because he recommended my book. What's ironic is that my book simply champions the traditional, Judeo-Christian values almost all Americans took for granted 60 years ago. But today, many of us, at least on our nation's college campuses, are in mortal combat with those same values."