Sex scandals, celibacy blamed for fall in vocations

SEX scandals and celibacy are the two main reasons why people are not entering the priesthood, according to the preliminary findings of a survey.

Churchgoers in the 10 Dublin parishes also cited a belief that God has been forgotten and a desire for economic prosperity as a reason for a fall in vocations.

Respondents to the survey, carried out by the Dublin diocese vocations office, believed celibacy did not “make sense to people”.

A fear of commitment as well as lack of encouragement from parents were further deterrents to a life of the cloth. Of the 750 people who responded to the survey, 143 said peer pressure contributed to the fall in vocations; 137 mentioned poor religious education; 134 blamed the media; and 46 said because Mass was celebrated badly.

When asked if they thought the ministry of priesthood was important, the majority of all age groups said ‘yes’. As many as 233 men and 408 women said they felt the life of a priest was very worthwhile and 580 people said, if a family member considered becoming a priest or joining a religious order, they would support them.

Among the under-18s, of 128 replies, 15 people said they would seriously consider priesthood or the religious life. Of 43 people in the 18-25 age group, six said they would consider entering religious life.

National vocations director Fr Kevin Doran, who is analysing the survey data, said it was carried out “not specifically to get information but to get people thinking”.

“We asked people about involvement in their parish and their willingness to be involved in the future of the parish as well as asking them why they thought vocations are falling off.”

He said: while sex scandals were “obviously part of the issue”, they seemed to present a bigger problem for priests.

“When I say sex scandals are a bigger problem for priests, I mean in the sense that priests are probably uncomfortable about promoting the priesthood. Having spoken to young people, by and large, while they take the view the scandals shouldn’t have happened, they don’t blame all of us and are less judgemental.”

He said: despite the difficulties people had with celibacy the Church was unlikely to change tack.

The fall in vocations is reflected in a steady decline of the number of diocesan priests ordained each year. Twenty years ago, 76 diocesan priests were ordained, compared with 62 ten years later and 19 last year. In June this year, eight diocesan priests were ordained.

A number of dioceses, including Limerick, Kerry, Killaloe and Ossory, have had to “cluster” parishes, sharing clergy and reducing the number of Masses held.