Trying to Hook More Youths on Priesthood

In this era of Eminem and Britney Spears, of sexy sitcoms and sexier commercials, of high-speed Internet and instant gratification, a life of celibacy devoted to God can be a hard sell to a teenager.

So as the nation's Roman Catholic leaders gathered recently and watched a video called "Fishers of Men," designed to draw young men to the priesthood, they had good reason to worry about the future of their chosen way of life.

Church leaders have long been aware of the statistics. There are now about 43,000 Catholic priests in America, down from more than 58,000 in 1965. As the U.S. Catholic population has risen to about 70 million, more churches have had to share priests.

What receives less attention is that the men who go into the seminary generally don't do so until later in life. The average age of newly ordained priests was 36 last year, up from 28 in the 1960s and 26 in the 1940s.

The "Fishers of Men" video is part of a program of the same name, managed by the U.S. bishops conference and promoted at its annual meeting last month, that bishops hope will attract younger recruits. The title comes from the Bible, when Jesus told two fishermen and future apostles that if they followed him he would make them "fishers of men."

In the program, used in at least half a dozen dioceses, priests try to attract new seminarians by talking about their experience in deciding to enter religious life.

One priest says: "When you're called to be a priest, you don't give up your talents or your gifts. They're crystallized. They're purified. Sanctified."

Another priest recalls: "John Cardinal O'Connor used to say the priesthood is tough, and that it's for real men. You have to become a real man if you want to become a priest."

Observers of vocational trends say more effort is needed now because of smaller families, with parents who want grandchildren; a secularized culture wary of lifetime commitment and celibacy; Catholic assimilation in America; and increased family mobility, which detracts from parish loyalties.