What happened in 1965 that we went from the most responses to all vocations to decline? Not to mention: didn’t many priests and religious leave in the same period of time? 
What caused that?This is very biased and misleading. Perhaps you were not present when another religious, who did wear the habit, was run off the board by some for just simply speaking on the history and reasons why in the past there was an age limit to entrance and asking for a candidate’s parents’ marriage certificate. Of course, she was considered too uptight and quite the know-it-all, as it was insinuated by some very unkind people.Comments were made from some that they had been wondering how long a group of people (those at Vocation Station) would put up with “some people’s” (her) comments. It was absolutely ridiculous. There have been those who have left the phorum who wore the habit and those that do not because of a very very small minority who happen to be unkind in some of their comments. It is not just those who “moon over the Latin-Mass and are righteous ‘perpetual discerners’” as you so kindly put it, that have been known to be very unfair and unkind. *Your posts are examples of that. *
I am describing other people’s reactions, and these other people were actual active discerners and religious. The cloistered nun who was chased off --and she was–was deliberately misunderstood. The others reported their feelings and reactions to me or to the forum. I didn’t participate in any of this. I just watched it happen.
Most bishops are looking for priests who can say the mass in living languages, such as Spanish, Filipino, or Vietnamese, not in Latin–nor do these bishops have the time or inclination to train the priests in the old Latin forms and to perform them correctly. Most bishops are experiencing a severe shortage of priests and do not feel they can afford to remove some from the small pool they have to have them learn Latin well, and perform the old rite correctly.
PP provides at a very reduced fee, tests for sexually transmitted diseases, therapy for these, pap tests for cervical cancer, vaccinations against HPV, the cause of the vast majority of cases of cervical cancer, annual physical and gynecological exams and sex education–a whole range of services outside birth control and abortion.
The reasons why religious vocations went to a rapid decline are multifactorial. Vat II said that all are called to holiness and that you didn’t have to become a religious to be holy–vocations thus became less ‘special’ and less for the ‘elect’–this maybe wasn’t a correct interpretation of the pre-Vat II attitudes towards religious, but was what everyone believed. It was prestigious to become a religious or priest, especially if you were an impoverished member of a large immigrant family and had to choose between becoming a sister and getting an education, respect and a pew up front, or marrying after high school or earlier, and having 10 children. People with only an 8th grade education could become lay sisters or brothers. but after Vat II, everyone was called to holiness, and you didn’t have to become a nun or priest to be saved–again, maybe not the correct theology, but what everyone thought. Also, religious life had become impossible for most sisters; they were hot and overworked, slaved teaching overcrowded classes for nine months and worked at earning a few credits towards a degree that took them years to get during the summer, all the while in those habits long before widespread A/C. Many orders badly needed updating; you couldn’t shower, change your underwear (there’s a lot of old literature on this), had to ask permission for every little thing. but from the 1960’s on, everyone got a high school education or at least went to school until age 16; many could go to college (GI Bill) and get good jobs.
Could it be that the “updating” and discarding of habits caused a massive identity crisis?
Just to quash the idea that I hate Catholics, I have met two so-called ‘late vocation’ priests and both were terrific.
Those comments are quite “unscientific.”
What is even less scientific then the list I provided is the assumptions that the entire of Vocation Station is filled with righteous people only interetested in the Latin Mass and the assumptions that most are “perpetual discerners” - meaning, I suppose, those that take no action in responding to God and put it off for one reason or another (which is a very uncharitable assumption to make about a single person one knows little about personally - much more an entire group of them). The list will be updated shortly, and will be back on track. However, the fact that it is a little out of date does little to prove that those on Vocation Station are not active in their discernment or have not actually entered religious life. Many have, as the list shows and as posts (which are updated) show. Many posts are made frequently of those visiting communities, those entering, those planning to enter this fall, etc. I am sorry you seemed to have missed those or over-looked them. Neverthless, even if these young women and men did appear to be sitting still (which by the frequent posts and their nature it does not seem to be the case) then I hardly think the term “perpetual discerners” (as I assume it is being used) is appropriate. One says it with disdain as if the opinions of those that are trying most sincerely to know the will of God and have yet to figure it are of little importance. They are “perpetual discerners”. Are not we all, including myself and probably yourself, daily trying to discern the will of God? Are not we all, in a very a true sense, “perpetual discerners” ? Even religious, I am sure and hope, are “perpetual discerners.”
There should be nothing to worry about when it comes to links as long as the community is faithful to the Magisterum and teachings of the Church. And if the community is not, it shouldn’t be encouraged anyway.
All seminarians are to be taught Latin (and not just for the Mass; see canon 249).
Reiki, like other Eastern healing methods relies on the manipulation of the universal life force, or ki (qi). This universal life force has no relation or compatibility with Christian thought (although it would fit Star Wars perfectly
).The fact that this was required three years after this?
Very few did not adopt the veil (I can think of one family, the Ursalines, that did not). And since when are polyester pantsuits the “dress of poor women or widows”?
Since you bring it up…
The list of those entering isn’t up to date, but does include a hodge podge from discerning to entering—with no follow-ups *on the list. * Occasionally someone posts pictures from so-and-so -entering the novitiate. All well and good. What about all the others? What happened to the discerners from previous years? Any updates? It is rare that someone drops off this list, saying “I am no longer discerning”. The problem with this list is that it gives the *impression *that lots and lots of folks are entering religious life, getting professed, **finally **professed. I doubt that this is actually the case. But–there are no statistics to prove it one way or the other.
There are about six or seven.
Regarding Reiki, YOU may think that it’s incompatible with Christianity, but many Christians do not. That’s the point.All seminarians are to be taught Latin (and not just for the Mass; see canon 249).
All seminaries are required to teach both forms of the Mass (source).
Some bishops are negligent in their duties.
Reiki, like other Eastern healing methods relies on the manipulation of the universal life force, or ki (qi). This universal life force has no relation or compatibility with Christian thought (although it would fit Star Wars perfectly
The fact that this was required three years after this?
Which was greeted by this?
Q.E.D.
Very few did not adopt the veil (I can think of one family, the Ursalines, that did not). And since when are polyester pantsuits the “dress of poor women or widows”?
Many, if not most, of the teaching orders were established to teach, regardless of the income of their students. (Come to think of it, it was possible for a middle class family to send 6+ children to Catholic school, now most cannot afford to send one).
Many orders were founded with a focus on education and hospitals, and have abandoned them for political action and retreat centers.
Me?
This is all probably true. I imagine that the dioceses are* very interested* in potential seminarians and are taking good care of them with directors and a lot of attention from priests and bishop alike. Not so true of the women–they can’t become priests, after all, they may or may not enter an order , they are all over the place in age and experience and their orders are, too. Tho’ the dioceses are pretty good about listing the websites of the orders in their dioceses.
It is not ok to sponser ex-communicated priests as one’s key speakers for an event. It is not ok to promote birth control and a female priesthood. I don’t know about the Bishop in their diocese, but here where we have representatives and associates of the community, our Bishop certainly is over-looking it. And, believe me, it has nothing to do with the fact that what they are doing is actually “ok” with the Church. There is a lot of politics going on. I pray that it stops. It is not right. It is scandalous. I submit to my bishop in all things. My submission has nothing to do with my disdain for how has he handled this particular issue. It was badly dealt with, in that these scandalous things were tolerated. It is common knowledge that the Church teaches against birth control, the idea of a female priesthood, and tea parties with ex-communicated priests.
There can be no tolerance between right and wrong, truth and error, virtue and vice, Christ and chaos. No faithful person should “tolerate” or be “open minded” to wrong, error, vice, or chaos. Ex-communicated priests are all of the above. Talk of a female priesthood display all of the above. Accepting and preaching the use of contraception display all of the above. The promoting of truth and faithfulness to the Church does not lead to schism, rather the encouragement of disagreement with the Church’s teaching leads to schism.