Vocation Discernment

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

Petertherock:

I think this is the reason we have no priests. It’s not marriage, it’s not celebacy or anything else. It’s because most people don’t have the money to put themselves through college and then through the seminary. I know I was once told in my old diocese to “come back and talk once you get a college education.” People that have the money to put themselves through college are not going to turn around and become priests.

Personally, I started work right after high school and with my debt that I built up I couldn’t afford to get any student loans or anything. The only way I am able to get any college classes in is my company that I now work for gives us free college courses (books, tuition, and everything) as one of our benefits. I don’t even think I have enough credits for 1 full year because I am only able to take one class a semester.

The diocese is going to have to do something if they want people to become priests. When I went to the vocation retreat I went to many people were in the same situation I was. I get tired of the Church crying about having no priests when they turn away good candidates who can’t afford to put themselves through school.

One thing they could do is like my company does, if you leave within a year of taking any classes you have to pay the money back for the classes. In the case of the Church if you leave the seminary then you have to pay the money back.

Dioceses do help out in most cases. They pay for the seminary and you pay them back, in most cases you pay back half of it. This is usually a no-interest or a low-interest loan.

The Church is not a money pit, they do not have unlimited sums of money.

The corporate model that you suggest would be a disaster. I have some co-workers who have done this, they go to school, get good grades (a requirement) and the company pays. The requirement is 5 years or work (usually) pro-rated (that is if you work 3 years then you pay back less than if you left right after you graduated). The problem with this is that you end up getting people who just put in their time until they can quit without oweing any money back. How would you like to have a priest who was just putting in his time until he left becuase he didn’t want to pay any money back.

There is no simple answer for this problem.