I am very proud to be a Priest of the Catholic Church and have been for 37 years.
A new report offers some surprising -- and troubling -- insight into why a lot of young men had second or third thoughts about the priesthood:
Conversations around the kitchen table may be more responsible for the shortage of Roman Catholic priests in the U.S. than influences from American culture, a new study suggests.
Almost 45% of Catholic priests planning to be ordained this year said they were discouraged from considering the priesthood, according to a survey produced by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University for the U.S. bishops.
Of those, nearly 6 in 10 said a parent or family member was the source of the discouragement. Fifty-one percent said a friend or classmate had counseled them against the priesthood, and 15% said a priest or other clergy had.
The percentages add up to more than 100 because respondents could select more than one category.
