CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- A new report shows that while a significant number of Catholics are considering religious vocations, more education and outreach are needed to foster encouragement, especially among Latino populations.<\/p>\n\t\u201cAlthough many speak of priest shortages and steep declines in the number of men and women religious, the survey reveals that there is no shortage of individuals who seriously consider these vocations among never-married Catholics in the United States,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n
\tOn Oct. 9, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops announced the release of a study on the consideration of vocations, conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University.<\/p>\n
\tThe study, entitled, \u201cConsideration of Priesthood and Religious Life Among Never-Married U.S. Catholics,\u201d was commissioned by the U.S. bishops\u2019 Secretariat for Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations.<\/p>\n
\tIt found that among never-married Catholics, 12 percent of men and 10 percent of women have considered a vocation \u201cat least a little seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThree percent of male respondents said they have \u201cvery seriously\u201d considered entering the priesthood or becoming a religious brother, and two percent of female respondents said they have \u201cvery seriously\u201d considered becoming a religious sister.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThis is equivalent to 350,000 never-married men and more than 250,000 never-married women,\u201d the report explained.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cShepherding more of these individuals on the path to seeking a vocation would\u00a0 likely require a combination of greater outreach from the Church, encouragement\u00a0 from others, assistance in obtaining educational prerequisites, and dealing\u00a0 with other issues such as student loan debt and citizenship status,\u201d it suggested.<\/p>\n
\tThe report revealed \u201cgenerational differences in the consideration of vocations,\u201d with a low point falling in the Post-Vatican II Generation, those born from 1961 to 1981, and a slight increase among those born after 1981. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\tCatholic education also played a significant role. Male respondents who attended Catholic high school were more than six times more likely to have considered a vocation than those who did not, and female respondents who attended a Catholic elementary school were more than three times as likely to do so as those who did not.<\/p>\n
\tParticipation in a parish youth group was also related to higher vocational consideration.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cEncouragement from others is also important,\u201d the survey found. Both men and women were almost twice as likely to consider a vocation if someone had encouraged them to do so.<\/p>\n
\tOther positive factors in considering vocations were participation in a World Youth Day or National Catholic Youth Conference, the use of traditional media to access religious or spiritual content and knowing someone who was living a religious vocation.<\/p>\n
\tMost of the adults in the survey who had considered a vocation \u201cdid so between the ages of 13 and 24,\u201d the report said, and \u201cone in four Catholic females who have considered becoming a religious sister did so before they were a teenager.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThe survey found \u201cfew differences related to race and ethnicity\u201d and said that \u201cHispanic respondents \u2013 both male and female \u2013 are no less likely than others to say they have considered a vocation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tHowever, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has warned of an \u201curgent\u201d shortage in Hispanic clergy and religious. While about 35 percent of U.S. Catholics are Hispanic, \u201conly 15 percent of the 2012 ordination class and 9 percent of the 2011 religious profession class were Hispanic,\u201d the conference said.<\/p>\n
\tThe study found that citizenship requirements and educational prerequisites could be challenges facing Hispanic vocations. Hispanic respondents were the least likely to report having a college degree or being enrolled in Catholic schools at any level of education. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\tIn addition, while Hispanic respondents were \u201camong the most likely to participate in devotional practices and other prayer\u201d associated with higher levels of considering a vocation, they were also \u201camong the least likely to report that they have ever been encouraged to seek a vocation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThe good news is that more than 500,000 never-married men and women have seriously considered a vocation to priesthood or the religious life,\u201d said Archbishop Robert J. Carlson of St. Louis, who chairs the U.S. bishops\u2019 Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThe challenge is to pastor and guide these individuals more effectively,\u201d he continued. \u201cThis will require greater and more consistent encouragement from others, particularly within the family, and a more urgent focus on access to Catholic education for our young people.\u201d<\/p>\n
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