VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis voiced alarm Monday (May 21) at the “hemorrhaging” of nuns and priests in Italy and Europe, saying God only knows how many seminaries, monasteries, convents and churches will close because fewer people are being called to lives of religious service.
Francis told Italy’s bishops he was concerned about the “crisis of vocations” in a region of the world that once was one of the biggest sources of Catholic missionaries. He said Italy and Europe were entering a period of “vocational sterility” to which he wasn’t sure a solution exists.
There is a connection between celibacy and the lack of reproducing priests, nuns and monks. SIlly pope!
I was a religious for 7 years. Twenty two of use entered in 1965. Only three stayed.
The world population is caught between a rock and a hard spot....To maintain religion, they rely totally on ignorance....and the internet is education without being noticed...I keep my fingers crossed.
We can only hope Religious vocation will go the way of the Gandy Dancer, the Milk Man and the Type Setter.
As a whole, Europe is more advanced than the US in recognizing that they do not need religion. Jean Jacques Revel predicted that in his 1972 book, WITHOUT MARX OR JESUS.