The New Growth in Vocations

Anne Hendershott and my friend Christopher White have a piece in today’s Wall Street Journal  cheering the new surge in priestly vocations:

What explains the trend? Nearly 20 years ago, Archbishop Elden Curtiss, then leader of the Omaha, Neb., diocese, suggested that when dioceses are unambiguous and allow a minimum of dissent about the male, celibate priesthood, more candidates answer the call to the priesthood. Our preliminary research on the correlates of priestly ordinations reveals that the dioceses with the largest numbers of new priests are led by courageous bishops with faithful and inspirational vocations offices.

Leadership and adherence to church doctrine certainly distinguish the bishop of Lincoln, the Most Rev. Fabian Bruskewitz. He made national news in 1996 when he stated that members of dissident Catholic groups including Call to Action and Catholics for Choice had automatically excommunicated themselves from the church.

I agree (and as a native Nebraskan, I’m especially pleased by the mentions of Curtiss and Bruskewitz). You can read the rest of Hendershott and White’s piece  here .