Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
October 9, 2002
Attitude of today's youth source of hope for future
79 men are studying for the priesthood at the two archdiocesan seminaries
By Jack Bacon
Evidence of growing altruism among America's youth brightens prospects for the nation's future, according to Father Kent Drotar, director of vocations for the Archdiocese of Denver.
The evidence? Younger and younger people are expressing interest in religious vocations, and following up by entering seminaries and religious orders.
"We can have hope and be encouraged by young people today," Father Drotar said. "They're very serious about their Church. They're very unselfish and wanting to serve."
Father Drotar attributes at least part of the phenomenon to the inspiration of Pope John Paul II.
"He's the only pope they've known, and they're hearing his call for young people to save the world," he said. "It gives us great hope."
He added that he hopes "every Catholic prays for vocations" and that parents "encourage their children to be open to God's will, explaining that by following God's will their lives will be fuller and happier."
He said the enrollment of younger candidates for the priesthood and religious life was the general impression voiced at a recent national conference of vocations directors, "and it's certainly the trend in Denver."
Father Drotar's office conducts regular retreats for possible candidates for the priesthood. Two are scheduled in the near future: the Men's Priesthood Discernment Retreat (college age and up) at Mother Cabrini Shrine in Jefferson County Nov. 22-24 and the RAD (Radical Awareness of Discipleship) retreat Oct. 26-27 for high school boys at the John Paul II Center, 1300 S. Steele St. The men's retreat is an annual event; RAD retreats are conducted twice a year, in the fall and spring semesters. This month's earlier RAD retreat was postponed for three weeks because of numerous conflicts with homecoming schedules and other school events, Father Drotar said.
Quo Vadis, the first retreat program for middle school boys, was conducted at Camp Santa Maria in August. Three dozen attended.
Notification of the retreats is primarily through parishes, and the Office of Vocations maintains occasional contact with retreatants afterward. Retreat programs and communication through parishes are deemed necessary partly because the proportion of Catholic students in Catholic schools is substantially lower than in past decades. Even in Catholic schools, Father Drotar noted, few teachers come from religious orders, thus reducing the number of religious role models who once helped inspire many vocations.
Seventy-nine candidates for the priesthood are studying now in the archdiocese's two seminaries at the John Paul II Center, 1300 S. Steele St., Denver: 48 at St. John Vianney and 31 at Redemptorist Mater. In this number, seminarians from a number of dioceses are represented. Not all of the Archdiocese of Denver's 78 candidates for the diocesan priesthood are at those two seminaries, however; nine college-age seminarians are at seminaries in Minnesota, two at Blessed John XXIII National Seminary for older candidates in Weston, Mass.; and two at Sts. Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Michigan for Polish candidates for U.S. dioceses.
Father Drotar said southern Poland is experiencing a wealth of vocations to the priesthood and is able to help other countries who have more needs than priests. Two have been ordained in Denver, Father Gregory Cioch in 2000 and Father Krzysztof Misiura in 2002. He said the Polish candidates spend at least their first two years in this country at the Michigan seminary to improve their knowledge of the English language and American culture and history.
Seminarians studying in Denver include candidates from Cheyenne, Wyo.; Sioux Falls, S.D.; Fargo, N.D.; Helena, Mont.; and Myanmar (Burma) as well as this archdiocese.
Redemptorist Mater candidates are in the mission-oriented Neocatechumenal Way, a program that makes their formation period longer because they serve part of the time, somewhat as interns, assisting in other dioceses, e.g., in Georgia or Pennsylvania. They also are ordained as priests for the Denver archdiocese, but may be assigned as missionary priests, part of their original calling, after regular parish service and at the discretion of the archbishop.
In addition, Father Drotar said, two candidates for service in this archdiocese are studying in Mexico City, in a program Bishop José Gomez, S.T.D., of Denver helped establish when he was serving in Houston. Most candidates in the program are from Mexico or South and Central America; the two studying for Denver are Mexico natives.
The classes entering seminaries from the Denver archdiocese had been growing by five to eight candidates in each of the past several years; but showed no increase this year, Father Drotar said. He added that the leveling off was not surprising or disappointing.
"One year is not a trend," he said.
The impact of recent media coverage of sexual abuse by the clergy is difficult to measure, Father Drotar said. Among seminarians, he said, the effect "seems to have galvanized them to become better priests."
He said he is more concerned that the news reports would influence parents of younger potential candidates for the priesthood or religious life, adding another to the reasons adults might have for discouraging their children. More common excuses, he said, include fear "that their children will lead miserable, lonely lives, not understanding the religious life.
"I pray that parents never discourage their children from considering the priesthood or religious life," Father Drotar said.
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