Only 10 priests will be ordained in the seven dioceses of Bavaria.

Newsroom (June 15, 2022, 12:30 PM, Gaudium Press) Only 10 priests will be ordained this year in the seven dioceses of Bavaria, Germany, compared to 21 last year and 19 in 2020.

The ordinands are described as follows:

One in the diocese of Wurzburg, who was ordained on the vigil of Pentecost. In Passau, three young men will be ordained on June 25, and on the same day one will be ordained in Bamberg and one in Regensburg. On the 26th, 3 will be ordained for the diocese of Augsburg. A priest from the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in Aufhausen will also be ordained. Important fact: This year there were no ordinations in the largest jurisdiction, that of Munich-Freising and Eichstätt.

Reasons

Fr. Martin Priller, rector of the Regensburg seminary, commented on the drop in the number of ordinations, saying that the reputation of the Church and the priestly profession has suffered greatly in recent times. Young men who want to become priests must face prejudice and find justification for following this path in front of their close circles.

Added to this are the internal discussions in the Church about the priestly ministry, to the point of fundamentally questioning it. Also, the many administrative tasks that are linked to the priesthood make young people wonder how they can be pastors with this burden.

It seems that those who are interested in the priesthood prefer not to do it in the diocesan clergy, but to integrate themselves into a religious community. They appreciate that there they have the support of the community, or that their idea of priestly ministry is better realized through a religious charism.

With Infocatólica information.

Compiled by Sarah Gangl