Vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life are falling in Europe but there is no coordinated strategy to deal with the problem. The same thing happened during the annual European Congress on Vocations held in Maynooth, in Ireland, between 28 June and 1 July.
Spanish priest Fr. Antonio Bravo Tisner spoke about the Eucharist as the basis of every vocation.
Fr. Franco Imoda, previously Rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University and head of the Institute of Psychology at the same university, gave a very articulate speech, mixing Ignatian spirituality, Biblical references and psychological dynamics.
The quality of vocations needs to be monitored. And Fr. Imoda did in fact touch on the sore point of existing “inconsistencies” as his predecessor Fr. Luigi Rulla called them.
Psychology tests allow us to discover the unconscious dynamics of a person. If these are not dealt with, deep tensions can develop between the ideal which priestly life tries to achieve and everyday reality.
This leads to disappointment, frustration and abandonment in less serious cases and psychological deficit, deviance and psychological disorders in the worst cases.
The debate between the participants from 13 European countries, plus the U.S. and Canada placed an emphasis on different experiences and approaches. It did not intend to question the general vocational strategies currently in place.
French priest Laurent Villemin spoke of an ever possible, “latent” individualism in priestly life. He discussed spirituality as an antidote, referring to the Eucharist’s “communional dimension”.
Other speakers presented some vocation related iPhone and smart phone apps as a means of updating the language and approach used by the Church to communicate with young people.
But the final model remains unchanged: Either close future priests in a seminary, where it is mostly adult entering as the average entry age goes up, or suggest methods which are no longer used, such as the “minor seminary” for school children.
They would then enter some sort of boy’s college in preparation for the priesthood, the idea being to make it an exciting adventure.