Filipino pope could revive priestly vocations in Catholic bastion

As cardinals collect within the Vatican to elect a brand new pope — with a Filipino among the many favourites — the church in Asia’s most Catholic nation is grappling with a decline in these with a vocation for the priesthood.

“In response to the statistics we’ve… one priest is catering to round 9,000 Catholics,” John Alfred Rabena, chancellor of UST Central Seminary, one the nation’s oldest, stated this week.

It’s a state of affairs that was resulting in “exhaustion” amongst an overworked clergy, he advised AFP throughout a go to to the seminary’s artwork deco constructing on the sprawling College of Santo Tomas campus.

Philippine Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle is among the many favourites to succeed Pope Francis, whereas one other Filipino, Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, has emerged as a late darkish horse candidate.

Whereas formally cautioned to not marketing campaign for his or her countrymen, clergymen within the Philippines advised AFP they consider a Filipino pope may encourage a surge in recruits to the flagging ranks of the priesthood.

Father Robert Reyes, a well known activist priest, stated he sounded the alarm throughout his 1987-98 tenure as nationwide vocation director of the Catholic Bishops’ Convention of the Philippines (CBCP).

“I used to be already warning the bishops that there have been apparent indicators of a decline in vocations, and what number of years is that already?” he stated.

Whereas the CBCP stated it maintains no formal database monitoring enrolment numbers, the Philippine Church marked its first-ever Nationwide Vocation Consciousness Month in November in a bid to “handle the vital want for extra clergymen inside the nation”.

– ‘Damaged belief’ –

For Father Jerome Secillano, spokesperson for the CBCP, stated the explanation for that want is not any secret.

“Due to the sexual misconduct that occurred within the Church,” he stated of the worldwide abuse scandal that erupted within the early 2000s.

“That was when individuals getting into the seminary began to dwindle. The influence of that’s nonetheless being felt.”

And whereas he believes an outpouring of pleasure and pleasure would comply with the ascendance of a Filipino pope, he questions if it could be sufficient.

“I do not know if a Filipino pope will instantly restore that damaged belief,” he stated.

Others who spoke to AFP stated the intercourse abuse scandal couldn’t be solely blamed for dwindling seminary enrollments, pointing to cultural modifications that had made the nation’s youth more durable to succeed in.

“It is also as a result of younger individuals are so uncovered to the secular world, with journey, with the web and with social media,” stated Reyes.

– ‘Plain Filipino’ –

Seminarian Neil Pena, 27, advised AFP he believed the potential for a Filipino pope to galvanise his countrymen’s religion was plain.

“It is totally different when the pope speaks your language,” Pena stated.

“A pope talking Filipino, plain Filipino, speaking to you want he is speaking to you immediately… will probably be an inspiration.”

Reyes agreed a shared heritage can be significant in a “personality-oriented” nation.

“If there’s somebody well-known, we gravitate in direction of the particular person and his actions, lifestyle,” Reyes stated. “There could be many who will probably be thinking about (changing into a) priest.”

Rabena, the seminary chancellor, pointed to his personal resolution to hitch the clergy, saying it had been “ignited” by the 2015 go to of Pope Francis to the nation following the deadliest storm in its historical past.

Arvin Eballo, a theology professor on the College of Santo Tomas, stated there was a time when when nearly each household aspired to have a son as a priest.

“They believed it was a blessing of God,” he stated.

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