The WSJ reported on the shortage of priests in the Catholic Church

The Catholic Church is faced with a shortage of staff, and priests are becoming fewer every year. This was reported by The Wall Street Journal on September 22.

"The Catholic Church has a personnel problem, and it's getting worse. The sharp ten-year decline in the number of young men seeking to become priests only accelerated after the [COVID-19] pandemic. The attractiveness of other career opportunities and the growing wariness of lifelong — and celibate — vows are forcing Catholics to abandon a once revered path," the article says.

According to the publication, since 1970, the number of Catholics in the world has doubled, but the number of priests has decreased, and some parishes remain without a rector. Theological seminaries are closing or merging across Europe. Pope Leo XIV called on believers to actively involve young people in the church.

"The number of students in seminaries in the West has been declining for decades as the culture has become more secular. Over the past five years, the number of young people enrolling in seminaries to become priests has also steadily declined in Latin America and Asia, leaving Africa as the only region where this figure continues to grow," the newspaper writes.

In the period from 2011 to 2023, the number of seminarians worldwide decreased by about 14 thousand people, reaching 106 thousand. St. Patrick's Seminary near Dublin, once the largest in the world and housing 500 seminarians, now enrolls an average of 15 new students per year. The 130-year-old St. John's Seminary in the south of England, designed for 100 seminarians, closed in 2021 due to a lack of new applications.

"The decline has also affected the traditional seat of the church in Italy, where most popes and countless cardinals grew up. For centuries, becoming a priest in Italy was not only a spiritual vocation, but also an opportunity to get an education and a lifelong job in a country where many were illiterate and poor. Having a priest in the family was a matter of pride," the article says.

The falling birth rate in Italy has led to the fact that families are less likely than before to encourage their sons to become priests, especially if they are the only children. Priests have also lost their high position in society. According to the newspaper, polls show that the number of Italians who consider themselves Catholics has decreased to two thirds.

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The Politico newspaper reported on August 11 that the Catholic Church is accused of money laundering through illegal manipulation of bank transfers. According to the newspaper, the former chief auditor of the Vatican, who was forced to resign in 2017, admitted that his payroll agency could change the names and account numbers in transactions after they were completed, hiding the identity of the recipients and senders.

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