the Church faced with the vocations crisis in France

After seven years of training, 88 seminarians will be ordained priests on Sunday June 25, during annual ceremonies organized in the cathedrals of the various dioceses of France. Traditionally, ordinations take place on the Sunday preceding the feast of the Apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul.

122 new priests were ordained last year, 130 in 2021. Only a third of the 106 dioceses in France will welcome a new priest this year. “Faced with their small number, we call everyone to a real start, a real awareness that will nourish our prayer, encourage new initiatives and invite each young person to discern with confidence and generosity the call of the Lord”. writes the Conference of Bishops of France on its website.

For 70 years, the number of priests has been in decline. This drop is very marked this year. It is more so among the diocesan who officiate in the parishes. Laurent Tournier, rector of the seminary of Orléans, believes that the Church is not spared by the changes that are going through French society. “Everyone can see a crisis of commitment, including in the associative world which is struggling to recruit.”

But he does not hide the causes proper to the Church. He cites in particular the work of the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (Ciase), chaired by the former Vice-President of the Council of State Jean-Marc Sauvé, “to look at the number of victims who have been assaulted by members of the Church. Not all priests, even if that is what struck people a lot”, emphasizes Laurent Tournier. 330,000 minors have been victims of sexual violence since 2050, according to an estimate by Ciase revealed in the Sauvé report, published in 2021.

Should and will the Church be reformed?

By refusing to reform itself, the institution is contributing to its vocations crisis, believes Christian Terras, founder of Golias, a progressive Catholic magazine. He pleads for the end of celibacy priesthood and for women to have access to ministerial functions. “The presbyteral ministry does not cause a call for air to bring in people who would commit themselves to the mission of the Church, male or female”, he regrets. VSThe proposals were rejected by Pope Francis in 2020. But will the Church be forced to reform? According to seminary projections, the number of priests will further halve by 2030.