AmericanPapist Comments
Mabye a bit of both. At least people can see what life is like for a seminarian and possibly see this young man as an example.
"The Besançon diocese said it filmed its young priests to show that the church was "less square" than people thought.
Yeah, right.
Agreed with Lauren. I think it's a misconception that all priests are completely "square," and I would think that correction that would do wonders for seminary recruitment. A chaplain at a high school in my home diocese likes to sit in the basement of the rectory and watch movies on HBO and Showtime. My own brother takes every opportunity to attend the games of the University of Kansas football and basketball teams, including joining two bishops in Miami for the Orange Bowl back in January, and he's excited about seeing Tom Petty in concert in a few weeks. One of my archbishop friends loves to fish when he can get the chance. My point? Priests are fun-loving guys just like anyone else, but I'm of the opinion that not enough people see that side of them, maintaining the erroneous belief that they're "square." My diocese actually does a really solid job of showing that devoting your life to God and the service of His people doesn't mean giving up everything outside of the parish, too, and that's why we've got more seminarians than we know what to do with. Sounds like France desperately needs to do the same.
My one concern about efforts like this is that the more the Church tries to present priests as "just normal guys," and the more priests themselves try to act "normal," for the cameras and the viewers, the less appealing the priesthood seems to be to young men.
In the past, successful recruitment efforts for the priesthood appealed to young men's idealism and sense of adventure, honor, sacrifice - think of the stories of St. John Vianney spending hours in the confessional, the heroic sacrifices of missionaries, St. John Neumann or Bishop Baraga traipsing miles through uncharted forests.
Think of the advertisements for the Marines! They certainly don't try to present Marines as "just normal run-of-the-mill" folks, and their recruitment campaign has been quite successful.
I would hope efforts like this are successful, but I think to be so, they're going to have to present the heroic side of the priesthood and the real sacrifices required and not downplay them in an effort to make Father "just like any other guy."
I agree with Tim.
I think the proletariatization portrays priests as "just like real guys, but lonely."
If there's honor and dignity in being a priest, that will draw men in. If it looks like a stunt, it will only draw in stunt men.
The only thing that will rekindle the French Church is orthodoxy. That's the whole bloody reason that the SSPX is thriving there.
The French bishops won't wake up any time soon, though. Expect the auto-demolition to continue until the only Catholics left in France are the Traditionalists. Then we'll be able to start over.
Wasn't there a reality-TV show here in the US about men discerning priesthood called "God or the Girl"?
There was also one set in a monastery - guys were to spend 6 weeks there or whatever. I thought it was drek, my irreligous, non-Catholic roommate at the time was fascinated by it.
Go figure. Maybe some good can come of it.
I was terribly disappointed by the "show". What sort of young man would even consider joining this sort of life? Quite depressing.
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