je vous résume cette conclusion d'une longue étude sur tous les facteurs sociologiques, etc, imaginables qui influent peut-être sur le taux (très variable) de vocations sacerdotales chez les catholiques américains, diocèse par diocèse, dans <Ignatius Insight> du 28/01.
===> Cependant leur fréquence nettement plus basse dans les familles "latinos" a probablement une cause qui n'a pas encore été étudiée: la bien plus faible probabilité pour un jeune "latino" aux Etats-Unis d'avoir connu de près un ou des prêtres de même culture dans sa paroisse, son école, etc. Ce n'est que récemment que des efforts ont été réalisés pour améliorer cette situation.
===> NB: à protester contre le doctorat 'honoris causa' conféré à Obama, c'étaient les 83 évêques "pro-life" les plus courageux, tous à la tête de diocèses féconds en prêtres:
(...) The influence of theological attitude
___ In an attempt to quantify the effect that “theological attitude” may have on priestly ordination rates, Yuengert attempted to define orthodoxy or progressivism by identifying the publication vehicle used by the bishops. Those bishops who published articles in America were defined by the author as more likely to hold progressive or liberal attitudes about Church teachings—because America’s editorial positions are more likely to be in favor of an open discussion of several topics, including female priests, married priests, the relaxation of Catholic moral teachings on sexual matters, and the relaxation of papal authority vis-a-vis the bishops. Those who published in The Catholic Answer were defined by Yuengert as more likely to hold orthodox or conservative perspectives because the editorial positions of this periodical favor a closer adherence to the teaching office of the pope, an acceptance of traditional Church teachings on sexual morality, and a conviction that the individual conscience, well-formed, will never contradict Church teaching.
Although Yuengert found that bishops who published in The Catholic Answer had significantly higher ordination rates in their dioceses—supporting Archbishop Curtiss’ contention that bishops who support the traditional teachings of the Church will inspire priestly ordinations—it is clear that more research needs to be done to confirm this relationship. Using these publications as indicators of the theological attitude of bishops may not have captured the bishops’ characteristics as well as Yuengert would have liked. He even acknowledged that several of the bishops he studied had published in both America and The Catholic Answer. Just a few months ago, for example, New York’s Archbishop Dolan, a leader who is often described in the media as a “more conservative” bishop than his predecessor published an article in America.
A more comprehensive analysis of “theological attitude” would require going beyond a review of the places bishops publish their articles, to a comprehensive content analysis of the actual writings, including the bishops’ letters to the faithful and their public pronouncements.
A simple correlation of the most recent data on diocesan ordination rates with one indicator of “theological attitude” reveals that future research in this area may yield some answers about whether bishops may indeed have an impact on ordination rates. The indicator we used is the listing of the names of the 83 bishops who signed the bishops’ formal statement expressing disapproval of the University of Notre Dame’s 2009 invitation to President Barack Obama to give the commencement speech and receive an honorary law degree. The bishops protested the honors given to President Obama because of the president’s support for legislation designed to expand access to abortion both here and abroad.
Many of the 83 bishops who signed the 2009 statement also lead dioceses with the highest ordination rates in the country. Among the signers are the leaders of the following ordination-rich dioceses: Austin, Bridgeport, Camden, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Ft. Wayne-South Bend, Indianapolis, Lincoln, Newark, New York, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Rockville Center, Rockford, St. Louis, St. Paul-Minneapolis, San Antonio, Springfield-Cape Girardeau, Toledo, and Washington, DC.
This measure of theological attitude is certainly not comprehensive, and cannot be considered as offering anything more than preliminary, anecdotal evidence supporting Archbishop Curtiss’ contention that bishops who lead dioceses which promote loyalty to the Church, and total fidelity to her teachings, are successful in encouraging young men to commit themselves to the priesthood. The correlations, however, should encourage researchers to pursue a systematic testing of this relationship in the future.
the Author: Anne Hendershott
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D'avance, merci !