Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Serious Shortage of German Catholic Priests; Sex Abuse Scandals Discourage Young Prospects

A string of sex abuse scandals in the German Catholic Church has led to a dramatic fall in the number of young men wanting to become priests, according to Germany's top Catholic bishop.

Archbishop of Freiburg Robert Zollitsch, who is the Chairman of the German Episcopal Conference, said that the church is now suffering from a serious lack of manpower, the Worldwide Religion News website reports today (August 3, 2010).

"We are living through a great trauma -- indeed the greatest crisis of the Catholic Church in Germany since 1945," Zollitsch said.

He added that new applications to join the priesthood across Germany had fallen to 150 this year -- a record low.

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