By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist

The influence of World Youth Day 2008 is being cited as the reason why vocations are surging in the Archdiocese of Sydney.

According to a report by the Catholic News Agency (CNA), this June will see the largest group of men ordained to the Archdiocese of Sydney since 1988.

“While Australia has been battling against a shortage of priests since the late 1980s, it now looks as if interest in the priesthood and men seeking priestly vocations is once more on the rise,” the archdiocese said in a news release on Friday.

Last month, ten men were accepted as candidates for the priesthood by the Seminary of the Good Shepherd in Sydney. 

“There is no doubt there has been an upsurge in interest in a priestly vocation,” said seminary rector Fr. Anthony Percy.

In addition to World Youth Day 2008, Fr. Percy says the Year for Priests may also be fueling the surge. The Archdiocese’s Theology on Tap program, which brings the faith to youth in bars and pubs, has been attracting nearly 800 people to the pub where the program is held every first Monday.

“Today many young people are seeking deeper meaning to their lives and not just looking for a career but for a vocation which can answer the big questions of life,” Fr. Percy said.

“In this post modern culture there are no values, no standards and no foundations on which to build minds. But young people really want these things and in a world of dysfunctional families and society generally, they are looking to the Church for stability.”

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