Students at Franciscan ask tough questions about religious life.
Franciscan University of Steubenville, OH has attracted many young persons to the priesthood and religious life. Nevertheless, they have probing questions about this calling.
Fr. Richard Davis, leader of the campus friary and former regional vocations director for the Third Order Regular Franciscans, listed some concerns of students about the consecrated life, as reported two days ago in the Columbus, IN Republic:
- How to respond if family members say they will be “wasting their lives.” In an era of increasingly smaller Catholic families, many parents worry about “losing” a child and future grandchildren.
- After decades of sexual scandals and abuse, some students ask: “Will I be safe? … If I visit a monastery or a convent, will someone hit on me?”
- Students often want to know which orders are faithful to the Magisterium. The majority of students today, he said, are seeking orders that emphasis a life of prayer and service to the poor, in America and abroad.
- Many students bluntly ask: “Do I have what it takes?” This question may center on celibacy, poverty, a rigorous prayer life or other issue.
- Another question: “Will I be alone?” is especially poignant in an age of fading religious orders.
Keep asking those questions, students. But act on the answers.
