Priest statistics

Factual Questions
1

Please help, anyone here who might know where I can get statistics in the WWW on the following items:

  1. Number of Vatican Roman Catholic priests of the Latin Rite in the U.S.A., on the basis of ordination the past ten years.

  2. Number of such priests still in the ministry at the present moment.

  3. Causes for non-engagement in the ministry from death, retirement, desertion, (as regards desertion, for what end), formal removal by superior authorities.

  4. Number of seminarians training for the priesthood at the present moment.

  5. Number of married originally Catholic men ordained to the priesthood in the last ten years.

Thanks for any references you can supply me.

Susma Rio Sep

2

There may be some central site to find this information, but I doubt it. In order to get the gross numbers, the National Council of Catholic Bishops had to conduct a poll a couple of years ago. Most of the items you are looking for are recorded at the diocesan level rather than the national level, and each diocese may record it differently.

The results of their survey, published in 2000, are provided here.

I don’t understand your first question. Since there were far more priests ordained in previous decades than in the last ten years, the number ordained in the last ten years will have no bearing on the total number of active priests (beyond indicating that their numbers are diminishing).

This page links to ordinations for the years 1998 through 2003, but if you look at the links for each year, you will discover that the numbers were tallied by simply mailing and phoning the various diocese and begging for their numbers. To the extent that the diocesan provider of the data was sloppy or uncooperative, the numbers may be suspect. (Here is an example of the problem of viewing the RCC as a monolithic structure–it ain’t. Each diocese is its own little kingdom that only interacts with the national church on a voluntary basis.)

As to the numbers of deaths, retirements, laicizations, and simple drop-outs, I really doubt that there is any single source.

Here is a slightly different set of statistics, from 1965, 1975, 1985, 1995, and 1998, again tabulated from multiple sources.

3

Dear Tomn:

Thanks so much for you time and trouble to supply me with the references of priest statistics in the WWW.

You are right, the first question is poorly phrased. The question I have in mind is the total number of living priests at the present date. The qualifier of ordination for the last ten years is not really relevant. I just have in mind that the last ten years could be a good period for study as an epoch.

My pupose is really to find out at least for the U.S. whether the decline in the number of priests is truly alarming, compared to the number of faithfuls who need priestly ministry.

One of the causes according to some observers is the issue of celibacy. But the Vatican is adamant against any compromise to soften its obligation. It appears that the Vatican does believe seriously that the crisis will pass, the gates of hell or that of incelibacy will not prevail over the end of time continuity of the Church however exiguous the flock and its pastors.

Thanks a lot.

Susma Rio Sep