The following comes from a September Inland Catholic Byte article by Malie Hudson:
Bishop Gerald Barnes has accepted 12 men into St. Junipero Serra House of Formation, bringing the grand total of Diocesan seminarians up to 43. The 12 new seminarians and their parish or community are:
Vicente Tomas Segura Arredondo – Mexico (parents are from Sacred Heart Parish, Riverside); Antony Assaf – The Holy Name of Jesus, Redlands; Derek Cossio – St. John XXIII, Fontana; Derek Curtis – St. Patrick, Moreno Valley; Triet Dang – Seattle; Rafael Flores – St. Catherine of Siena, Rialto; Gerardo Lopez – Modesto (Misioneros de la Palabra); Sergio Morales Mojica – St. Joseph, Barstow; Jesus Muratalla Ornelas – St. Christopher, Moreno Valley; Anthony Ribaya – St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, Yucaipa; Giovanni Sevilla – Modesto (Misioneros de la Palabra); Onyekachi Damian Ugocha – Los Angeles.
The new class of seminarians is just two men less than the largest group ever accepted into Serra House and the biggest in years.
This year’s group of men is culturally diverse and offers many talents including writing, music and engineering, to name a few. “I think that the seminarians need to be a mini representation of what the Diocese is like,” said Sr. Shrewsbury. “It shouldn’t be just one culture because the diocese is such a mix of cultures, so the diocese should reflect that. I think we do that pretty well.”
With only one priest for every 6,117 parishioners in the Diocese, Sr. Shrewsbury and her team at the Office of Vocations continue to work on recruiting more men to the priesthood. At the same time, the support and effort of the parishes in the Diocese is pivotal to the success of this ministry.
“I want our diocese to pray for those who are going into the seminary and those already in the seminary as well as the young women going into the convent and deacons in the diaconate program,” said Sr. Shrewsbury. “We encourage everyone to promote vocations in their parishes and get a vocations committee going. It’s also very easy to just put in a prayer every Sunday or every time there is Mass.”
Sr. Shrewsbury says some parishes have a vocations cross or statue and families take that home and pray for vocations.
“It keeps alive the idea of how much priests are needed in our diocese.”
And who is Sr. Shrewsberry? Cast of Characters, anyone?
Mike, if you go to the diocese web site you will find out that Sr. Shrewsberry is the Director of Vocations for the diocese, responsible for “recruiting” men to the seminary. She is assisted by a Priest and an Admin. She works under the direction of a Priest responsible for wider Ecclesiastic departments as well. The web site has the entire cast fo characters that help promote the diocesan mission.
“I think that the seminarians need to be a mini representation of what the Diocese is like,” said Sr. Shrewsbury. “It shouldn’t be just one culture because the diocese is such a mix of cultures, so the diocese should reflect that. I think we do that pretty well.”
This is concerning, Bob One. Maybe not to you. But when the priority is on recruiting an ethnic diversity to appeal to people’s sensibilities, the sense of religious vocation, that is a call from God to hold, preach, and defend the Truth (not just the requisite rainbow of diversity) is lost. Or at the least, seemingly obfuscated by seeking to recruit only those who will fit into slot A for this ethnicity, slot B for that special group, slot C for the fun of being random, etc…
Seriously, Bob One.
Sounds more than a little forced to me as if, perhaps, if you’re white and have a vocation, well, there are “too many” of you and we don’t want to send the wrong message. Pass. Or if you’re Asian, well, since there may be a dearth of Asian priests, we’ll heavily recruit YOU because that suits the needs of the “Diocesan” Mission – whatever that means.
You note the “negative posters”, but you don’t seem concerned with what is at the root of the so-called negativity. Just putting on a happy face and playing hopeful doesn’t cut it.
There is a tone-deafness in AMalley’s comment: almost removed from reality. AMalley: if you have a majority population in a diocese that speaks Spanish, yet the majority of seminarians in the diocese speak only English, HOW IS THAT GOING TO SERVE THE LOCAL FAITHFUL IN THE NEAR FUTURE?? Knowing their culture, not just the language, is part and parcel of ministry! Is it actually true that this Sr. Shrewsbury has more acumen than AMalley? I guess that is why the former is a vocations director, not the latter.
Tone-deaf Angry Anti-Malley ATTACK-DOG sighting!
But it’s hard to keep a good trad lady down!
What is important is ordinations. How many of these men will go on to become priests? (And, are these quality candidates?)
I agree Carol.
What “Mike” says is correct: first of all, who is this “sister” and what are her beliefs. Literature is rampant that Zombie-Liberal religious have lead the decades-old scandal of opening seminary doors to homosexuals, and religious deviants, while blocking admittance to heterosexual men, who project a true picture of masculinity. Second, why does any religious have anything to say about admitting seminarians? They have no such role and the local ordinary should be careful to eliminate the insistence of some religious that they must be given a “gatekeeper” role in seminaries to protect against the overly zealous (and masculine?) who will be anti-woman too (it is assumed).
Carol, your comment, meant to or not, implies that you don’t trust the diocese to pick quality candidates, I suppose by whatever definition you come up with.
This is one of the largest classes in many years. Couldn’t we give them an “atta boy” for this, offer prayers for completion of training and ordination and good service to the people. Instead of being snarly? This site has too many negative people and stories already, We shouldn’t always be carping on the down side of everything. Wouldn’t you agree?
“Let priests take care not to accept from the Liberal any ideas which, under the mask of good, pretend to reconcile Justice with Iniquity. Liberal Catholics are wolves in sheep’s clothing. The priest must unveil to the people their perfidious plot, their iniquitous design. You will be called Papist, clerical, retrograde, intolerant, but pay no heed to the derision and mockery of the wicked. Have courage; you must never yield, nor is there any need to yield. **You must go into the attack whole-heartedly, not in secret but in public, not behind barred doors, but in the open, in the view of all.” ** Bishop Sarto ( Pope St. Pius X)
(1). Dal Gal, page 68.
https://www.phatmass.com/phorum/topic/100-this-is-a-shepherd/
Bob One posts, Carol, your comment, meant to or not, implies that *you don’t trust the diocese* to pick quality candidates”
Bob One, After the scandals, when a bishop allows the scandalous degradation of a Catholic church by allowing Hollywood crews to enter inside in order to make a film about Liberace’s life, then trust IS GONE. Also, I was asked to visit a dying woman who wanted to tell what had taken place before she died. I felt she was too sick to talk about “negative” things too, Bob but this woman wanted the truth exposed before she died. She insisted that the whole conversation be tape recorded. She followed her well-formed conscience.
continued….
This woman went to Bishop Barnes to tell him of the terrible and evil treatment of a young good priest who was on assignment in a Palm Springs parish. This young priest was from Mexico. The pastor of the parish was homosexual and this pastor was allowed to have his homosexual boyfriend live on parish grounds. This pastor also relentless stalked this young Mexican priest. This young priest was trapped because he didn’t know anyone and the pastor refused to even give him the small stipend amount of money due for even personal needs. continued……
This observant woman saw how miserable this young priest seemed and she gained his trust and then he told her everything that was taking place. The pastor’s relative was the church secretary and they were all stealing the parish money and the money for the poor, including the Thanksgiving turkeys. This woman had a meeting with Bishop Barnes and the homosexual pastor. Well Bob, the pastor slapped the woman, right in the face, knocking off her glasses. The pastor then used language that she had never heard come out of a priest’s mouth. Then the pastor told her. “I hope you get cancer and die.” continued….
cont.
This woman was wealthy and beautiful, she did not need anything, she simply stood up for this priest who now wanted to go back to Mexico. The young priest was told by Bishop Barnes that he could leave and Bishop Barnes told the pastor to pay the money that was owed for the priest’s work. The pastor then took back some money for the phone calls because the young priest was calling Mexico to please bring him back home, so while fleecing the donations at the parish, the pastor even took back the money for the few telephone calls when the priest was calling Mexico pleading to be removed from this den of iniquity.
continued…
cont.
This woman died of cancer shortly after I spoke with her and after everything that she told Bishop Barnes, the pastor still remained. Nothing happened, business as usual. The young priest went back to Mexico traumatized by the environment of evil. So, don’t question Carol. Question if these new seminarians will be sent to face the same evil. I’m sorry you don’t like “negative” stories Bob but faithful priests and the laity are heeding the wise words of then Bishop Sarto *You must go into the attack whole-heartedly, not in secret but in public, not behind barred doors, but in the open, in the view of all.*
Bob One, Carol’s comments reflect the reality of a scandalized flock that has, due to the negligence and oftentimes outright abuse of those in positions of authority, lost trust. We are told, after all, to judge with right judgement and to look to the “fruits” to make a more certain determination.That admonishment comes straight from Our Lord.
While an “atta boy”, upbeat attitude may be desired, an “atta boy” too soon is delusion. Wishful thinking. The Catholic Church isn’t a Power of Positive thinking group.
Perhaps its time we refocused and trusted in God and His words. All of them. Not the self-stylings of those who have done their utmost to actually keep many a solid Catholic out of seminary. Cats are way out of the bag,…
Your comment, “Bob One” is so completely bereft of logic as to be comical. Of course no one trusts what the Diocese is doing, particularly when it uses a nun to be the gatekeeper for admission to the seminary. As noted in a prior comment, the literature is substantial with decades of stories with nuns insinuating themselves into the formation process when they have no business doing so. Their desire is patent — stop the Church from teaching orthodoxy to young men (who will then continue to deny women ordination and maintain the taboo on sex outside marriage). The model here is absurd, as is your red herring question.
And why, you might ask, is a nun in charge of vocations to the priesthood? Maybe she was the only man for the job.