January 29,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, in recent comments, Pope Francis said he is concerned about what he calls a “hemorrhage” of priests and nuns from the Catholic church. For decades, the Catholic church in many developed countries has seen the number of priests and nuns on the decline.
The pope on Saturday told participants at a Vatican gathering on religious life that the loss of clergy is weakening the church.
Pope Francis said that first among the factors causing nuns and priests to quit their vocations is a society that discourages lifelong commitments. Francis later lamented that many conduct their lives based on “a la carte” choices.
When the pope’s decrees are incongruent with the beliefs of the church, people will be less inclined to follow the leadership.