Jesuits have not a single trainee priest in Ireland

David Quinn Religious Affairs Correspondent

THE Jesuits in Ireland are now attracting fewer vocations than anywhere else in the world.

This is despite the fact that they run several of the country's most high profile schools, including Belvedere College and Gonzaga, and for years have been one of Ireland's most prominent religious orders.

The Irish "province" of the Jesuits has no novices, ie those in the first two years of training, and only two men in training in total.

It normally takes 10 years before a Jesuit is ordained a priest.

The Irish figure compares with 18 men in training in the British province and 40 in France. Both of these are much bigger provinces than Ireland but are in countries of much lower levels of religious practice.

Tiny Malta, where religious practice is still high, has 10 men in training, while six are in training in the Netherlands, where the Catholic Church has been decimated.

In the two Belgian provinces, where religious practice has also collapsed, there is a total of 10 men in formation.

Commenting on the figures, Fr Fergus O'Donoghue, the editor of the Jesuit periodical, 'Studies', said they are partly a reflection of the bleak situation facing the Church in Ireland as a whole.

He said: "I think there has been a dramatic change in society in general. People are much slower to make life-long commitments, including to the religious life.

"Also, the orders have moved away from their traditional work, like education, so they are less visible to young people."

He suggested that the Jesuits - and many other orders - overemphasised 'social justice' from the 1970s on to the detriment of other aspects of their work.

The social justice emphasis has involved the Jesuits much more strongly than in the past in helping the poor, the homeless, drug addicts, etc.

Fr O'Donoghue said: "We also need to revisit the sort of anti-institutional attitude that took hold in the order, which in turn has been a reflection of what exists in society generally."

The modern focus on social justice has not produced vocations but has encouraged students to help the poor.

He continued: "This attitude sometimes meant we didn't have enough respect for our existing institutions, like the schools."

He emphasised that the main reason to become a Jesuit had to be "to preach Jesus Christ first and foremost".

Jesuit vocations director, Fr Gerry Clarke, agreed.

He said: "A person joins the Jesuits in order to save their own souls. There was all sorts of ways to do this, but the Jesuit way is one of them. It means finding a life that brings you closer to God, and in bringing other people closer to the message of Jesus."

Fr Noel Barber, head of the community at Gonzaga, said it was now increasingly realised within the order that "an emphasis on justice more than faith leaves you as social activists".

However, he said he believed that the modern focus on social justice "has had a good impact on our schools" and has encouraged pupils to become more involved in helping the poor.

He acknowledged that this has not produced vocations.
There are now fewer than 200 Irish Jesuits, less than half what it was at its peak, and only a handful are under the age of 50.