Vocations office turns priest survey into recruitment tool

Published: 2004-08-24

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The U.S. bishops' Secretariat for Vocations and Priestly Formation has turned information from its annual survey of new priests into a recruitment tool available on CD-ROM and the Web. The material includes video clips and pictures and short biographies of some of the new priests -- personalizing the national findings about the ordination class of 2004 with some of the names, faces and life stories behind the data. Its online access -- at www.usccb.org/vocations/classof2004.htm -- provides an easy way for men who may be wondering about priesthood to find out more about it and about the kinds of men who are choosing that way of life. The CD-ROM, produced with a grant from the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, was sent out in August to U.S. bishops, diocesan vocation directors, diocesan communications directors and a number of media outlets. A report on the main findings of this year's survey was made public earlier this summer.

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