Lithuanian cardinal says country facing serious shortage of priests

Published: 2005-03-22

WARSAW, Poland (CNS) -- A Lithuanian cardinal said vocations to religious life in his country were falling due to the country's high divorce rate and low birthrate. "Unfortunately, vocations are falling -- we need significantly more," said Cardinal Audrys Backis of Vilnius. "The main reason is the state of Lithuanian society. Families are broken, and very few have more than one child. This is bringing a severe demographic crisis," Cardinal Backis said during an early March speech to the Polish bishops' conference in Warsaw. His remarks were reported by Poland's Catholic information agency, KAI. The cardinal said recruitment and formation had been impeded by a lack of religious formation for the country's youth. "Most youngsters applying to seminaries come from divorced families and have many psychological problems, while the young generation's religious education is weak too," the cardinal said.

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