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	Manchester Diocese Focuses on Recruitment Priest, 34, Tells His Story in Colleges, High Schools By Ashley Smith Associated Press, carried in Worcester Telegram & Gazette March 26, 2006 http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060326/NEWS/603260710/1008/NEWS02 Manchester, N.H.— Recruiting men to embrace a way of life foreign to modern society isn't a job for a smooth-talking salesman. There's no persuading someone to shun even the possibility of fancy cars, big houses, marriage, sex, children — and similar secular notions of happiness — if he doesn't already have a calling. But like a business when profits are down, the Catholic Church can't help but rethink its strategy for recruiting future priests when there simply aren't enough to go around. Rather than resigning itself to the idea of a permanently smaller priesthood, the Diocese of Manchester has developed new strategies for recruiting men who have a calling to serve God. It has committed to reversing the trend of a declining priesthood in New Hampshire through evangelism and creating a culture within the church that promotes priestly life, according to vocation director Monsignor Anthony Frontiero. That means the religious becoming less private about their faith, and priests demonstrating that their way of life is not only possible but one of the most fulfilling means of existence. It also means having someone dedicated to spreading that message. Last summer, Bishop John B. McCormack appointed the first priest in state history dedicated strictly to recruiting potential seminarians. Until then, the responsibility belonged solely to Frontiero, who also serves as a pastor at St. Pius X Church in Manchester and as an aide to the bishop. The new associate vocation director will travel to high schools, colleges and parishes to plant a seed in the minds of men who might have a calling. He will use his story as a springboard to entice them to consider wearing the collar. If you saw Jason Jalbert in a creaseless dark blue suit and observed his diffident but assuring manner, you might guess he was a funeral home director. As you studied the handsome 34-year-old man, his open appreciation of marriage would lead you to guess he had a bride. If Jalbert had never answered a calling to the priesthood, your assumptions would have been right. Before entering seminary, the Berlin, N.H. native had a career path set. A funeral home director had taken Jalbert under his wing. Jalbert had a home, a car and a serious girlfriend ready for marriage. But after a lifetime of inconsistent churchgoing, Jalbert felt the tug. He started attending Mass weekly, then daily. A conversation with a priest followed. Soon he broke the news to his girlfriend — he wanted to serve God. That is the story Jalbert shares with potential seminarians in his new role of associate vocation director, putting a young, hopeful face on a lifestyle not always appealing to young single men who move in a world bursting with secular options. He tells them his girlfriend was surprised and disappointed: She had envisioned marriage. But she supported Jalbert's move, and they remain friends. He also relates his parents' reaction: shock, mainly because of the unknowns. They wondered what would happen to him. Would he disappear? Jalbert realizes he faces a challenge when men have other options to consider: relationships, careers, entertainment. But he thinks many men feel unfulfilled by these pursuits, much as he did. Many men might want to reflect on the priesthood but feel pressured by peers, he said. Aside from his speaking engagements, Jalbert shapes the diocese's Crossroads program, in which men considering the priesthood meet once a month to pray, learn about the Catholic ministry, and support one another through the decision-making process. The evening meetings consist of a Mass at Sainte Marie Parish in Manchester, followed by dinner at the neighboring Joseph House. Sometimes Jalbert speaks to the potential recruits; other times he invites another priest to tell his story. Seminary enrollment has long been on the decline in the United States. The statewide effort to create vibrant Catholic parishes with fewer priests is, in part, an admission of that reality. It's an indication that modern society has trouble grasping the notion of celibacy and hasn't forgotten the sexual abuse crisis. It's a likely byproduct of the changing family structure since the 1950s. Today most people find a commitment to celibacy impossible, a belief the church reinforced through the sexual abuse crisis, Frontiero said. But it is possible, and countless priests and nuns are abiding by their promises of chastity. "Every person is a sexual being. That's the way God created us," Frontiero said. "It's unrealistic and dangerous to think there won't be temptation." Priests deal with temptation by relying on their faith in God, he said. They avoid having a close relationship with someone they're attracted to, and they don't hang out in singles bars. The sexual abuse crisis also contributed to the decline in the priesthood, Frontiero said. Getting beyond it is difficult for many Catholics. To a lesser degree, modern trends toward materialism have likely been a factor in the decline, he said. And it hasn't helped that families are having fewer children now than they did in the post-World War II baby boom. Parents with only two offspring are less likely to support "losing" one of them to the priesthood, Frontiero said. Seminarian Matt Mason, who is from Boscawen, N.H., and attends St. John's Seminary in Boston, attributed the decline to a lack of commitment among modern men and women. He noted how often couples divorce. Fewer men today are willing to dedicate their lives to the church. Undoubtedly, there are other reasons. But even a discouraging drop in the number of seminarians doesn't mean the church isn't selective when choosing potential priests. Men go through a more rigorous screening process than they have in the past, Frontiero said. "We're not in a position to accept anyone and everyone," he said, adding that the church learned through the sexual abuse crisis. The church needs priests who are called to serve God and can lead others to do the same. It needs men who are solid citizens, who are equipped to be leaders and can relate to their parishioners, Frontiero said. Potential seminarians undergo psychological evaluations and are turned away if their intentions are not transparent. A man who says celibacy won't be an issue raises a red flag. "Of course it is. We are human," Frontiero said. And despite the need for priests in New Hampshire and the diocese's commitment to reversing the decline, the church isn't going to be coercing men to wear the collar. It can only encourage. Reviving interest in the priesthood won't be solely in the hands of the diocese. Frontiero and Jalbert have turned to the state's Catholic population for support. They've asked men, women and children to help them pray for vocations — the term for those interested in the priesthood — at a series of monthly Masses at St. Joseph Cathedral in Manchester. The first, held in January, was so well attended that the cathedral was reduced to standing room only, Jalbert said. More than 1,200 people showed up. Catholics can commit to attending the special Masses on a newly created Web site for promoting vocations — www.liveinblackandwhite.com — which also features a prayer for bringing more men to the priesthood and a list of ways to support that goal.
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