Vietnamese the New Irish

The Wichita Eagle in Kansas carries a report on the changing make-up of the Catholic Church in America, and worldwide.

At a time when priesthood ranks in the United States have been shrinking -- down 26 percent from 57,317 in 1985 to 42,528 in 2005 -- the number of Asian-Americans in seminary schools is growing, according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University

Church officials say Vietnamese and Filipinos make up the largest segment of the Asian seminarian population. And from Australia to Canada, where their numbers are great, Vietnamese priests have been dubbed "the new Irish."

Two main reasons for decreasing number of priests-in-training, given by church leaders, are:
1) the pursuit of consumerism over spiritualism (which I find hard to believe)
2) the scandals of child abuse by priests

But Vietnamese-American religious leaders say there are three other reasons behind the growth in their community:
• Family unity
• A high respect for priests
• An understanding and deep appreciation for Vietnamese Catholic martyrs

-which all sounds exactly the same as Irish reasons, and everywhere else probably for that matter, when their numbers weren't dwindling.

In the Catholic Diocese of Wichita, Kansas, five Vietnamese-Americans have been ordained priests. And at the top level in America there are now three Asian-American bishops.

Handy Irish Phrase: Deireadh gach soiscéal an t-airgead   (At the end of every gospel is a collection)