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It isn't every day that a group of Catholic monks find themselves on the pop charts. Yet that's what happened to the monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz, a 12th-century Cistercian monastery near Vienna, whose CD of Gregorian chants has become a runaway hit.

After its European release in May, "Chant: Music for the Soul" became the top classical album in Britain before crossing over to the pop charts, at one point outselling recordings by Madonna and Amy Winehouse. Even before its U.S. release on July 1, the album became the most popular classical recording in this country, thanks to copious downloads on iTunes.

Call it divine intervention, or perhaps clever marketing on the part of Universal Records, which signed the monks to a recording contract after launching a search in Catholic publications in February. The record company had wanted to capitalize on the growing sales of chant music - which were due in part to the popularity of the video game Halo, which uses chantlike melodies in its soundtrack. Universal found the monks after their spokesperson, Father Karl Wallner, who also runs their theological academy and Web site, sent in a link to a YouTube video of their chanting that he had posted last September following a visit to the monastery by Pope Benedict XVI.

I spoke with Father Karl, 45, last week by phone about the growing interest in Gregorian chants, their spiritual significance and how he and his brothers are handling all the publicity.
This is music from 1,000 years ago, sung entirely in Latin, without accompaniment. Has the popularity of your CD surprised you?
Yes, very much. When we started (the project), we thought we would sell a few thousand copies, and now it's a big success all over the world. I think what's very impressive to us is that people are interested in our spirituality - because we are just doing what we do every day, singing three hours to praise God. And that's the biggest success of all.
How do you explain the attraction of ancient, sacred music to a modern, largely secular audience?
I think it's because the music is calm. It's healthy. It's touching. And you can feel that we sing it with some religious enthusiasm. People write me e-mails, and they say: "I feel touched by the finger of God when I'm listening to your singing."

We can also see that people, even atheistic or agnostic people, are very much attracted by our way of living. Many of them come to us (the monastery) and they listen, they just sit back and listen. I think we are showing them as a religious community, by praising God, that our way of life represents something that has been lost to them. I know it's something that many people in Europe feel they have lost.
How this CD came into being is an interesting "Old World meets New World" kind of story. Should we be surprised that monks like you are posting videos on YouTube and are generally pretty technologically savvy?
I don't know what people in the outside world think about monks in the monastery, but we are men of the 21st century. We are living in a monastery, but we aren't aliens or Neanderthals. According to the rule of St. Benedict and also that of the Cistercians written 1,500 years ago, every monk has to have something to write. And now the computer is the means by which we are writing. So everybody must know how to deal with the Internet, how to send e-mails. That's quite normal for us.
Isn't monastic life generally about disconnecting from the outside world to pursue a spiritual path without distractions, like e-mail?
It is, but this happens in other ways. Our liturgy is with the big tradition of the holy Church, and we are singing the Gregorian chants in Latin - yes, we are living in a very strict way. But, of course, we use the communication that is made possible by the Internet to promote the beauty of our vocation.
Has life at your monastery changed since the music came out?
Well, it's changed for me and for Father Abbot, because we are both doing interviews with the press, and we have had some journalists at the monastery, but I think we are handling it quite well. For my other brothers life is the same. You have to believe me, none of them is really interested in where we are on the charts in England or France or Australia or the United States. I am occupied with those questions, but the other monks don't even ask me about it.

I'm very proud that my brothers are not proud about being pop stars. I'm proud of them because it shows that our young community has a very good sense of what religious life means. It means being together with God and not taking care of the things of this world.
Gregorian chants, which date to the seventh century, are a form of prayer. How are they used in religious life at your monastery?
My monastery was founded in 1133, and monastic life there has never been interrupted. Always, the Gregorian chant has been our form of spirituality as monks - it is the way we live out that continuity ... the text is from the Bible, sung in Latin, and we sing it back to God through those wonderful melodies from the first millennium. Everything is about singing thanks to God.
What's a typical day like for you? How often are you singing?
We gather in church to pray five times a day, starting at 5:15 in the morning, including Sundays and feast days. Altogether we're singing for about three and a half hours each day.
Are Gregorian chants difficult to learn?
It is not difficult if you do it three and a half hours every day. When I entered the monastery, we had no introduction (to chanting). I was put there between the other brothers, they gave me a big book, and I just opened it and started. Of course, everybody has to learn Latin before he enters the monastery. That is very important because it is not only singing for singing's sake, but you also have to understand at least most of what you are singing about.
How did the monks at your monastery become such accomplished singers, other than the fact that they are singing three hours a day?
We have a lot of young brothers who have good voices, and I think that is one reason. We also at the moment have a very good religious atmosphere. These young monks really have in their hearts a burning fire to do this service, and you can hear it in the recording.
I've read that some monks at Stift Heiligenkreuz worried that putting Gregorian chants into a commercial product amounted to a kind of profanity. I take it that you do not agree.
Well, I did not know what Universal Music was when I started this project. I was really naive. But some of our brothers - who had lived in the outside world and knew that Eminem or some artists like that who are not Christian or are living very far from the way a Christian man should live - they were very concerned. They told me, "Don't do this." But when they saw that Universal Music was just promoting our spirituality (by releasing the CD), they all agreed, and now everybody is happy.
Does that money that you raise go to the monastery?
Yes, but it's not so much. Many people think that now we are going to be rich like Michael Jackson or something. That's nonsense.
You were chosen by the rest of the monks to act as their spokesperson. They call you the "press monk." Why did they choose you?
Because I already have some experience. In 2007, I was responsible for organizing the visit of the Holy Father to my monastery, and so I am used to speaking in front of cameras and TV teams and talking to journalists. Also I love it very much that people are interested in what we're doing. I'm really in love with this style of living.
What do you like best about monastic life?
For me, the most beautiful thing is to pray in the morning. I love to get up early. Then the whole day is clear in front of me. In the evening, I am always tired, and my head is full with all of the thoughts of what I did that day. But when I start in the morning, I have a clear head, and that is the best time for me. I love to walk through our medieval monastery into the church. Then we start at 5:15, yeah, and all is so new.
You have lived at the monastery since you were 19. Have you always wanted to be a monk?
No. I did not plan this life. I always thought I would study biology, get married, have children. I was very surprised when - I always say that I fell in love with God, as a boy falls in love with a girl. And this love still continues.
What was the turning point?
I did not know how to pray until I was 18. Then I started to pray, and it happened that God immediately became the biggest reality, the most beautiful reality in my life. I learned to say "you" to Him. It started to be a personal thing for me, and I think I fell in love with Him.
You say that you didn't know how to pray - I'm not sure what you mean. Was your family religious?
My family is very faithful. But of course, I was a young man who wants to have his own ways, as many young people do, and I'm very happy that my parents at that time - they prayed a lot for me, and I'm very grateful for this, because then I could meet God.
I was told that you don't like to appear in any photos. Why is that?
Yes, because I'm just a speaker, and I think a priest should not be so much in photos because it is against humility. But indeed I cannot always avoid it.
Some people believe that Gregorian chants have healing properties. I read one press release in which a neuroscientist was quoted as saying that chanting has been shown to lower blood pressure and increase levels of the performance hormone DHA, etc. What do you make of that?
I suppose it could be right. But that is not the main reason why we are singing Gregorian chants. The most important thing is, we want to give a voice to the whole of all creation. And by our voices, everything - animals, plants, the planets, are praising God. That is what monastic praising of God means, that we give voice to all beings to praise God because He is worthy to be praised by all that He has made.
Of course, some people may just enjoy the music on its own merits.
Yes, of course! In the Gospel it is written that everybody who is in the monastery is chosen by God, but those who are listening to our Gregorian chant do not need to be monks. They do not even need to be Catholics. This is music for everybody.
Will the monks be recording more albums?
It depends. I would like it very much. But it is not my decision. If God wants, we shall do it. If He does not want it, we shall not weep a tear about it.
Finding My Religion wants to hear from you. Send comments on stories and suggestions for interview subjects to miller@sfgate.com.
During his far-flung career in journalism, Bay Area writer and editor David Ian Miller has worked as a city hall reporter, personal finance writer, cable television executive and managing editor of a technology news site. His writing credits include Salon.com, Wired News and The New York Observer.

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Move over, Madonna / A CD of Gregorian chants by a group of Cistercian monks is a surprise crossover hit, reaching the pop charts

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Move over, Madonna / A CD of Gregorian chants by a group of Cistercian monks is a surprise crossover hit, reaching the pop charts Yet that's what happened to the monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz, a 12th-century Cistercian monastery near Vienna, whose CD of Gregorian chants has become a runaway hit.

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The Vatican has roundly affirmed the vocation of the lay religious brother in the Catholic church, saying that men -- and women -- who are not ordained as priests still exercise a daily priesthood in their work in the world by the fact of their baptism.

In a long-awaited document dedicated to the vocation of men who serve in religious orders but not as priests, the Vatican says the first title Jesus assumed for himself and for his disciples was that of brother.

"Jesus Christ first of all became brother, shared our flesh and blood and was in solidarity with the sufferings of his brothers and sisters," states the document, released by the Vatican's congregation for religious Monday. "This is the title Jesus gives his disciples after his Resurrection."

"The Religious Brother, living his lay state through a special consecration, is witness to the value of the common priesthood received in Baptism and Confirmation," it states earlier. "His religious consecration is in itself an exercise in the fullness of the priesthood of all the baptized."

"Rooting his life deeply in God, the Brother consecrates all creation, recognizing the presence of God and the Spirit's action in creation, in cultures and in daily events," it continues.

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"Because he recognizes this active presence, he can proclaim it to his contemporaries," it states. "This ability is the fruit of an ongoing process of openness to God through consecration, that is, through the daily experience of his baptismal priesthood."

The new Vatican document -- titled "Identity and Mission of the Religious Brother in the Church" -- focuses on the role non-ordained men play in various religious orders around the world. Commonly referred to as brothers, such men do not receive priestly ordination but are normally consecrated or anointed into a life of service with their order.

The Vatican estimates that such men make up about a fifth of all male religious in the global church. Catholics in the U.S. may be familiar with brothers in the large Jesuit or Franciscan orders, or in orders dedicated only to brothers, such as the Christian Brothers of De La Salle or the Marist Brothers.

Monday's document had been known to be in development for years by the Vatican's Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, but had been rumored to have been delayed several times over disagreements over how the role of the brother would be explained in relation to that of the priest.

The released document does not exactly address that issue specifically, but rather affirms that brothers, while not ordained as priests, can serve priestly roles in their various ministries of service. It also states that its reflections about brothers can be equally applied to women religious in the church, commonly known as sisters, because of the similarities in their vocation and work.

Fifty-four pages in length, the document addresses the identity of the religious brother in three ways: First, as a mystery of a gift received; second, as a communion of a gift shared; and, third, as a mission of a gift to be given away.

The document addresses the idea of the baptismal priesthood in each of those three sections, speaking of brothers' communities that develop that priesthood and emulate the ministry of Jesus, "the Good Shepherd."

At one point the document compares the priesthood exercised by the religious brother with that exercised by the "committed lay Christian."

"The Brother develops his baptismal priesthood through brotherhood," the document states. "Through it he becomes a bridge between God and his brothers, anointed and sent by the Spirit to bring the Good News of the love and mercy of God to all, especially to the least of his brothers, the weakest members of humanity."

"The Religious Brother and the lay Christian who is committed in secular society live the universal priesthood in different ways," it continues. "Both express the complex richness of this priesthood which implies closeness to God and closeness to the world, belonging to the Church as servant of the Lord and to the Church which is built in the world, for God."

The document also calls brothers' communities "a prime manifestation of the baptismal priesthood."

"The community organizes its life so as to be able to see the action of God present in its daily life and to discover the history of salvation that is being fulfilled every day," it states. "In the same contemplation, the community discovers itself as a mediator in the saving action of God. It gives thanks, celebrates and offers itself to continue, as a useful instrument, in the history of salvation."

"The substance of the priestly offering of the community is the very same reality of the Brothers, with the limitations, poverty and weaknesses of each one," it continues. "The Brothers build the community through the joyful gift of themselves. It is a eucharistic experience, by which they are joined to Christ in his offering to the Father, to continue his redemptive work through their community."

In its section on the mystery of the gift received by brothers, the document says that by their consecration religious brothers express "that the mystery of Christ the Savior is being fulfilled here today, in this world and through the Church today."

"Therefore consecrated people should frequently ask themselves how to be witnesses of the Lord today," it recommends. "What kind of presence should we live so that the Lord Jesus can be seen, experienced, by people today?"

The document also speaks movingly of the brothers' mission in the church, using evocative imagery from both the Gospels and the Old Testament, such as: Jesus' sharing of bread, his wearing a towel to wash the feet of the apostles, the Good Shepherd who seeks the lost sheep, the Good Samaritan who helps the person in need, and Moses declaring the "covenant of the people."

The brother's mission, it states, "is not 'what he does' but rather his very life itself made communion with the least."

"More than in external works, the mission consists in making Christ present to the world through personal witness," it continues, saying that ministries "may vary or even disappear because of illness or old age, but the mission always remains."

"It is, therefore, not a question of task but of identity," states the document. "The minister is the whole person of the Brother: consecrated, member of a community, identified with the mission. All of him assumes the privilege and responsibility of representing the Church to the Good Shepherd who gives his life for the sheep."

Towards the end of its reflections, the document proposes five different types of prophecy religious brothers might practice in today's word: hospitality, "the meaning of life," "the affirmation of feminine values," care and protection of life, and "wise use of new technologies."

On the third type, the document suggests brothers can emphasize the role of feminine values "in the history of humanity."

"Female religious have a main role in providing the feminine vision of life, thereby opening new horizons for evangelization in general," it states. "Religious Brothers contribute to deepening this prophetic aspect with their fraternal support and their appreciation of the presence of women, religious and lay, in evangelization."

The document ends by calling on the global church to value the "new wine" represented by religious brothers by making new wineskins "to ensure that this new wine not only is not lost, but can mature in quality."

"Pastors and the hierarchy of the Church are encouraged to promote knowledge and appreciation of the Religious Brother in the local Churches ... ensuring that Religious Brothers and Sisters participate actively in the organs of consultation, decision-making and implementation within the local Church," it states.

The new document was released by the Vatican Monday in several languages, but is as yet unavailable online. It is signed by the head of the religious congregation, Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, with the date of Oct. 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi.

[Joshua J. McElwee is NCR Vatican correspondent. His email address is jmcelwee@ncronline.org. Follow him on Twitter: @joshjmac.]

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Vatican affirms religious brothers, says lay men and women exercise priesthood

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The Vatican has roundly affirmed the vocation of the lay religious brother in the Catholic church, saying that men -- and women -- who are not ordained as priests still exercise a daily priesthood in their work in the world by the fact of their baptism.

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Br James on the Life of a Religious Brother

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A day in the life of Br James Hayes, a De La Mennais brother. Also available for download on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/123082646 Like our Facebook page 'NOV UK' or follow us on Twitter '@ukvocation' for updates on vocation news and events.

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A man who commits himself to the consecrated life through the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. He is not ordained.

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A person who practices religious asceticism, leaves mainstream society, and lives a life of prayer and contemplation

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The highest of three degrees of holy orders.  A (arch)bishop governs a diocese or local church and is a successor of the Apostles.

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The highest of three degrees of holy orders.  A (arch)bishop governs a diocese or local church and is a successor of the Apostles.

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In 1970, there was one priest for every 800 Catholics in the United States. Today, that number has more than doubled, with one priest for every 1,800 Catholics.

Globally, the situation is worse. The number of Catholics per priest increased from 1,895 in 1980 to 3,126 in 2012, according to a report from CARA at Georgetown University. The Catholic Church in many parts of the world is experiencing what is being called a "priest shortage" or a "priest crisis."

Last month, Pope Francis answered a question about the priest shortage in a March 8 interview published in the German weekly Die Zeit. The part that made headlines, of course, was that about married priest s.

"Pope Francis open to allowing married priests in Catholic Church" read a USA Today headline. "Pope signals he's open to married Catholic men becoming priests" said CNN.

But things are not as they might seem. Read a little deeper, and Pope Francis did not say that Father John Smith at the parish down the street can now ditch celibacy and go looking for a wife.

What the Holy Father did say is that he is open to exploring the possibility of proven men (' viri probati,' in Latin) who are married being ordained to the priesthood. Currently, such men, who are typically over the age of 35, are eligible for ordination to the permanent diaconate, but not the priesthood.

However, marriage was not the first solution to the priest shortage Pope Francis proposed. In fact, it was the last. Initially, he didn't even mention marriage.

Pressed specifically about the married priesthood, the pope said: "optional celibacy is discussed, above all where priests are needed. But optional celibacy is not the solution."

While Pope Francis perhaps signals an iota more of openness to the possibility of married priests in particular situations, his hesitance to open wide the doors to a widespread married priesthood is in line with his recent predecessors, St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI, as well as the longstanding tradition of the Roman Catholic Church.

So why is the Church in the West, even when facing a significant priest shortage, so reticent to get rid of a tradition of celibacy, if it is potentially keeping away additional candidates to the priesthood?

Why is celibacy the norm in the Western Church?

Father Gary Selin is a Roman Catholic priest and professor at St. John Vianney Seminary in Denver. His work Priestly Celibacy: Theological Foundations was published last year by CUA press.

While the debate about celibacy is often reduced to pragmatics - the difficulty of paying married priests more, the question of their full availability - this ignores the rich theological foundations of the celibate tradition, Selin told CNA.

One of the main reasons for this 2,000 year tradition is Christological, because it is based on the first celibate priest - Jesus.

"Jesus Christ himself never married, and there's something about imitating the life of our Lord in full that is very attractive," Selin said.

"Interestingly, Jesus is never mentioned as a reason for celibacy. The next time you read about celibacy, try to see if they mention our Lord; oftentimes he is left out of the picture."

Several times throughout the New Testament, Christ praises the celibate state. In Matthew 19:11-12, he answers a question from his disciples about marriage, saying that those who are able by grace to renounce marriage and sexual relations for the kingdom of heaven ought to do so.

Nevertheless, it took a while for the "culture of celibacy" to catch on in the early Church, Selin said.

Christ came to earth amid a Jewish people and culture who were instructed since their first parents of Adam and Eve to "be fruitful and multiply" (Gen. 1:28, 9:7) and were promised that their descendants would be "as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore" (Gen. 22:17). Being unmarried or barren was to be avoided for both practical and religious reasons, and was seen as a curse, or at least a lack of favor from God.

The apostles, too, were Jewish men who would have been a part of this culture. It is known that among them, at least St. Peter had been married at some time, because Scripture mentions his mother-in-law (Mt. 8:14-15).

St. John the Evangelist is thought by the Church fathers to be one of the only of the 12 apostles who was celibate, which is why Christ had a particular love for him, Selin said. Some of the other apostles likely were married, in keeping with Jewish customs, but it is thought that they practiced perpetual continence (chosen abstinence from sexual relations) once they became apostles for the rest of their lives. St. Paul the Apostle extols the celibate state, which he also kept, in 1 Corinthians 7:7-8.

Because marriage was such an integral part of Jewish culture, even for the apostles, early Church clergy were often, but not always, married. However, evidence suggests that these priests were asked to practice perfect continence once they had been ordained. Priests whose wives became pregnant after ordination could even be punished by suspension, Selin explained.

Early on in the Church, bishops were selected from the celibate priests, a tradition that stood before the mandatory celibate priesthood. Even today, Eastern Rite Catholic Churches, most of which allow for married priests, select their bishops from among celibate priests.

As the "culture of celibacy" became more established, it increasingly became the norm in the Church, until married men who applied for ordinations had to appeal to the pope for special permission.

In the 11th century, St. Gregory VII issued a decree requiring all priests to be celibate and asked his bishops to enforce it. Celibacy has been the norm ever since in the Latin Rite, with special exceptions made for some Anglican and other Protestant pastors who convert to Catholicism.

Another reason the celibate priesthood is valued in the Church is because it bears witness to something greater than this world, Selin explained.

Benedict XVI once told priests that celibacy agitates the world so much because it is a sign of the kingdom to come.

"It is true that for the agnostic world, the world in which God does not enter, celibacy is a great scandal, because it shows exactly that God is considered and experienced as reality. With the eschatological dimension of celibacy, the future world of God enters into the reality of our time. And should this disappear?" Benedict XVI said in 2010.

Christ himself said that no one would be married or given in marriage in heaven, and therefore celibacy is a sign of the beatific vision (cf. Mt 22:30-32).

"Married life will pass away when we behold God face to face and all of us become part of the bridal Church," Selin said. "The celibate is more of a direct symbol of that."

Another value of celibacy is that it allows priests a greater intimacy with Christ in more fully imitating him, Selin noted.

"The priest is ordained to be Jesus for others, so he's able to dedicate his whole body and soul first of all to God himself, and from that unity with Jesus he is able to serve the church," he said.

"We can't get that backwards," he emphasized. Often, celibacy is presented for practical reasons of money and time, which aren't sufficient reasons to maintain the tradition.

"That's not sufficient and that doesn't fill the heart of a celibate, because he first wants intimacy with God. Celibacy first is a great, profound intimacy with Christ."

A married priest's perspective: Don't change celibate priesthood

Father Douglas Grandon is one of those rare exceptions - a married Roman Catholic priest. He was a married Episcopalian priest when he and his family decided to enter the Catholic Church 14 years ago, and received permission from Benedict XVI to become a Catholic priest.

Even though Grandon recognizes the priest shortage, he said opening the doors to the married priesthood would not solve the root issue of that shortage.

"In my opinion, the key to solving the priest shortage is more commitment to what George Weigel calls evangelical Catholicism," Grandon told CNA.

"Whether you're Protestant or Catholic, vocations come from a very strong commitment to the basic commands of Jesus to preach the Gospel and make disciples. Wherever there's this strong evangelical commitment, wherever priests are committed to deepening people's faith and making them serious disciples, you have vocations. That is really the key."

He also said that while he's "ever so grateful" that St. John Paul II allowed for exceptions to the celibate priesthood in 1980 - allowing Protestant pastor converts like himself to become priests - he also sees the value of the celibate priesthood and does not advocate getting rid of it.

"...we really do believe the celibate vocation is a wonderful thing to be treasured, and we don't want anything to undermine that special place of celibate priesthood," he said.

"Jesus was celibate, Paul was celibate, some of the 12 were celibate, so that's a special gift that God has given to the Catholic Church."

Father Joshua J. Whitfield is another married priest, who resides in Dallas and is a columnist for The Dallas Morning News. He recently wrote about his experience as a married priest, but also said that he would not want the Church to change its celibacy norm.

"What we need is another Pentecost. That's how the first 'shortage' was handled. The Twelve waited for the Holy Spirit, and he delivered," Whitfield told CNA in e-mail comments.

"Seeing this crisis spiritually is what is practical. And it's the only way we're going to properly solve it....I'm simply not convinced that the economics of (married priesthood) would result in either the growth of clergy or the Church."

Pope Francis's solutions: Prayer, fostering vocations, and the birth rate

Pope Francis, too, does not believe that the married priesthood is the solution to the priest shortage. Before he even mentioned the married priesthood to Die Zeit, the Pope talked about prayer.

"The first [response] - because I speak as a believer - the Lord told us to pray. Prayer, prayer is missing," he told the paper.

Rose Sullivan, director of the National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Directors, and the mother of a seminarian who is about to be ordained, agrees with the pope.

"We would not refer to it as a 'priest shortage' or a 'vocation crisis.' We would refer to it as a prayer crisis. God has not stopped calling people to their vocation, we've stopped listening; the noise of culture has gotten in the way," she said.

"Scripture says: 'Speak Lord for your servant is listening.' So the question would be, are we listening? And I would say we could do a much better job at listening."

Another solution proposed by Pope Francis: Increasing the birth rate, which has plummeted in many parts of the Church, particularly in the west.

In some European countries, once the most Catholic region of the world, the birth rate has dipped so low that governments are coming up with unique ways to incentivize child-bearing.

"If there are no young men there can be no priests," the pope said. The vocations of marriage and priesthood are therefore inter-related, said Ward.

"They compliment each other, and are dependent upon one another. If we don't have families, we don't have anything to do as priests, and families need priests for preaching and the sacraments."

The third solution proposed by Pope Francis was working with young people and talking to them directly about vocations.

Many priests are able to trace their vocation back to a personal invitation, often made by one priest, as well as the witness of good and holy priests that were a significant part of their lives.

"A former vocation director took an informal poll, and he asked men, 'What really got you thinking about the priesthood?' And almost all of them said 'because my pastor approached me'," Selin related.

"It was the same thing with me. When a priest lives his priesthood with great joy and fidelity, he's the most effective promoter of vocations, because a young man can see himself in him."

Monsignor Thorburn added: "There is no shortage of vocations."

"God is calling a sufficient number of men in the Western Church, who by our tradition he gives the gift of celibacy with the vocation. We just have to make a place for those seeds to fall on fertile ground."

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Why married priests won't really fix the shortage

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The priest shortage has been a major concern for the Catholic Church as today there is only one priest for every 1,800 Catholics in the U.S. But married priests may not provide the necessary solution. This article explores the reasons that led to celibate priests and the possible alternatives to foster vocations.

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Priestly vocations are up in the U.S...What gives?

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Click here to receive the latest news: http://smarturl.it/RomeReports Visit our website to learn more: http://www.romereports.com/ Priestly vocations increased 25 percent in 2015, when compared to last year. --------------------- For broadcasting: sales@romereports.com ROME REPORTS, www.romereports.com, is an independent international TV News Agency based in Rome covering the activity of the Pope, the life of the Vatican and current social, cultural and religious debates.

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A baptized man ordained through the sacrament of Holy Orders.  They preach, teach, and offer sacraments to other Catholics.

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A baptized man ordained through the sacrament of Holy Orders.  They preach, teach, and offer sacraments to other Catholics.

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The Life of a Young Sister

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"Society portrays religious life a lot as giving up things. We always portray it as no sex, no money, [and] you have to do what the superior says. That sounds horrible," she said. "Who would do that? And I think that's kind of the idea that I had going into it, which added to my terror."

Instead, Kemme said, the life is filled with gifts. Thousands of women throughout the world have chosen a similar life, she said, and they don't do it because it's a terrible life.

"There's something beautiful and wonderful that you get in the giving up of those things that are so normal for our culture," she said.

She compared her choice to that of someone who is called to become a mother.

"Someone could say to them, 'Well, you don't have to have your own kids. You could just become a babysitter and have people over at your house all the time,'" she said. "My No. 1 relationship and commitment in my life is with God and my congregation."

Now, Kemme, who is fluent in Spanish, spends her time volunteering and doing outreach in the Latino community. She is also getting used to her new roommates. Not having many people around who are around the same age can be a gift and a struggle at the same time, she said.

"The beauty is living with women who have all different experiences - different kinds of wisdom from the age that they are, and being able to share that together in prayer in the morning," she said.

And one of the most difficult parts of this life, she said, is being one of the few "younger" sisters.

"There's a lot of sickness, a lot of death," she said. "People who are kind of coming to the end of their life, whereas I'm just coming into mine, full steam ahead."

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A life like nun other: A 20-something discusses her life-altering choice

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"Society portrays religious life a lot as giving up things. We always portray it as no sex, no money, [and] you have to do what the superior says. That sounds horrible," she said. "Who would do that? And I think that's kind of the idea that I had going into it, which added to my terror."

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a woman who lives, ministers, and prays within the world. A sister's life is often called "active" or "apostolic" because she is engaged in the works of mercy and other ministries that take the Gospel to others where they are. She professes perpetual simple vows living a life according to the evangelical counsels of poverty, celibacy, and obedience.

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a woman who lives as a contemplative life in a monastery which is usually cloistered (or enclosed) or semi-cloistered. Her ministry and prayer life is centered within and around the monastery for the good of the world. She professes the perpetual solemn vows living a life according to the evangelical counsels of poverty, celibacy, and obedience.

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Women deacons?

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Vatican City - Pope Francis has created a commission to study the possibility of allowing women to serve as deacons in the Catholic church, following up on a promise made last May in what could be an historic move towards ending the global institution's practice of an all-male clergy.

The pontiff has appointed an equal number of male and female experts as members of the commission, which will be led by Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria, a Jesuit who serves as the second-in-command of the Vatican's doctrinal congregation.

The Vatican said in a release announcing the commission Tuesday that the pope had decided to create the group "after intense prayer and mature reflection" and wanted it particularly to study the history of the female diaconate "in the earliest times of the church."

The formal name given to the group is "Study Commission on the Women's Diaconate."​ The commission's members include experts in patristic theology, ecclesiology, and spirituality.

Among noted names are: Franciscan Sr. Mary Melone, who heads Rome's Pontifical University Antonianum, and Phyllis Zagano, a senior research associate-in-residence at Hofstra University in New York who is also an NCR columnist.

Included in the group are six faculty members of pontifical universities, four members of the Vatican's International Theological Commission, and one member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission.

Among the members are six priests, four laywomen, and two women religious.​

As reported first by NCR, Francis promised to create the commission during a meeting at the Vatican in May with some 900 leaders of the world's congregations of Catholic women religious, who were in Rome for the triennial meeting of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG).

During a question and answer session with the pontiff May 12, the women told Francis that women had served as deacons in the early church and asked: "Why not construct an official commission that might study the question?"

"I am in agreement," the pontiff replied. "I will speak to do something like this."

Later, during a press conference with journalists in June, the pope said he had asked both Cardinal Gerhard Muller, head of the doctrinal congregation, and Sr. Carmen Sammut, the UISG president, to make a list of people he might consider for the group.

Francis' openness to studying the possibility of women serving as deacons could represent an historic shift for the global Catholic church, which does not ordain women as clergy.

Pope John Paul II said in his 1994 apostolic letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis that "the Church has no authority whatsoever" to ordain woman as priests, citing Jesus' choosing of only men to serve as his twelve apostles.

Many church historians have said however that there is abundant evidence that women served as deacons in the early centuries of the church. The apostle Paul mentions such a woman, Phoebe, in his letter to the Romans.

In the modern day, the Catholic church reinstituted the role of the permanent deacon following the reforms of the landmark 1962-65 Second Vatican Council. The role is generally open to married men who have reached the age of 35.

Such men are ordained, similar to priests, but can only conduct certain ministries in the church.

While they cannot celebrate the Mass, they frequently lead prayer services, offer the sacrament of baptism, and even manage parishes as pastoral administrators in the absence of priests.

The full list of members of the new commission:

Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria, secretary of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, serving as president;

Holy Family Sr. Nuria Calduch-Benages, member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission;

Francesca Cocchini, faculty member at Rome's La Sapienza University and the Patristic Institute Augustinianum;

Msgr. Piero Coda, president of Rome's Sophia University Institute and member of the International Theological Commission;

Augustinian Fr. Robert Dodaro, president of the Patristic Institute Augustinianum;

Jesuit Fr. Santiago Madrigal, ecclesiologist at Madrid's Pontifical University Comillas;

Franciscan Sr. Mary Melone, the first female president of Rome's Pontifical University Antonianum;

Fr. Karl-Heinz Menke, emeritus professor of dogmatic theology at Germany's University of Bonn and member of the International Theological Commission;

Salesian Fr. Aimable Musoni, ecclesiologist at Rome's Salesian Pontifical University;

Jesuit Fr. Bernard Pottier, faculty member at Brussels' Institute D'etudes Théologiques and member of the International Theological Commission;

Marianne Schlosser, theologian at the University of Vienna and member of the International Theological Commission;

Michelina Tenace, theologian at Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University;

Phyllis Zagano, senior research associate-in-residence at Hofstra University in New York.

Zagano said in a brief interview with NCR Tuesday afternoon that creation of the commission was a "wonderful opportunity for the church as a whole to look at the question of restoring women to the diaconate."

"I think the most important thing is that the Holy Father on behalf of the church may make a decision one way or the other about whether women can be returned to the ordained diaconate," she said.

The academic, who authored Women Deacons: Past, Present, Future with Gary Macy and Deacon William Ditewig in 2011, said she hoped the commission "will have an open and honest scholarly discussion about the history of women in the diaconate, about the possibilities for restoring women to it."

"The previous discussion -- the only modern discussion -- was the study document made by the International Theological Commission in 2002 that left the question open," she said. "If this is an opportunity for the Holy Father to make a decision one way or the other, I think it's a hopeful sign."

One U.S. bishop praised the news of the formation of the commission in a press release Tuesday afternoon. Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich, who Francis recently appointed to the Vatican's Congregation for Bishops, said he welcomed the move.

"From the earliest days of the church, women rightly served in key leadership roles," said Cupich. "Still, the church must do better. Women deserve to be brought more fully into the decision-making of the church."

"I look forward to learning more about the work of the commission ... as [the members] bring their considerable talents to bear on this important subject in the life of the church," said the archbishop.
Story updated at 1:36 p.m. CT, August 2.
[Joshua J. McElwee is NCR Vatican correspondent. His email address is jmcelwee@ncronline.org. Follow him on Twitter: @joshjmac.]

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Francis institutes commission to study female deacons, appointing gender-balanced membership

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Vatican City - Pope Francis has created a commission to study the possibility of allowing women to serve as deacons in the Catholic church, following up on a promise made last May in what could be an historic move towards ending the global institution's practice of an all-male clergy.

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In the Roman Catholic Church, deacons may perform some duties of priests, such as presiding at baptisms, marriages and funerals. Currently, only men are allowed to be Catholic deacons. Pope Francis recently said he would establish a commission to study whether the diaconate should be opened to women as well.

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ordained deacon before priestly ordination.

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Permanent Deacons: baptized men; may be married; may not remarry if spouse dies

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Permanent Deacons: baptized men; may be married; may not remarry if spouse dies

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Men ordained by the bishop to serve.  Deacons may baptize, assist at weddings, and preside at funerals. "Hatch, match, and dispatch."

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Men ordained by the bishop to serve.  Deacons may baptize, assist at weddings, and preside at funerals. "Hatch, match, and dispatch."