Over the weekend, I had the occasion to talk to a young man I’ll call Alex, who is in the process of discerning a religious vocation. He has observed some alarming instances of deep corruption in the seminary/community with which he’s been involved (I’m being deliberately vague to protect his identity). He told me what he had seen, and though I can’t talk about it here without his permission, I can tell you that it is very serious stuff that rightly disturbs his conscience). He is wrestling in his conscience now about whether or not to come forward. He has decided not to cut his ties to that particular group, but he is still considering whether or not he has a vocation, and should give it a try somewhere else within the Church, which is broad.
Here’s why I write this: Alex told me that he was advised that if he really believed that he had a future as a priest or religious, that he should keep quiet about what he has seen and heard, because to go public with it would probably destroy his chances. I could tell that Alex is a young man of deep conscience, and that he’s wrestling with this. I told him what I thought about that, but I wasn’t very eloquent. I wish I had said to him in the brief opportunity we had to talk the things I write here.
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