More Young Britons Joining the Priesthood

Do you know what “wonga” is? I didn’t, but my research assistant, Dr. Google, helped me learn. An Australian English word of aboriginal origin, “wonga” is slang for money in certain parts of Britain. Why care? Because the staid Economist (April 19, 2014) pictured cassock-clad conga-dancing seminarians and the writers needed something cute to rhyme with “conga.”

The associated article did not deal with a cute subject. The caption was “Revving Up: More Young Britons Are Joining the Priesthood.” We read of no surge in seminary enrollments, but, still, “In 2013 the Church of England started training 113 20-somethings—the most for two decades (although still too few to replace retirees).” Meanwhile, “the number of new trainees for the Roman Catholic priesthood in England and Wales has almost doubled since 2003. . . and their average age has fallen,” a factor that church leaders regard as good news.
- See more at: http://divinity.uchicago.edu/sightings/british-priesthood-uptick-%E2%80%94-martin-e-marty#sthash.6zhmcQyR.dpuf