Student loan debt leading to sharp decline in religious vocation

[Liberal_in_LA]

Reporting from Chicago - Alicia Torres must raise $94,000 in order to take a vow of poverty.



Drawn to the Roman Catholic sisterhood while she was a student at Loyola University here, Torres faces the same barrier as many others considering such a religious life: college debt. Today, Torres and a group of friends will run Chicago's Half Marathon -- 13.1 miles along the lakefront -- in hopes of receiving enough pledges to pay off $94,000 in student loans.

"You can't live a vow of poverty with a bunch of debt," said Torres, a 2007 graduate. "If God wants you to do something, he clears the way."

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Torres fits the mold of many young Catholics longing for traditions that waned after Vatican II and gravitating away from modern religious orders whose members live on their own, devote less time to community prayer or no longer wear habits. Experts say the inability of modern orders to attract new candidates and the lack of commitment among America's secularized youth have led to a sharp decline in religious vocations in the U.S.

But some attribute the downturn to debt.

Five years ago, Cy Laurent of Eagan, Minn., founded the Laboure Society, a nonprofit group dedicated to eliminating the educational debt of Roman Catholic religious candidates. He insists that a lack of capital, not a lack of commitment, has kept hundreds, perhaps thousands, of faithful from answering God's call. Torres is one of about 100 current clients.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-nuns13-2009sep13,0,1063652.story

[Swamp Rat]

1. I will answer God's call too, if he will pay off my loans.

SallieMae is the Devil. :evilgrin:

[Liberal_in_LA]

6. lol n/t

[ingac70]

2. The Church should make sure they have no debts. n/t

[yurbud]

3. corporate America should pick of the tab. Otherwise, who will teach people to wait for their reward

in the next life instead of this one, so the rich can keep what they stole in this life?

[Walk away]

4. Than god! (whoever that is) .....n/t

[mix]

5. "You can't live a vow of poverty with a bunch of debt."

This seems inaccurate.

Debt will guarantee your "vow of poverty," sadly enough.

[LuvNewcastle]

7. You'd think the Catholic Church would

give free scholarships to those going into religious orders.

[frebrd]

8. I'm reminded of the old saying........

"Every cloud has a silver lining."

[LeftyMom]

9. It's not like the church doesn't have the money.

For that matter, I'd guess most of them probably have so much debt because Catholic-run colleges are crazy expensive.