The Catholic Church priesthood shortage is being alleviated by men embarking on second careers, who bring special wisdom -- and challenges.
By Melanie Lefkowitz, Newsday
Los Angeles Times
For Robert Holz, the question always lingered.
He'd worked as an accountant for nearly two decades. He was basically happy. He was 40 years old.
Still, the question was there.
"Is God calling me? Or not?" he said.
Partly because he felt unfulfilled, partly in hopes of resolving that nagging question, Holz quit his job and inquired about becoming a priest. He has spent much of the last five years within the yellow brick walls of the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception, a sprawling estate on Long Island Sound where peaceful days are marked by tolling bells.
"The idea of the future is a lot bigger now," said Holz, now 47 and in his final seminary year.
"You come into the seminary and suddenly you really start looking at eternity. As opposed to when I was younger: Is there enough in the IRAs to retire? What if this, what if that, is my house paid for?"
Holz is among a vanguard of older priests-in-training who are energizing an institution that has faced stiff recruitment challenges for decades.
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