Sydney, Australia, Jan 13, 2005 / 22:00 pm
The number of young men entering the seminary is up in Australia, says a Jan. 13 report in The Australian.
Leading seminaries are reporting their best intakes this year, after almost a decade of steady decline, says the report. The seminaries believe that the surge can be explained by a renewed interest in spirituality and the emphasis that George Cardinal Pell had placed on increasing the profile of the seminaries.
The Sydney seminary enrolled 14 new seminarians this year, for a total population of 41. The numbers have been increasing since 1996, when only four men entered the seminary.
Corpus Christi College in Melbourne also enrolled 10 new seminarians this year, an increase of six from last year.