"Polish Church takes to the catwalk to battle slump in numbers"

There are a lot of ways to promote vocations - I'm just not sure religious "fashion shows" are any of them. Perhaps it's something deeply ingrained in me, but I always think we must bring the youth/culture to the Church not the other way around. Yes, it is important to understand the culture, and even to use it, if possible to move people from one place to another spiritually. Historically missionaries have done this very effectively. The Fishers of Men video is a good example. It has the look and feel of a popular culture video, as good as anything out there, but it communicates a very different and powerful message. That video would have failed miserably if it contained priests trying to act like they were something they were not - in other words, trying to act like celbrity figures from our contemporary culture. Something tells me having religious sisters on a catwalk, imitating fashion models, verges on pandering to your audience. I could be wrong, and perhaps in a Polish culture it works well. I just pray it doesn't catch on here. The Church can not compete with pop culture on its turf - the Church will lose. The Church can only compete on its own solid foundation - the fullness of Truth. From the beginning men and women religious have been counter cultural, and they must never waiver from that reality. Some religious communities have worked hard for decades to be more like everybody else "in the world" and their decline in numbers is the fruit of their labors. Yet other communities, that are becoming even more radically counter cultural are seeing rapidly increasing numbers. It seems pretty simple to me.

All that said, this is a good article to read from the standpoint of seeing how popular culture affects vocations even in a very Catholic country like Poland. To read this article, it seems like the shortage of priests and religious in Europe could become even more dire in the years to come if the number of Polish vocations continues to decline. - BW

From AFP
LUBLIN, Poland — A striking brunette sashayed down the catwalk, showing off her simple yet elegant white robe and black headgear to the enraptured audience.

Sister Lucja of the Order of the Sacred Heart of Jesus smiled as the crowd burst into applause.

Faced with a slump in the number of nuns, monks and seminarians in Europe's Roman Catholic heartland, the Church in Poland is trying to dust down its image.

The recent, somewhat tongue-in-cheek fashion show in this city in southeast Poland was just the latest sign.

"The name 'fashion show' is provocative. We want to show that we live simply, and that even if we sometimes dress in an old-fashioned way, our clothes are a reflection of our lifestyle," organiser Father Andrzej Batorski, a Jesuit, told AFP.

After Sister Lucja, other nuns, then Jesuits and Capuchin friars hit the red carpet to show off their cassocks in the main hall of the Catholic University of Lublin.

The 90-year-old university is a renowned centre of religious and secular teaching and research in Poland, where more than 90 percent of the 38-million-strong population professes to be Roman Catholic.

Some two dozen orders took part in Batorski's fair, setting up their stalls to try to spread the word that taking religious vows isn't a thing of the past.

The stands boasted multimedia displays, leaflets, giveaway calendars and -- at the missionary orders' booths -- souvenirs from Africa and Asia.

Meanwhile, religious chants echoed from loudspeakers.

Under Poland's post-World War II communist regime, the Church played a dual role as both a religious institution and as a bulwark against the authorities.

While its clout has remained significant since the regime's demise in 1989, and is certainly far stronger than in most other European countries, it has been a victim of its own success in helping bring about political change.

In a democratic country where the free market has brought previously unimaginable opportunities for a new generation of Poles, drawing new recruits is becoming a headache.

The mainstream Church's image has also been tarnished by an ultra-Catholic fringe whose outbursts regularly grab headlines, turning off would-be recruits.

"Ten years ago, we had 25 novice nuns. Last year we only had six," said Agnieszka Kranz of the Servant Sisters of Debica, a small Polish order.

Such figures are a worry for the Polish Church, and even for Roman Catholicism beyond the country's borders.

Until recently, the Polish Church was training more than a quarter of Europe's priests, monks and nuns, and supplied them worldwide to fill gaps in other countries.

Last year, the number of Poles taking vows fell by around 25 percent.

For the 2007-2008 academic year, Poland's diocesan seminaries, which train priests, recruited 786 new students, down from 1,029 the year before.

The total number of trainee priests has fallen by 10 percent in one year, to 4,257.

The country's monastic orders are also feeling the pinch.

The number of novice nuns slumped from 728 in 1998 to 468 last year. The number of new monks fell by half to 797.

"For the Polish Church, this is ringing alarm bells," said Monsignor Wojciech Polak, who oversees recruitment.

Batorski said it is up to the Church to reach out to young people, speaking a language they understand.

"We wanted via the fair to enable people to meet those who have chosen a monastic life, to show that they are just regular individuals," he said. (I don't really think having women religious strutting around on a catwalk shows that they are "just regular individuals". I think it shows that they are mimicking something that is particularly disordered in our world.)

"At the same time, we wanted to give a voice to people who have taken vows, allowing them to explain their chosen path and their faith," he added.

The Polish Church has also jumped headlong into cyberspace, and also turned to other planks of public relations.

Most orders have their own website -- and the Jesuits have even posted a video on YouTube. Others have tried television advertisement and the Franciscans even give their monks public speaking training.

At the Lublin fair, however, the impact seemed limited.

"I'd miss men, and nuns don't use make up or colour their hair," said Dominika Pietron, an 18-year-old school student.

However, she said she appreciated her hour-long discussion with a nun there.

"Religion helps you take a look at yourself, and builds confidence. But it should only be taken in small doses," she said.