Wanted: A Few Good Men for God, Military

As a young man, Michael Biewend knew there were two things he didn’t want in life--to become a Roman Catholic priest and to join the military.

So it might seem strange that on Friday, Lt. Col. Biewend, a 49-year-old Air Force priest, was at the Anaheim Convention Center, recruiting for the military’s chaplain service.

“It’s hard to explain,” he said of his dual conversion.

It’s easier for him to explain why he tries to persuade others to join.

“We’re critically short,” Biewend said of the 105 officer-priests who serve Catholics in the Air Force. “We can’t cover all of the ground that we need to.”

As about 20,000 Catholics from around the world gather this weekend in Anaheim for the annual Los Angeles-area Religious Education Congress, a small but significant job recruitment effort is being waged amid the workshops and booths selling anything from Bibles to $9.98 rocks from the Holy Land.

Nationwide, the Roman Catholic Church is struggling to cope with a severe shortage of priests, nuns and brothers. As the current ranks age, fewer young men and women are taking up the religious life.

“It’s a difficult challenge,” said Bishop Edward Clark of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. “The vocation does not appeal to as many young people as it used to.”

Blame the economic and personal sacrifices priests and nuns make, the lure of mainstream culture and careers. Blame smaller families.

“There’s a lot of reasons,” said Father Gary Bauler, a priest in Simi Valley. Among them, he said, are recent scandals involving sex between clergy and parishioners. “The image of [the] priesthood has suffered a great deal.

“When I went to seminary 35 years ago, they were standing in line, waiting to get in. You were worried that you wouldn’t make the cut and would be thrown out.”

In the Los Angeles archdiocese, for instance, a flock of 4 million people is served by about 540 priests--about half what is needed.

So the archdiocese, along with the dioceses in Orange and San Bernardino counties, are seeking candidates for the religious life at this weekend’s conference.

So are the Dominican Family, St. Patrick’s Seminary and the Sisters of the Holy Names.

During Thursday’s youth day service, a call went out for anyone interested in a Catholic vocation. More than 200 kids responded.

“Many won’t pan out. But every year, we pick up a few people that way,” Clark said.

“Even if we don’t get a single candidate, we at least raise people’s consciousness of the need.”

That’s what Lt. Col. Biewend hopes to do--for his faith and his country.

“I’m not looking for a mechanic. I’m not looking for a pilot,” said Biewend, whose office last year persuaded seven Catholic priests to join the military for at least three years.

“What I’m looking for [is] someone who is excited about being in the church. Someone who is excited about working with young people.”

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Catholics in Orange County

Number of Catholics:

1976: 333,860

2001: 1,044,191

Number of priests:

1976: 242

2001: 284

Ratio of priests to laity:

1976: 1 to 1,380

2001: 1 to 3,677

Source: Diocese of Orange