Archdiocese uses media, new archbishop
to promote vocations

	ON THE AIR -- Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan addresses reporters following a Mass at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist Sept. 11. Dolan believes now is the time to promote vocations. "I think people more than ever will be open to a vocation." (Photo by Sam Lucero)

ST. FRANCIS -- Fr. Bob Stiefvater, director of vocations for the Milwaukee Archdiocese, is a believer in using the media to promote vocations to the priesthood and religious life. With a new archbishop, whose smile, wit and wisdom regularly attract media interview requests, Stiefvater saw a gold mine.

"The sense of hopeful anticipation surrounding Archbishop (Timothy M.) Dolan's coming to Milwaukee is certainly a great start for the launching of a new vocations campaign here in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee," said Stiefvater.

Not only is Dolan a refreshing church spokesman, his past experience as rector of Pontifical North American College in Rome and spiritual formation director at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis made him a vocations director's dream come true. Within days of Dolan's arrival in Milwaukee, Stiefvater had plans for a media campaign with the new archbishop promoting vocations. The first part of the campaign involved radio ads.

"I asked the archbishop if he would be willing to record a (radio) commercial before he arrived in Milwaukee that would run for a week beginning the day after his installation on Aug. 28," Stiefvater told the Catholic Herald via e-mail. "On the day after Irish Fest he took a break from moving into his new residence to record the commercial for us." Five area radio stations broadcast the 60-second radio spot beginning Aug. 29.

Vocations: On the brink of a new springtime Abuse crisis will purify and strengthen church, increase vocations Archbishop's Vocation Message During my year as auxiliary bishop of St. Louis, I resided at a wonderful, large, vibrant parish. Sadly, that parish was hit very hard by the recent clerical sexual abuse scandal, and the popular and effective pastor stepped down from his duties. As you might imagine, the parish was in turmoil. One evening as I returned home from my office, a teen-age boy from the parish approached me as I left the garage. "Bishop," he said. "My name is Kevin. I really have to talk to you about Fr. Smith (the pastor who had resigned). Please take time to listen to me." Well, I held my breath and invited him in. I was so scared that he was going to tell me that he, too, had been abused, or yell at me for the terrible scandal of priests who had done such awful things. Instead, he said, "How is Fr. Smith?" "Under the circumstances, not bad," I replied. "He is so sad, so sorry that he let all of you down." "I just wanted you to tell him," my young friend continued, "that Kevin still respects him very much, that I pray for him, and that, as he encouraged me to do, I am still thinking about being a priest." Can you imagine my relief, my joy, my gratitude? Here, I thought, this young man was going to express anger at the priesthood -- a logical response considering the scandal -- and he instead tells me he wants to be a priest! To me this episode illustrates the resilience of the priesthood and the depth of our people's love for the church. It also bolsters my hunch that we may be at the brink of a springtime of vocations. In other words, the crisis we are passing through, I contend, will only purify and strengthen the church and increase our vocations to the priesthood, religious life, diaconate, and lay ministries. I say that as a church historian, realizing that every period of trial in our 2,000 years of plodding along results in growth and renewal for the church. I also say that as a believer in the "paschal mystery" -- where there is dying, there is rising. Lord knows we have had our share of dying recently; now we look for the rising, and I am convinced that an increase in vocations will be part of this rising. The entire church is being tested; all of us are experiencing the purification from which will come renewed faith and holiness. From this will come an attentiveness to the Lord's call to serve him and his recovering church as a priest, sister, brother, deacon, lay minister. Right after I arrived in Milwaukee, our vocation director, Fr. Bob Stiefvater, asked if I would do a radio spot to promote vocations. I was happy to do so. People were stunned. CNN called for an interview; CBS radio asked me on. Their question was the same. "Isn't this risky, during a time of retreat and embarrassment in the church, to publicly invite men and women to consider a vocation?" "It's not risky," I replied, "but daring and hopeful. We in the church can either crawl under the bed or go up to the housetops. It's time to be bold and trusting. It's time to be part of the solution, not the problem. We can harp on the bad or herald the good. And I think people more than ever will be open to a vocation."

According to Stiefvater, some research went into choosing the stations on which the ads were placed. "A group of Marquette University students had done a survey of their peers, including asking what radio stations they listened to," he said. "Using that information, we researched station demographics in a current media guide and requested Arbitron ratings for our primary target audience (males 18-35)."

Dolan's vocation message was broadcast on rock stations WLZR (102.9 FM) and WLUM (102.1 FM), top-40 WXSS (103.7 FM), urban-music WKKV (100.7 FM) and classical-music WFMR (106.9 FM).

In the radio ad, Dolan asks listeners to consider whether Jesus is asking them to take their call as committed Christians more seriously and to serve Jesus and the church in an even more generous and wholehearted way. "And maybe, just maybe, by considering the possibility the Lord might be calling you to serve him and his church as a priest, deacon, religious sister or brother, or professional lay minister."

Listeners were directed to the archdiocesan Web site or the vocations office for more information. Stiefvater said past radio ads in support of vocations have gotten feedback. But response to the Dolan ads has "been more active."

"For example, we received a call from a young man who had been thinking about priesthood and decided to call the vocations office after hearing the ad," said Stiefvater. "A couple of days into the ads, a priest at Sunday Mass said that he hadn't heard the ads yet but heard people talking about them. That's exactly our goal: to get people talking about vocations in a positive way."

New plans to promote vocations in the media are under way, said Stiefvater.

"We are currently looking ahead to radio advertising in conjunction with National Vocation Awareness Week and World Day of Prayer for Vocations," he said. "We will launch a new Web site, www.thinkpriest.org, in the coming weeks. We recently applied for a grant and included movie theater advertising in the funding proposal."

A new brochure featuring a message from Dolan on vocations is also in the works.

"The archbishop has indicated that he has both a desire and a sense of obligation to be involved in encouraging vocations, and we hope to continue the collaboration that began with the radio ads," added Stiefvater.