Study: Student debt of priests and religious can be a barrier to vocations in the US

A new study on student debt by a leading Catholic research group, released today, sheds light on the challenges that debt poses to future Catholic priests and religious, as well as to dioceses and religious institutes in the United States.

Los researchers found that a discerning person’s student debt can be a barrier to entry, as some candidates themselves choose not to pursue a vocation because of their debt and, in less common cases, a religious institute or diocese may ask to the person who delays or rescinds their candidacy due to high levels of student debt.

He studymade by Center for Research Applied to the Apostolate (CARA) from Georgetown University and commissioned by the Sociedad Labouré, was designed to measure the impact of educational debt on men and women who have concerns or seek to enter religious life or the seminary. Additionally, the study examined the policies and practices of religious institutes and dioceses regarding candidates with student debt.

John Flanagan, executive director of the Labouré Society, noted that the Canon law requires that those who enter religious life be free of debts they cannot pay. He said, among other things, that the Labouré Society, which provides financial and spiritual support to those who wish to follow their vocation, has observed that those who want to pursue the priesthood or religious life wait until later in life, when they have finally paid their debts. .

“It’s hard to pay off debt when you take a vow of poverty,” Flanagan told EWTN News. “For those who enter diocesan life, yes, they receive a stipend, but for many that burden (of debt) may be more than they can pay with that priestly stipend.”

Labouré says he has helped more than 400 people raise US$11 million to help with their student debt over the past 20 years. Flanagan said the group has done this by seeking to invite others into the vocations of those struggling with debt.

“It’s really about evangelism and invitation. We work with aspirants to be able to help them share their story and invite people to participate,” she said.

The study consisted of surveys mailed to 196 diocesan vocation directors and vocation directors of 742 men’s and women’s religious institutes. Among those who responded, 185 major superiors and two diocesan vocations directors reported that the survey did not apply to them because they had had no candidates in the past five years. Finally, 42% of diocesan vocations directors and 37% of religious institutes contacted were able to participate.

“The Labouré Society aims to use the information in this report to continue adapting its service program to religious communities and dioceses across the country,” the group says.

Diocese and archdiocese

The average number of priests among responding dioceses was 111, with an average of 18 seminarians in training. The dioceses that responded also said they are in contact with 306 people who are seriously discerning the priesthood (about 35 per diocese).

Overall, of those people who are seriously interested, almost a quarter have student debt. That figure wasn’t necessarily evenly distributed, however, as 4% of responding dioceses reported that more than three-quarters of people who are seriously interested have student debt. A similar percentage of formal applicants to dioceses carried student debt with them.

Nine responding dioceses reported that 23 seriously interested people did not enter seminary because of their student debt, representing 3% of the total number of seriously interested people with educational debt. Additionally, a total of 17 responding dioceses asked 26 seriously interested individuals who owed educational debt to delay their application until the debt was paid or reduced.

Only two responding dioceses—among the 56 that responded—reported a total of two formal applicants who were rejected due to their educational debt.

Large dioceses were more likely than small dioceses to report that their serious applicants were in debt. However, the average amount of debt presented to small dioceses far eclipsed the average amount presented to large dioceses. The average debt a candidate for the priesthood has at the time of acceptance is $68,333 for small dioceses, $23,286 for medium-sized dioceses and $21,864 for large dioceses, according to the study.

In terms of policies governing the assumption of a seminarian’s student debt, more than half of the dioceses that responded said they have a written policy or accepted practices regarding educational debt. The most common way dioceses handle educational debt is to ask candidates to defer their loans, and 85% said they ask their candidates to do so. Half of the dioceses that responded said they take on candidates’ debt and pay it off over time. More than three in five responding dioceses (63%) that assume educational debt do so after priestly ordination, while an additional 12% do so only after the candidate has begun theological studies. Smaller dioceses are more likely to take on a candidate’s debt at the college seminary level than large dioceses.

In terms of the most common ways to pay off student debt, nearly four in ten responding dioceses or their candidates have received funds from individual donors or diocese sponsors, followed by the Knights of Columbus Vocations Fund.

Nearly one-fifth of dioceses said the diocese has experienced financial difficulties due to candidate or member student debt.

Religious institutes for men and women

Responding institutes had an average of eight formal applicants since the beginning of 2018: an average of ten for each men’s institute and seven for each women’s institute. The number of applications ranged from 87 to zero, with half of all responding institutes reporting that they had no more than six applicants as of January 1, 2018.

At least one-fifth of religious institutes that responded said they have noticed an upward trend in the amount of student debt their applicants have, according to the study. Respondents said that, on average, one in four serious applicants over the past four years carried student debt — more than $45,000 on average. Men carried an average of $39,685 in debt, and women carried an average of $48,555.

Among those who make a formal request, about 21% have student debt, with an average of 23,000. Nearly half of the institutes assume the debt of their applicants (it was reported to have amounted to $2 million in the last five years), and women’s religious institutes are more likely to assume it than those for men. Most institutes have a limit on the amount of debt candidates agree to take on, with an average of $30,000 for men and $10,000 for women.

Of the institutes that take on the debt of their candidates, most assume the debt and pay it off over time. Nearly half of colleges ask departing candidates to reimburse the college for student debt payments they have made. Furthermore, about half of these institutes assume the debt during a person’s candidacy, postulancy, or novitiate, and the other half wait until a person’s temporary or perpetual profession. Some institutes only pay the interest on a candidate’s loans, rather than the principal.

Eighteen responding institutes say they rejected 28 serious applicants because of their educational debt, representing 2% of the total number of serious applicants with educational debt. A larger number of institutes reported asking candidates to delay their application until they paid or reduced educational debt.

“This is higher than the educational borrowing habits of other students,” the study reads.

“In the 2020-2021 academic year, 37% of undergraduate students attending a four-year public institution took out student loans for an average of $7,500. In that same year, 53% of undergraduate students at private, nonprofit institutions (including Roman Catholic colleges and universities) took out student loans averaging $8,800.”

This heavy debt burden has had a dampening effect on religious institutes. About one in five report that at least some serious applicants have not continued with the application process because of their educational debt, slightly lower among formal applicants. One in ten institutes have experienced financial problems due to educational debt of candidates or members.

In terms of policies to address the problem of student debt, more than two-thirds of responding religious institutes have a written policy or accepted practice on educational debt. Many draw on funds from the Knights of Columbus and the Labouré Society to help them pay off debts.

Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in CNA.