BC-Monday Spotlight, ADVISORY

EDITORS:

The following story has moved in advance for use beginning Sunday as this week's Monday Spotlight, a feature showcasing the best off-the-news enterprise in the AP report:

CATHOLIC SEMINARIES

WYNNEWOOD, Pa. — A cascade of scandals in the Catholic Church has had surprisingly little impact on enrollment in its American seminaries. Though the number of seminarians is down from a half-century ago, it's held relatively steady in the past decade and even registered slight increases in the past few years. At St. Charles Borromeo Seminary outside Philadelphia, though the clergy abuse crisis isn't a constant topic of discussion, students say they know they'll be ministering to a flock that has been fractured by crimes in the church alongside broader societal secularization. Future priests say they can be the examples who restore the public's faith in the church. By Matt Sedensky. 1,200 words, photos by Wong Maye-E, sent in advance for use beginning 9 a.m. Eastern time Sunday.

The AP