The New Faces Of Faith

Asians Are A Growing Presence In The Catholic Priesthood

(CBS)  European-Americans have long dominated the Roman Catholic priesthood in the United States. But as Byron Pitts reports, that's starting to change. Inside the Church, the message may still be the same, but a lot of the messengers are new.

Andrew Nguyen was born in Vietnam and fled to the United States with his family. He's a college-educated computer engineer who had a career — but chose a calling.

"I'm calling for, to be ordained as God's priest so that I can serve everybody," says Nguyen, one of a growing number of Asians entering the Catholic priesthood.

But is he Vietnamese first, American first, or Catholic first?

"First of all, I find myself Catholic first," says Nguyen. "I would say 51-49 — 51 percent Vietnamese, 49 percent American. But when it comes to religion … 100 percent Catholic."

Asians make up just 2 percent of the Catholic Church in the United States. But they're now 12 percent of all seminary students nationwide. Most of them are first- or second-generation immigrants.

St Patrick's Seminary, just north of San Jose, Calif., is a perfect example of the changing face of the Catholic Church in America. Forty-three percent — nearly half the students studying for the priesthood — are Asian.

"For me, that's a sign of great hope," says Rev. Mark Catalana, who counsels prospective students at St. Patrick's. He's well aware of the declining numbers of Catholic priests over the past 30 years, and sees the rise in Asian seminary students as a new opportunity.

"I think [what] we are finding in the Asian culture is that the families work with them — support them in their vocations, and encourage them," he says. When asked if Asians could be referred to as the "new Irish" of the Church, "I think in a lot of ways, that's true."

Just as the Irish and Italian immigrants who fled persecution and whose children found purpose in service to the Catholic Church, the same is true for Asian-Americans and Latino-Americans — the two fastest-growing minorities in the priesthood.

"I think there is a strong sense of reverence for the holy that Asians bring," says Joe Kim, a second-generation Korean-American who's studying for the priesthood. "This stems from a culture of respect, and that respect is embedded in the culture."

It's a sense of "respect" that's often overlooked in an American culture that, it's been said, values prosperity over service. But students like Nguyen enter the clergy with a different perspective — one that was shaped by boyhood memories of sleepless nights and hungry days aboard refugee boats.

"That's the most vivid memory, and I find it very valuable," Nguyen says. "Because of that, I really value life."

It's a life that will be devoted to the Catholic priesthood. Times may change the faces in the choir, but never the faith.