This is short rant. I have written before on the different vocations a young, or not so young, man may face.
After reading some comments on Fr. Z. last week, it was clear to me that there is still some confusion as to how a man can approach a bishop on becoming a diocesan priest.
First of all, some Catholics do not understand that a call to the FSSPs or the Institute of Christ the King is a call to a religious order, not to the diocesan, or, as it is sometimes called, secular priesthood.
Second, most dioceses only accept men who either have been born in that diocese or have lived and worked in that diocese for years. Switching dioceses is rare. My cousin who is a priest did so, as an older vocation, being forced to leave a liberal seminary, but finding recourse in the neighboring diocese. He is a happy and an excellent priest. But, the second diocese did not have to accept him.
The rule usually is if a person leaves or is kicked out of one diocese, that man is not accepted in another.
To think that a man can "shop" around for a diocese like going to a college is absolutely wrong. Going into the seminary is not at all like getting into a college or university. It is much more challenging and difficult.
