Priests study ways to beat addiction

Forty men who are studying to become priests will gather in Des Moines tomorrow for a seminar on addiction. Father John Acrea organized the three-day conference. He says there are all types of addictions, from sex to alcohol and drugs.Father Acrea says addiction is an affliction for many Iowans.Father Acrea, the vocational director for the Diocese of Des Moines, says one of the sessions will discuss “self-emptying”The 40 seminarians or priests-to-be are from all four dioceses in Iowa — the Archdiocese of Dubuqe and the Dioceses of Des Moines, Davenport and Sioux City. It takes eight years to become a priest if you start as a college freshman. If you have a college degree, it takes six years.