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Between 1975 and 2008 the Catholic Church in the United States lost just over 18,000 priests. In ecclesiastical parlance these men were defectors, malcontents, and pariahs. But they weren't. These men were the heroes of their generation in the church. They struggled for civil rights, they tried to implement the changes of Vatican II, and they refused to call 'birth control' a sin. Never before have they told their stories - conflict with their bishops, love of their ministry, and waking up to their 'alone-ness' in the world. Here are twelve such stories. "Pope Francis, since being elected Pope, has made some dramatic claims and statements, challenging the curia and Vatican 'business as usual...
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He explores his doubts and experiences with the Catholic Church and his struggles to be himself yet still honor his twelve years of preparation for the priesthood. After serving two years as a priest, he decides to leave the Church and examine other religions. Amongst his spiritual discussions, Josaitis reflects on the Church's stance on issues including sex, women, and the rules of the priesthood. 'Marvin Josaitis shares his life and story of following the truth and finding that, indeed, 'the truth will make you free.' His moving story and its incredible events make a powerful call to the whole Church to begin that journey back to the radical truth of Jesus once more.' —Thomas J. Gumbleton, retired Auxiliary Bishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit
In all the coverage of the priestly sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church, one story has been left untold: the story of the everyday lives of Catholic priests in America, which remain so little understood as to be a secret, even as one priestly sexual predation after another has come to light. In The Other Side of the Altar, Paul Dinter tells one priest's story--his own--in such a way as to reveal the lives of a generation of priests that spanned two very different eras. These priests entered the ministry in the 1960s, when Catholic seminaries were full of young men inspired by both the Church's ancient faith and the Second Vatican Council's promises of renewal. But by the early 1970s,...
Love stories are always captivating. And when it is the love story of a catholic priest, it is intriguing. This book is about the love story of two priests. "Both stories reveal their pain and struggles to decide against a law imbedded for centuries in the solid structure of an institution and in the cultural psyche of both laity and clergy. In the end, love and grace triumph" (From a peer review).A highlight of this book is my reformist concern related to clerical behavior. And I speak from my experience and expertise of forty years in the ministry. Ecclesiastics should know that when I left the service of the altar, I bore no bitterness or regret. I am, therefore, their best ally to tell t...
The author shares his personal journey from ordained Roman Catholic priest, next leaving the church, marrying his wife, and practicing as an Episcopal priest, to his eventual return to the Catholic church.
Recommendations are addressed to Church leaders, to resigning priests, and to those interested in research regarding priests.
Catholic Press Association Award Winner! Reports indicate that many newly ordained men are feeling demoralized and some are resigning. The accounts raised many questions. How widespread is the problem? What difficulties are the recently ordained priests facing? Is the problem due to changes in lay attitudes or to changes in the ordained themselves? Is the situation different from what it was ten or twenty years ago? The First Five Years of the Priesthood is a collaborative work of the National Federation of Priests' Councils and the Life Cycle Institute of The Catholic University of America that considers this phenomenon. It explores the experience of early priesthood and is based on a pilot...