Strengthening the Priesthood in the United States

Practically speaking, the contemporary Church has made a strategic error in its renewal efforts: attempting a new evangelization without revitalizing its priests.

I say “practically speaking” because, while there have been high-level efforts focused on the reform and formation of priests (i.e., Pastores Dabo Vobis and frequent updates to the PPF), these efforts have somehow fallen short in their integration into contemporary diocesan and presbyteral life.

This strategic error is detrimental because the success of our parishes and dioceses in preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and saving souls relies heavily on the success of our priests. Renewing the Church in holiness, strength, vibrancy, and love for Christ without focusing on the priests will not work. As stated in the Second Vatican Council’s Decree on Priestly Training, “The desired renewal of the whole Church depends to a great extent on the ministry of its priests.”

Why is this the case?

Utilizing reason, we can start with the obvious fact that priests are leaders. As such, it is clear that any organization, whether secular or religious, must consistently center attention on the success of its leaders. Teams and organizations do not exceed the success of their leaders; instead, they reflect them. The Church is no different.

But the dependence of the Church’s mission on its priests goes beyond natural reason. For example, a priest’s holiness profoundly impacts the people entrusted to his care, as his holiness literally “absorbs” into others. “The Priest, Pastor, and Leader of the Parish Community” says that “a certain osmosis exists between the faith of the priest and that of the other faithful.” Dom Jean-Baptiste Chautard, O.C.S.O., in the spiritual classic, “The Soul of the Apostolate,” articulates this theology further, saying, “If the priest is a saint, the people will be fervent; if the priest is fervent, the people will be pious; if the priest is pious, the people will at least be decent; if the priest is only decent, the people will be godless. The spiritual generation is always one degree less intense in its life than the one who begets it in Christ.”

For these reasons, the U.S. Bishops, in their latest “Guide to Ongoing Formation of Priests,” remind us, “The priest can give no greater gift to his people than his own resolve to grow in sanctity.” Such a pursuit has an astonishingly profound evangelical impact because the personal holiness of priests leads to greater pastoral charity, which in turn affects everything.

There is simply no denying that the strength, holiness, and renewal of our Church are intimately tied to that of our priests. We cannot afford to neglect this reality any longer by, in effect, sidestepping the priesthood on our way to an ever-needed revival.

Some might read these statements and think this is clericalism, but it’s not; it’s God’s design. Firstly, priestly leadership is appropriately understood as service (cf. Catechism #1574). Secondly, we can lean on St. Paul’s teachings regarding the Mystical Body of Christ to recall that the Church has different roles. Roles that are equal in dignity, though essentially different in nature, functions, rights, and obligations. Likewise, we can quickly draw upon the Eucharist’s centrality in the Church’s life to reinforce the fundamental importance of the priesthood. How can it be said that the priesthood isn’t uniquely crucial if it’s intrinsically linked to the Eucharist? Similarly, how can it be said that the priesthood isn’t uniquely important if a priest truly is “another Christ”?

Clericalism does exist, but we need to stop seeing the “clericalism” bogeyman under every rock because doing so only contributes to the annihilation of an actual healthy clerical culture. Priests need to be a band of brothers to survive the spiritual onslaught that they experience, and this requires a common and unique clerical culture. We must stop trying to “flatten” the Church’s hierarchy, which was established by Christ, by pretending that a strong and prioritized priesthood is equivalent to clericalism. This is like saying that a natural family doesn’t have a radical dependence on the father. We know, theologically and sociologically, that it does.

So, priests’ strength, renewal, holiness, and success must be of the utmost concern for the Church and must, at a minimum, co-occur with other diocesan undertakings.

From this point, there are at least two immediate questions: How’s the priesthood doing right now, and what can be done about it?

The priesthood is in a state of severe injury.

We need to quickly qualify that statement by not neglecting that we have many remarkable priests. These men are holy, hardworking, and inspiring, carrying the cross of Christ with joy and love. We need to pray for them regularly.

Another immediate qualifier is that the reason the priesthood is in a severe state of disrepair is not simply because “priests are bad.” I can tell you that the message often sent to priests is something like, “If you all weren’t so messed up, the Church would be great.” Does anyone think that message can inspire priests to holiness and excellence?

Starting from this fundamental error leads to what we’ve seen repeatedly in the Church: any “priest renewal” effort usually focuses singularly on priests changing. While no one is excusing sinful or neglectful priestly conduct (which needs to be addressed promptly and consistently for the benefit of the priest and the faithful), and while acknowledging the centrality of priestly holiness, such an approach is woefully inadequate to strengthen the priesthood in a fundamental and lasting way.

It’s woefully inadequate because it neglects a fundamental law of social psychology, which is that behavior is driven not only by an individual person but by the situation and environment surrounding that person. Any person (cleric or laity) requires both individual knowledge, skills, ability, and virtue, as well as an environment that supports their efforts to succeed in a given task or mission. An organization, secular or otherwise, cannot expect its members to “muscle through” an unsupportive environment. It doesn’t work. And it doesn’t work because the environment almost always wins in the long run.

So why are priests contracting chronic illnesses at middle age at twice the rate of the general population? Why do clergy and religious have the same high rates of addiction, anxiety, depression, and trauma as the general population? Why has there been a large-scale collapse of spiritual life? Why have issues of chastity and celibacy persisted?

We can answer those questions by asking: Has the Church expected priests to “muscle through” an unsupportive environment? While not pandering to priests, creating a victim class (we are all responsible for our actions), or pretending personal choices don’t matter, in most places, we have to be honest enough to answer “yes.” Because the environment is so poor, it can amount to “an expectation of superhuman performance” for priests (the USCCB’s language, not mine).

What does this poor environment look like in practice?

Let’s start with this: in many places, there are too many parishes and too few priests for that number of parishes, leading to priests having an unsustainable amount of multiple assignments. We have priests saying Mass for near-empty churches located close to other near-empty churches, illustrating an important point. The real issue isn’t a shortage of priests as much as the excess of institutions. Only about 10% of reported Catholics are actually practicing. Using the number of practicing Catholics (instead of reported Catholics), the ratio of active priests to practicing Catholics is actually sustainable. God has given us the priests that we need. It feels like a vocations shortage because we have too many parishes, not because we have too many Catholics and too few priests to minister to them.

The downstream effects of too many parishes are painful: priests in assignments that are poor fits, destabilized priest/parish relationships due to frequent transfers, priests stuck in “maintenance mode” without time to do proactive work, and isolated priests living in large rectories.

Here are a few more macro-level issues: breakdowns in bishop-priest relationships and fear of false accusations, as shown so stunningly by the Catholic Project. Also, the increasingly complex administration of parishes leading to an excessive administrative focus. On this last point, even St. Bernard of Clairvaux warned of this temptation centuries ago: “Unfortunately, the demands of administration often overwhelmed bishops and priests, and the spiritual focus was lost. Sadly, this led too many to become worldly feudal lords rather than good spiritual fathers.”

Can anyone survive, not to mention thrive, in an environment like that?

Here’s the bottom line: if the Church (and dioceses specifically) is serious about strong and holy priests, a prerequisite for strong and holy people and institutions, then changes must be made at both the environmental and individual levels, not just the individual level. We need wholesale organizational reform, a systemic intervention, so that a priest’s environment can be designed with conditions favorable to priestly holiness, well-being, and zeal for souls. Likewise, priests must be exhorted to make their own improvements centered on healthy and holy living. This is the recipe for lasting success.

Let’s pause for a quick summary: the Church’s success in its mission depends greatly on its priests, and the best framework to address priesthood challenges and opportunities includes both environmental and individual factors.

Some of the environmental or, hereafter, “diocesan-centric” challenges facing many of our priests are too many parishes, overextended priests, continued fall of the abuse crisis (including fears of false accusation), mistrust/division within the ecclesial community (especially between priests and bishops), excessive administrative burdens, understaffed parishes, an often demanding lay culture, unclear expectations for pastoral practices, lack of guidance regarding assignments, isolated living, low morale, poor clerical culture, an environment lacking in a felt sense of safety and stability, and an aggressive hypersexualized and secularized culture.

Some of the individual or, hereafter, “priest-centric” challenges are struggles related to human wellness (mental, emotional, and physical health), poor human formation, diminished spiritual life, issues of sexuality, loneliness, secrecy, pastoral mediocrity (lack of zeal), conflict aversion, lack of a self-imposed sense of accountability (a bachelor priesthood), lack of a sense of spiritual fatherhood, and theological understandings of the priesthood which may not be aligned with perennial church teaching.

Taken together, is it any wonder Servant of God John Hardon said priests need prayers more than at any point since Calvary? These challenges illustrate that many priests live and minister in a whole new world. The only problem is that the Church hasn’t adapted to this new landscape. The time has come to do that.

But how?

It all starts with bishops. Bishops obviously have a thousand important priorities. Bishops must consider clearing those thousand priorities and placing one in the center: the presbyterate. The Decree on the Life and Ministry of Priests says, “For above all upon the bishops rests the heavy responsibility for the sanctity of their priests.”

So, it starts with bishops, just as any organizational change begins with its leaders. And this is not a pipe dream; it’s already happening. For example, Bishop Edgar da Cunha, the Bishop of the Diocese of Fall River, Massachusetts, is leading the way in this regard with his three-year diocesan plan called “A Time for Fortitude: Stronger Priests, Stronger Parishes, Stronger Church.”

Depending on the specific circumstances of individual dioceses, a plan to strengthen the priesthood and address current challenges will likely require six action steps: three diocesan-centric and three priest-centric, in line with our framework.

The first set of three action items is the bishop’s and the diocese’s commitments.

Accelerating Pastoral Planning

In many dioceses throughout the country, reducing the number of assignments is the quickest way to strengthen the priesthood.

Many of the damaging effects of this issue have been outlined, but here’s another: when overworked, people cut corners, sacrificing quality for quantity. The same applies to priests who feel the pressure to deliver “good enough” homilies and catechesis, but deep down, not having the time to do this well leads them to fear that they aren’t helping souls. That’s an incredibly frustrating and disheartening reality for many great priests.

The bottom line is that if we want to drive a priest towards a psychiatric emergency (or worse, sin), giving him too much work, placing him in a parish where his skills are wasted, and isolating him is a good way to do it. Although he may start strong, he will likely wear down and sadly begin to question why he became a priest.

We need to reduce assignments. Immediately.

Redesigning Parish Life & Ministry

How can parish ministry be designed to make parishes exciting places for priests to minister, freeing them from bureaucracy and motivating them to preach, evangelize, shepherd, offer Sacraments regularly, and visit the sick? How can parish ministry become a life-giving environment?

Currently, many parishes are not structurally set up to operate this way.

For starters, some parishes are simply beyond saving. One pastor referred to his role as “hospice care,” not for dying individuals but for a dying parish. This situation is at odds with basic masculine psychology and spirituality, which seeks to build, innovate, take risks, and lead. Without a clear purpose and an opportunity to make a real difference (i.e., without ministry engagement), priests, like all men, will likely languish.

Other priests feel parish ministry has become primarily about being a “caretaker of an institution” (a phrase used by the USCCB). For them, keeping the “customer” happy is the whole job. Priests in this category settle for an assignment without complaints to the diocese and a parish that has maintained itself as the image of a job well done. This emasculating reality should not be the image of successful parish ministry in many of our priests’ hearts and minds.

The very structures of parish life and ministry need to be redesigned via a diocesan process so that parishes and priestly activity are more fully aligned with their true identity and purpose. This includes identifying waste. Waste, that is, any parish function that doesn’t provide value to the parishioners, needs to be eliminated.

Promoting a Strong Priestly Culture

It’s no secret that a positive culture is the most important factor in any organization’s ability to achieve its goals. As Peter Drucker, one of the foremost experts in organizational growth, famously said, “Culture trumps strategy.”

Research indicates that the best organizational cultures marry high care with high accountability. The order of these two elements is essential because people need to feel loved and valued before they can withstand high accountability. At the very heart of this high care/high accountability culture is psychological safety, made most famous by Google’s “Project Aristotle.”

Do our priests feel highly cared for by leadership? Are our priests highly accountable? Do our priests feel safe enough to live their priesthood radically? Do our priests enact legitimate fraternal correction? In many cases, the answer is “no.” Fear, secrecy, and individualism dominate priestly culture.

Bishops must take the lead here, addressing the issues of poor priestly culture (including the degradation of the bishop/priest relationship). This is also where the issue of rectory living and common life needs to be addressed.

Now, let’s move to commitments that priests make.

Renewing a Healthy and Holy Priesthood

Priests must recommit to holiness, returning to their foundational vocation motivations (which are so easy to drift away from). Parish and diocesan stability depends on this holiness, which in turn depends on prayer and growth in spiritual life. A spiritual renewal centered on the Holy Spirit, Whose vitality and boldness are more crucial than ever, is urgently needed.

We also have to remember that holiness “includes” humanity. In other words, this also includes a return to the basics of healthy human living. The USCCB says, “To be a thriving priest means to be a thriving man.” Manichaeistic attitudes have caused us to skip over this reality drastically. Priests must honestly ask themselves, “Am I thriving in my humanity? Am I physically and mentally healthy? Do I have a mature emotional life? Have I worked on my insecurities and family of origin issues? Have I faced my inner fears?” Legitimate human development is essential and directly impacts a priest’s ability to minister effectively and live a holy life.

Improving Ministry Standards and Training

Priests must recommit to zeal for souls and get whatever training they need toward this goal. Priests should honestly ask themselves: Am I under-shepherding my people? Do I spend my time in a way that a Catholic father of six kids would not? If I were a Protestant minister, would I have been fired by now? If, in one’s heart of hearts, the answer is “yes,” then take action before it’s too late. Your spiritual children need you.

This action item includes another element, however. That element is new ministerial standards and training for parish staff and the laity at large. We have reached a point in parish ministry where it is not uncommon for parish staff to have developed an “us versus them” mentality, often pitting the pastor/priests against the rest of the staff. Pastors sometimes collide with this territorial lay clique running the parish, making it impossible for priests to implement their vision. Unfortunately, this issue is often overlooked due to fear of confrontation or potential lawsuits. Standards and training need to be re-emphasized, stating that while the pastor is obviously not some feudal lord, and parish employees/volunteers are critically important, the pastor is the leader of the parish. Role clarification and expectation management are crucial here.

Increase Vocations and Enhance Seminarian Formation

Fifty years ago, most dioceses had a ratio of at least 2:1 of priests to assignments. Today, that ratio is basically flipped, with almost twice as many assignments to available priests. This ratio is getting worse because presbyterates are aging.

While simultaneously working toward the structural changes to relieve this burden, we need more diocesan priests. This is a priest-centric action item because priests need to take personal responsibility for this. Most vocation stories have at least two elements in common: a young man is inspired by a happy and holy priest, and is actually asked by a priest if he’s ever considered the priesthood.

Seminarian formation must be enhanced to better prepare priests for the realities they will face in ministry. A crucial first step is establishing consistent and meaningful communication between seminaries and diocesan leadership, specifically the Clergy Offices. Currently, the busyness of daily schedules often leads to a lack of conversation between formators and dioceses about the real-life struggles priests encounter once ordained.

This disconnect has contributed to an unfortunate trend: many priests are being referred to inpatient treatment centers before the chrism has had a chance to dry. Their struggles? Twofold: human formation and being placed in a ministry not remotely similar to what eight years in a seminary are like. By fostering regular conversations and building stronger partnerships, seminaries can incorporate insights from seasoned priests and diocesan leaders into their programs, ensuring a more holistic approach to formation.

While not necessarily universally applicable to every diocese, God-willing, this six-step framework can initiate a much-needed charitable yet candid conversation.

Our Church’s success in accomplishing its mission depends largely on our priests. The bottom line is that a systemic intervention is necessary to strengthen the priesthood in the United States. Let’s not wait any longer to see what the Church in the U.S. would be like if every single parish had a priest thriving in health and holiness, not to mention the organizational support needed to do so.

St. John Vianney – pray for us.