Product Description

Few today would contest that the priesthood is in a state of crisis. The nature and implications of that crisis, however, remain the subject of considerable discussion and debate. In The Changing Face of the Priesthood, Donald Cozzens offers insight into the crisis by reflecting on the issues, challenges, concerns, and realities of the priesthood today.

The same year that Pope John XXIII surprised the Catholic world with his call for an ecumenical council, Cozzens began his formal study of theology. As a seminarian he felt the shaking of the priesthood's foundations. The very face of the priesthood was evolving even as he arrived at his first parish assignment. A generation later, the face of the priesthood continues to reveal new contours, fascinating features and, sadly, some tragic blemishes.

In The Changing Face of the Priesthood, Cozzens takes a long, honest look at the present state of the priesthood. He provides this examination not merely from an empirical, scientific perspective but also from a personal, pastoral perspective. Drawing on clinical data, Church documents, and his nearly forty years of pastoral experience, Cozzens gives shape and form to the changing face of the priesthood. Through his reflections he leads readers to both concern and hope for the priesthood of the twenty-first century.

Chapters are "Discovering an Identity," "Guarding One's Integrity," "Loving as a Celibate," "Facing the Unconscious," "Becoming a Man," "Tending the Word," "Considering Orientation," "Betraying Our Young," and "The Changing Face of the Priesthood."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #527239 in Books
• Published on: 2000-07
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .62 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 148 pages

From Amazon.com
The Changing Face of the Priesthood is a remarkable survey of the state of American Catholic clergy today. Donald Cozzens, the president-rector of Saint Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology in Cleveland, combines personal reflection and analysis of empirical data in this brief but wide-ranging book. To explain the shrinking of clerical ranks that has occurred in recent decades, Cozzens tells a familiar story: "As the vision of the [Second Vatican Council] became ever clearer, the cultic, pre-conciliar model of priesthood entered into a creative balance with the servant-leader model. The clear identity, the unquestioned status, the exalted privilege--features that helped priests deal with the sacrifices and crosses inherent to their vocation--began to blur." With astonishing candor, Cozzens also zeroes in on some of the more provocative issues among clergy; his discussions of celibacy, homosexuality, and sexual abuse of children are particularly insightful. Each of these discussions is driven by the author's fascination with the way that priests since Vatican II have "haltingly acknowledged a need, linked to the very soul of their spirituality, for authentic, human intimacy." This is a smart and loving way of understanding some of the biggest problems of the priesthood. And readers who learn to emulate this book's clear-eyed compassion will gain great advantage in that never-ending process of helping to heal the church. --Michael Joseph Gross

Rev. Eugene F. Hemrick, Syndicated Columnist Catholic News Service Research Associate, The Catholic University of America Research Director, The Washington Theological Union
"Drawing from years of experience and study, Fr. Don Cozzens artistically paints the very soul of the priesthood. The result is a masterpiece which captures its triumphs and tribulations, hopes and doubts, loves and disillusions, and the mysterious powers that sustain it. The Changing Face of the Priesthood could not be more timely as we enter the new millennium in hopes of a renewed priesthood."

Paul Wilkes, Author of The Good Enough Catholic: A Guide for the Perplexed and In Mysterious Ways: The Death and Life of a Parish Priest
"This is the most honest assessment of the American priesthood I have read in years. I found myself continuously underlining passages, and putting 'yes!' in the margins."