Customer Reviews

The Changing Face of the Priesthood: A Reflection on the Priest's Crisis of Soul

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Father Cozzens is highly qualified to write this book. He has a doctorate in psychology and decades of experience as a priest, vicar of clergy, and seminary rector. What he has given us is a courageous and unblinking analysis of the crises of the American priesthood. The tone is consistently respectful and by no means is this to be understood as an attack on the Church. He never engages in hopelessness and hand-wringing or in bitter critique of the hierarchy. Each presentation of the problems facing the priesthood (the identify confusion, psychological/developmental problems, sexual misconduct) is accompanied by hopeful commentary on how to address these problems. Every priest, every bishop, and every serious Catholic should read this fine book.

Father Donald Cozzens' book is an extremely honest and intellectual insight into today's priesthood. He shows much courage in opening doors that many are afriad of even in this day and age. It encourages all to be openminded and reflective and to not be afraid of honest discussions. This book should be read by all Catholics for it not only shows us the realities of our Church but also mirrors a wonderful way to view ourselves as laity and married persons.

There are many problems facing the Catholic priesthood today - one could speak of a crisis. Silence and denial are the usual clerical responses to the issues. Donald Cozzens has taken the road of speaking out honestly. That will be resented by many and seen as betrayal by some. But Cozzens clearly loves the priesthood and the priests who at great cost to themselves have done and will continue to do enormous good. As a former diocesan and seminary administrator, a counselor, priest, and teacher of pastoral theology and psychology, one who has been reflecting for the last twenty years on the challenges facing the modern priest, he deserves to be heard. The real hope for the future rests on facing the challenges and issues squarely, and on taking an unblinking look at what threatens the integrity and mission of priests today. His topics include priestly identity, integrity, celibacy and intimacy, psychological complexes, maturity, preaching, homosexuality, pedophilia, and a hopeful look toward the future. The press has focused on the sexual issues, but the need for personal integrity is perhaps more basic. It was undoubtedly a painful book to write and can be painful book to read, but ultimately its honesty about the issues and its affirmation of the priesthood give hope. His adapting of Freud's Oedipal Complex to analyze priestly psychology may be his most original contribution but the one to which particular objection will probably be made. This is a well written and important book for anyone concerned with the future of the Catholic clergy.

How unfortunate it is that the institutional Church insists on placing new wine (the aggiornamento of Vatican II) into old wineskins (structures of power and control). The skins will burst and everything --wine and skins-- will be lost. Father Cozzens' book identifies the "old wineskins" of today's institutional Church and points to where the seams are starting to come apart: formation of priests, the exercise of authority and the crisis of credibility. The many priests (and others) who can attest to this book's veracity and insights make this book a work which must be taken very seriously, discussed and responded to in concrete ways.

As a member of the laity, I highly recommend this book to clergy and laity alike.

We've all seen the priest shortage, aging priests, etc. statistics. But what we haven't seen is how these (and other) issues are emotionally, psychically, and spiritually already impacting the clergy -- and how these issues will impact the clergy of tomorrow. And that is exactly what Fr. Cozzens does in this thoughtful and thought-provoking book.

And he hasn't limited his analysis to a religious setting; he places all of this in the context of a modern American society. Which we must do, since the diocesean priest is exactly that: thrust in the middle of our everchanging, often chaotic, secular society.

But I think the real surprise of this book was that in Fr. Cozzens' analysis of the priestly search for identity, struggles with spirituality and faith had such resonance with me, personally. I expected to be enlightened about the priesthood. What I didn't expect was to be enlightened about myself. Which indeed I was.

Father Cozzens, as Priest, Vicar (counsellor) to priests, and Seminary Rector has an excellent vantage point from which to view the priesthood, its history, its strengths and its challenges. Rather than opt for "company man" status, Father Cozzens has taken the road less travelled, and provides a courageous look at the challenges facing the modern priest. In so doing he no doubt will cause a good deal of discomfort among those who prefer not to see reality. His purpose is to improve the everyday life of the Catholic Priest and in so doing to improve the Catholic Church. He comes at the subject out of love, and as one who speaks from within. A very powerful book.

In Changing Face of the Priesthood,Father Cozzens has does the church and thoughful readers an immense service. In many ways he is the spiritually healthy priest he depicts in his book. He is his own man and a man of the church. Sadly, with this warts-and-all assessment, he has kissed good-bye any chance of ecclesiastical advancement. A pity. More than anything the American Roman Catholic Church needs intelligent, candid leadership, which rooted in study and prayer, is willinmg to address the troubling truth. "The Changing Face of the Priesthood" does just that.

I have enjoyed reading "The Changing Face of the Priesthood," and I recommend it to everyone who wants to take a deeper look into what takes place in today's world. In this ground breaking book, Father Donald Cozzens shares his insight in a most honest way. He goes on to quote other opinions about what is taking place today, making this book very powerful. You may disagree with some of the views and practices that are revealed in this book, but you should still enjoy and learn from these words. As we all know, we are faced with many problems and challenges daily. The technological changes that are taking place are making the world more "modern." the question is, is religion as we know it going to change drastically to the point where our grandchildren will participate in religious ceramonies via webcasts, or is it that tradition will be stronger than technology, and some things will never change? I think it will be a combination of both.

When I heard Donald Cozzens speak about a year ago, he started off his talk by saying something to the effect of "Some of you may have heard I wrote a book and you know about chapter 7. There are other chapters as well." Chapter 7 deals with sexual orientation and the priesthood and at the time, it got quite a bit of press coverage. The heart of the book went largely ignored. Interestingly he even included a chapter on clergy sexual abuse, why it needs to be addressed and how it can be remedied, but the interest in this chapter was scant as compared with the chapter on sexual orientation. Many of the issues covered were hardly as sensational. Other reformers had called for optional celibacy. Others studies noted the discontent in priesthood or the identity crisis facing many in the priesthood. Still, many who read this work believed it could not be ignored. Fr. Cozzens was after all, a former seminary rector, charged with the responsibility of training priests. He should know, shouldn't he? Shouldn't his words be acknowledged as accurate? Interestingly, in January 2002, when the clergy sexual abuse crisis hit the front pages of newspapers, and rumors people believed to be malicious turned all too often turned out to be true, many realized that Fr. Cozzens book was not a critical look at ministerial priesthood, but rather prophetic.

Cozzens book is important to the debate on how the priesthood needs to be reformed. His words are impassioned, but not biased. He clearly loves his priesthood, but knows that the ministry of a priest is far more important than clinging to models which may be impractical and ideals which may be impossible to attain. His book is not one that offers simple solutions, but rather challenges a person to examine the priesthood and the Church itself with the goal of saving, and not destroying and institution through which many find Christ.

During a four week stay in Canada, I read this great book in two nights. I bought immediatly a second exemplar for my bishop in Switzerland. I would appriciate a German translation of this important topic.