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View from the Altar: Reflections on the Rapidly Changing Catholic Priesthood

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VIEW FROM THE ALTAR is one of the many books on renewal and reform of the Roman Catholic priesthood that has emerged since 2002. While offering something distinctive is difficult, Howard Bleichner does offer a fresh and interesting perspective.

Fr. Bleichner is the former rector of the theological college at Catholic University. Since most of his ministry has been spent in the formation of priests, he offers valuable insight into both what ails the priesthood today as well as what is worthwhile. The book is divided into three sections. The first assesses priesthood today, beginning with the present scandal and continuing by comparing and contrasting candidates for priesthood in the past and the future. The second section focuses on what are sometimes called the evangelical councils: prayer, simplicity of life, celibacy, and authority and obedience. In the third section Bleichner focuses on his belief of the theology of the priesthood.

Perhaps what makes Fr. Bleichner's work thought provoking is his vision of the Church. He does believe that the Church needs renewal, and he believes that when the scandals recede bishops have to call for a council regarding the future of the Church, but everyone needs to be at the table. He loves many of the traditions of priesthood, but warns about returning to an outmoded type of living the priesthood. He also calls priests in ministry today to review what it means to be a priest and to rise to the challenges these times present.

In Bleichner's book we find a priest who love ministry and the Church, sees the need for change, and has the ability to articulate his vision in this book. Hopefully all who read it will take his challenges seriously and rise to the call of a being a priest in challenging times.

This book excellently describes the twists and turns that the formation of Catholic priests has taken over the last century. Fr. Bleichner examines how the American seminary system functioned before the Vatican II Council. He notes its strengths and its weaknesses by not portraying it as a perfect place of mature formation, but also not making it out to seem oppresive either. Next, he shows how the reforms of Vatican II caught the seminaries off guard. In that time, many rules were changed or eliminated without knowing what the consequences would be. Ultimately, the effect on priestly formation was harmful by not helping seminarians to fully understand the nature of priesthood. Finally, he brings up contemporary theology of the priesthood and talks about how Vatican II restored the Church's pre-Trent understanding of priesthood. Fr. Bleichner commends the priesthood to renewal of the three evangelical counsels: simplicity of life, chastity and obedience, as a sort of counter balance to all the negative press and scandal in recent years.

Fr. Bleichner highlights the troubles and tribulations that have plagued the American seminary system for most of the twentieth century, while at the same time reviving what priesthood itself means in the context of the twenty-first century. The book is very helpful for anyone in priestly formation or discerning their vocation to the priesthood. I'd also recommend the book to any Catholic interested in knowing more about the seminary in general. The book contains many interesting stories in addition to its fascinating report on where the seminary system has been, is now and is headed.

Howard Bleichner is "a priest, rector, and longtime leader in American priestly formation."

He states in the Introduction to this 2004 book, "This book on priestly formation and priestly spirituality was begun a year after the tragedy of September 11, 2001, and nine months after the sex abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic Church began to unfold... The challenge facing an essay on priestly spirituality at this time is to stay on focus... Ultimately this essay is not about priestly misconduct but about priestly spirituality in an ancient and honored vocation that finds itself at a critical moment... 'View from the Altar' is for seminarians, priests, bishops, but also for a wider audience of Catholics now more interested in how priests are formed."

Here are some representative quotations from the book:

"In the '50s, the number of communicants in a packed church amounted to only a few rows at the communion rail. Older and younger people predominated. Two or at most three priests could distribute communion at even the most crowded masses. Many Catholics attended mass regularly but never went to communion. One learned not to ask why." (Pg. 21-22)
"What people confessed was varied yet stylized. But the heart of the matter---what Catholics commonly confessed as mortal sin---usually involved only a few actions: missing mass on Sunday, eating meat on Friday, and almost everything regarding sex. These were the anchors of the sacrament of Penance in Catholic consciousness." (Pg. 28)
"(T)he New York Times assembled a study ... (which) counted 1,205 documented cases of sexual abuse involving 1.8 percent of priests ordained in that time frame. In capsule form: 'Most of the abuse occurred in the 1970s and 1980s, the survey found. The number of priests accused of abuse declines sharply by the 1990s.'" (Pg. 43)
"(A 2004 report) sets the percentage of priests accused of sexual abuse at 4 percent over fifty-two years... Since these crimes are often under-reported, the final number could rise. Second, the study confirms what should now be seen as a given. The crisis of priestly sexual abuse reached epidemic proportions in the 1970s. The word 'epidemic' is used advisedly... 81 percent of the victims were male. Just as it is perilous to merge priestly sexual abuse with the larger topic of homosexuality in the clergy, it is equally impossible to separate the two." (Pg. 44)
"The liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council in the second generation of their reception have produced a hunger for popular devotions that the liturgical renewal at first disparaged ... Among seminarians, such devotional concerns are sometimes coupled with an interest in the accouterments of preciliar priesthood, e.g., amices, palls, cassocks, and birettas. Such interests are perplexing, if not downright offputting, to older priests who were happy to shed such items a genration ago." (Pg. 55)
"(W)hen the mass was in English, Father Richard Finster still felt uncomfortable. He felt that people were staring at him when he said mass... He felt that people wanted something from him. He wasn't sure what it was or how to give it." (Pg. 187)

Catholic priesthood faces numerous challenges today. The scandals among priests and the decreasing number of men opting for this way of life have raised concerns in the minds of many well-meaning Catholics. At this juncture what does it mean to be a priest? The basic and essential elements of priestly life need to be rediscovered in the newer lights, for the sake of seminarians looking up to this way of life, priests and bishops. That is the scope of the book of Howard Bleichner.

The author Fr Howard has lived his priesthood for nearly forty years and contributed considerably to the formation of priests as the rector of St Patrick's Seminary, San Francisco and rector of the Theological College of the Catholic University of America. His contributions to the priestly formation in America are valuable and therefore his insights in this book are stimulating. His reflections on the rapidly changing Catholic priesthood provide a true handbook for the spirituality and ministry of the contemporary Catholic Priest. Written with great clarity and precision, the book also demonstrates a great sensitivity to the pastoral and spiritual struggles of contemporary priests. It is a must-read for priests and seminarians; it would provide the lay Catholic with a clearer view of Catholic priesthood from the pew.