Perth Archbishop Barry Hickey has dismissed a survey of Australian Catholic priests, which reveals many are deeply unhappy with the Church, suggesting they need to "get over it" and accept the Church as it is.
The survey of 542 priests from across Australia by NSW academics Chris McGillion and John O'Carroll found many priests felt bishops were inadequate managers and they held serious concerns for the Church's future.
The survey, plus in-depth interviews with 50 Australian priests, has been compiled into a book, Our Fathers, which claims the priesthood is a "world rich in commitment but also in complaint, disillusionment and dissent".
Our Fathers reveals a deep distrust of Australian priests towards the Vatican, with 65 per cent of those surveyed saying they do not believe Rome understands the challenges they face.
One WA priest said he had "no time" for the Catholic Church except as a means to an end.
Archbishop Hickey said he had not come across the attitudes reflected in the survey in his diocese, but he was aware many priests throughout Australia felt "unhappy and disaffected".
Archbishop Hickey is very likely not the first person to pop into the mind of an unhappy priest as a confidant, but, even so, if he didn't know about the attitudes, then he was quite seriously out of touch. He wasn't really though, becuase he knew that priests were "unhappy and disaffected". Did he ever wonder what made them unhappy? Of course, and he has the answer. The problem was their unrealistic expectations. The problem cannot ever be with the church, therefore it's the fault of the unhappy priests.
More than 70 per cent of priests surveyed thought clerical celibacy should be optional and several revealed they were in long-term relationships with women.
And nothing at all about the reality of priests who may be relationships with men.
Emphases mine.
Thanks to Ann V. for the link.
