Abstract
Burnout and engagement in general are thought to be associated mostly with work related factors and sometimes with personal factors as well. Over the past three decades a number of studies among clergy have identified various causes for priests' susceptibility to burnout and have linked various independent variables in the study of burnout among clergy. However, a study on the association between commitment to celibacy, burnout and engagement among clergy has not been attempted. Is celibacy psychologically a possible way of life? In the Catholic Church (Latin Rite), the sacrament of Holy Orders for the presbyterate is normally conferred only on candidates who are ready to freely embrace and publicly manifest their intention of staying celibate for the love of God's kingdom and the service of human beings. This study among Indian Catholic clergy contributes to the literature of burnout and engagement by studying the association of commitment towards priestly celibacy with clergy burnout and engagement - a new venture in the field of burnout and engagement. In addition, for the first time the construct of engagement has been used among clergy. Hierarchical regression analyses in the sample of 511 Catholic diocesan priests from South India confirmed that commitment to celibacy was negatively associated with burnout (that is it had a negative association with emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation and a positive association with personal accomplishment), and on the other hand, it was positively associated with engagement. © 2010 Akademiai Kiado, Budapest.
Highlights
The Catholic Church does not wish to leave any doubts in the minds of anyone regarding the Church’s firm will to maintain the law that demands perpetual and freely chosen celibacy for present and future candidates for priestly ordination in the Latin Rite (JOHN PAUL II 1992)
The obligation of celibacy has been perceived by the church for several centuries as one of the main conditions for priestly ordination and its value and importance have been articulated in the teachings of the Magisterium down to our times (Presbyterorum ordinis 1965, 16; Sacerdotalis caelibatus 1967, 14; The Code of Canon Law 1983, 277 §1; JOHN PAUL II 1992, 29; The Catechism of the Catholic Church 2002, 1599)
Factor analysis for the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) scale revealed that emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation scales were merged as one factor and personal accomplishment as another factor, and all items had a minimal factor loading of 0.56
Summary
The Catholic Church does not wish to leave any doubts in the minds of anyone regarding the Church’s firm will to maintain the law that demands perpetual and freely chosen celibacy for present and future candidates for priestly ordination in the Latin Rite (JOHN PAUL II 1992). The obligation of celibacy has been perceived by the church for several centuries as one of the main conditions for priestly ordination and its value and importance have been articulated in the teachings of the Magisterium down to our times (Presbyterorum ordinis 1965, 16; Sacerdotalis caelibatus 1967, 14; The Code of Canon Law 1983, 277 §1; JOHN PAUL II 1992, 29; The Catechism of the Catholic Church 2002, 1599). It is not surprising to find that there are no empirical studies done among clergy to find the association of commitment to celibacy to burnout or engagement. Our study attempts to verify whether commitment to celibacy can be a resource that would enhance engagement or, on the other hand, a non-committed attitude towards celibacy could be associated with burnout
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