Number Of Priests Research Articles

Souls and Bodies by David Lodge

Reviewed by: Souls and Bodies by David Lodge Leslie Woodcock Tentler Souls and Bodies, by David Lodge (New York: Penguin Books USA, 1990), 256 pp. I concede at the outset that mine is an eccentric choice. Souls and Bodies—first published in Great Britain in 1980 as How Far Can You Go?—did not sell widely in the United States, where Lodge is best known for Small World and Changing Places, novels best described as acute comedic takes on academic life. Can an alleged "classic" be "forgotten" if it was not really known in the first place? Then too, Souls and Bodies is set in England, with British protagonists. What possible relevance, it is reasonable to ask, can it have for historians of American Catholicism? I do regard Souls and Bodies as meriting "classic" status, for reasons I discuss below, and will happily label it "neglected" rather than "forgotten"—a distinction that for all practical purposes is largely semantic. The novel's English setting, however, does raise certain difficulties in terms of its immediate utility for the teaching or writing of American Catholic history. The English Catholic experience, after all, has differed in significant ways from that of Catholics in the United States. The relative size of the two populations provides a point of departure. During the years covered by Lodge's novel (1952–1975), the Catholic population of England and Wales grew from roughly 7 percent of the total to just over 8 percent. In the United States in these same years, Catholic numbers swelled to 25 percent of the total population, still an all-time high. Anti-Catholicism was integral to the history and culture of both nations—American anti-Catholicism, indeed, is largely an English import—but it took a far more virulent form in the British Isles and limited Catholic civic freedom for significantly longer. Presumably as a result, English Catholicism was far less assertive both culturally and politically than Catholicism in the United States, even in the decades after 1945. No cardinal-archbishop of Westminster would ever have publicly condemned the political views of a former [End Page 56] Prime Minister's wife as New York's Cardinal Francis Spellman famously did in 1949 with reference to Eleanor Roosevelt and her opposition to public funding for Catholic schools. Not surprisingly, then, the turbulent years that came in the wake of the Second Vatican Council were a good deal quieter in England than in the United States. Perhaps for this reason, the number of priests in the English church did not begin to decline until 1971, five years later than in the United States. Like its American counterpart, the English church grew in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries primarily because of immigration. But while the United States received Catholic immigrants from a wide variety of locales, English Catholic immigration came almost exclusively from Ireland. (During the period of Great Britain's membership in the European Union, a significant stream of Catholics from Eastern Europe provided new and not always welcome diversity.) The English church, in consequence, has had a less fractious internal history in the past two centuries than its American counterpart. At the same time, it was arguably deprived to a significant degree of the institution-building and political energies that ethnic assertiveness often afforded. But the heavy Irish presence in English Catholicism also meant—and here we have a critical point of similarity with Catholicism in the United States—that the English church was heavily influenced by what one of Lodge's characters calls "the Irish Jansenist tradition"—the world- and flesh-denying obsessions so central to Irish Catholicism since the Famine of the 1840s. So too in the United States, where the Catholic clergy and the episcopate have historically been dominated by men of Irish descent. It is precisely this point of similarity—the "Irish Jansenist tradition"—that makes Souls and Bodies so fruitful a source for historians of American Catholicism, especially when it comes to teaching. (This is a book, I can assure you, that students will actually read.) Lodge is a wonderfully economical writer, with a keen eye for the telling detail. He evokes the collective consciousness of preconciliar Catholicism—"that...

Headteachers in Catholic schools in England: contemporary challenges. A follow-up research study: part 2

This paper is a follow up to a previous article published online in this journal (Fincham; 2019) in which the writer describes the first phase of research into contemporary challenges facing headteachers in Catholic schools in England as expressed from the perspective of headteachers within one diocese. It was evident from the first phase that leaders in Catholic schools are subject not only to pragmatic concerns about funding and recruitment but also to both implied and overt challenges to Catholic identity and integrity, which are tested by pressures of social media, which have an impact upon the mental and emotional health of young people, and a pervasive secular mind-set, which impinges on faith practice in families and in the community. It was noted that the reduction in the number of priests in Catholic dioceses in England has also often left the school as the single focus of the Catholic community, which has implications for sustaining spiritual capital. The first phase of the investigation examined responses to an open question in which headteachers at a Catholic diocesan conference were invited to indicate their three most pressing challenges. The responses were subject to a process of Thematic Analysis (TA), as a result of which five pre-eminent issues were identified. The opportunity was also taken to investigate the extent to which spiritual capital was being renewed in Catholic schools. These ‘categories of discourse’ informed the face-to-face interviews that were conducted with five primary headteachers and four secondary headteachers in the second phase of the investigation. The data gathered enabled the researcher to ascribe meaning to headteachers’ unique experiences.

Relations between Orthodox Christians in Ukraine in the Context of the War

Relations between Orthodox Christians in Ukraine in the Context of the War Andriy Dudchenko (bio) This article is about the Orthodox jurisdictions in Ukraine in the context of the war begun by the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Orthodoxy in Ukraine is represented now by two main jurisdictions: the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). First some statistics OCU is an autocephalous Church, created at the Unification Council in St. Sophia Cathedral of Kyiv on December 15, 2018. On January 6, 2019, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew granted this Church the Tomos of autocephaly. In OCU there are now 60 bishops, about 7,700 parishes and 4,900 priests, and about 80 monasteries. Before the war, 24.1% of Ukrainians considered themselves members of the OCU, which amounts to 39.8% of Orthodox Ukrainians.1 UOC is a self-governing Church under the Moscow Patriarchate. UOC has 104 bishops, about 12,000 parishes and about the same number of priests, and over 250 monasteries (these figures include the territories of Ukraine occupied by Russia before the current war). Before the war, 13.3% of Ukrainians identified themselves as members of the UOC, or 21.9% of Orthodox Ukrainians. To complete the picture, it should be added that 21.9% of respondents, or 36.2% of Orthodox, called themselves "just Orthodox" not identifying with either jurisdiction. As you can see, the number of parishes [End Page 189] and monasteries was much larger in the UOC, but OCU had far more worshippers. On the other hand, according to the data from the same research, UOC had twice as many permanent parishioners as OCU, that is, those who participate in liturgy at least once a week. The Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, has made a huge difference. According to an Omnibus Info Sapiens poll,2 73% of believers in the UOC, Moscow Patriarchate, have ceased to identify themselves with this church. As early as March, the number of supporters of the UOC-MP for the first time fell to a record low of 4%. At the same time, the percentage of OCU supporters increased to 52%. The survey was conducted even before the data on the atrocities of the Russian invaders near Kyiv were published. On May 27, 2022, at a council in Feofaniya, the UOC announced that it is breaking all ties with Moscow Patriarchate, but did not proclaim autocephaly. The canonical status of this Church today needs to be clarified, as I will discuss later on. In addition to the two main jurisdictions, the Kyiv Patriarchate again exists in Ukraine. This jurisdiction was self-dissolved on the day of the Unification Council in 2018 and fully joined the OCU. However, in the summer of 2019, Bishop Filaret Denisenko convened a Local Council, at which he announced the revival of the Kyiv Patriarchate with himself as patriarch, and he began to consecrate new bishops. The OCU, which considers Filaret a bishop with the title of "Honorary Patriarch," called the new consecrations of bishops in the Kyiv Patriarchate non-canonical and stated that they would not be recognized by the OCU. Today there are 14 bishops in the Kyiv Patriarchate, but only a few parishes within the borders of Ukraine.3 A little background Many believers in Ukraine remember the times when there was only one Orthodox Church in the Soviet Union—the Russian Church, also known as the Moscow Patriarchate. In 1989, the revival of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church or UAOC was proclaimed in Lviv. By the beginning of 1990, about 200 parishes had moved to the UAOC, mainly in western Ukraine. The head of the Ukrainian Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church at the time was then-Metropolitan Filaret. He sharply criticized the new autocephalous church, which he [End Page 190] interpreted as a schism. In October of the same year the Ukrainian Exarchate of Moscow Patriarchate was transformed into the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.4 Metropolitan Filaret received the title of His Beatitude. In the Blessed Charter issued by Patriarch Alexiy of Moscow, the UOC was called "independent and self-governed in its administration," united with the universal Church through the...

Ikonografia witraży Wiktora Ostrzołka w gdańskim kościele Mariackim (1977–1980)

In 1966, a commemorative decoration appeared inside St Mary’s Church in Gdansk: its main component was the painting showing Poland’s Baptism placed in the chancel. Meanwhile, a pillar by the Priests’ Chapel was decorated with a standard bearing striped concentration camp uniform cloth with numbers of priests -prisoners in Nazi camps. This referred directly to the décor of the Priests’ Chapel created not long before, and in which Polish priests murdered during WW II had been commemorated in 1965. Thus the millennial decoration of the chancel clearly associated the history of the Polish state with the history of Christianity in Poland, while the decoration of the Priests’ Chapel emphasized the martyrology of Polish priests. Both motifs were clearly continued in two large –size stained glass windows installed in the church in the late 1970s: one of them fills in the window in the Priests’ Chapel, while the other is to be found in the window closing the church’s chancel. Both were designed by Wiktor Ostrzołek, a leading stained glass designer in post -WW II Poland.
 The iconographic programme of the first refers to the martyrology of priests, yet it does not limit itself to priests -martyrs in recent history, but shows those connected with it from the very beginning: St Adalbert, Five Martyr Brothers, St Stanislaus, St John Sarkander, St Andrew Bobola and Maximilian Kolbe. Respective figures are interconnected with the use of a clear red line serving as a metaphor of the martyrs’ blood. Its continuity connecting St Adalbert with St Maximilian, thus the beginnings of the Polish state with the present, at the same time shows the continuity of the presence of the Catholic Church in Polish history.
 This continuity is even more unequivocally expressed by the iconographic programme of the chancel stained glass. Here it is the figure of Mary that stands out; she enshrouds the presentations referring to the Church’s mission, and in particular to the Church’s mission in Poland, in her protective mantle. A deep interconnection between the history of Poland and the Roman Catholic Church was presented in the three acts of entrusting Poland to God and Mary: the Baptism of Poland in 966, the Lvov Oath of John Casimir in 1656, and the Jasna Góra Pledge connected directly with the 1966 millennial celebrations.

Urban realm and temple construction of the russian orthodox church on the cusp of 19th and 20th centuries (based on photographic documents of kostanay city)

The article is devoted to considering church construction on the territory of Kostanay city, which broadly speaking includes building of churches, church government, and administrative organization. The investigations have led to a conclusion that the main factors contributing to soaring church construction in rapidly growing Kostanay city on the cusp of 19th and 20th centuries were active migration processes resulting in movement of significant number of orthodox people from European part of Russia, as well as development of missionary activities among native population. On the basis of photographic documents, the authors have characterized orthodox temple architecture, as well as subdivided churches according to institutional principle, composition and spatial dynamics, and style of space-planning decisions. It was found that a greater number of churches in Kostanay were the parish ones, prayer halls of temples had a single or five-domed top, the following architectural styles were distinguished in the temple construction: eclecticism, elements and techniques of provincial Baroque and classicism, national Russian style combined with the techniques of the brick style. Within church construction, the government was tasked with designing living environment in general, rather than religious buildings. The urban realm balanced all aspects of confessional life, included its physical, functional_ pragmatic, social, as well as emotional and artistic parameters. After Orthodox temples were built and given certain functions, there were changes in the social structure of the society, the parish was growing, the number of priests was increasing, which led to changes in the urban realm. The environment is connected with the main elements of the urban system, having stability and variability, respectively, which resulted in a set of individual and collective creative acts. The Russian Orthodox Church had a great influence on education and the moral state of urban dwellers. A network of parochial schools was formed at each church and each temple. Such schools pursued not only educational, but also missionary goals.

Государственное регулирование деятельности религиозных общин в Западной Сибири в контексте конфессиональной политики России в 1992-2000 гг.

The article is devoted to the study of state regulation of the activities of religious communities in Western Siberia in the context of the state-confessional policy of Russia in 1992-2000. During the period under study, there are changes in the state regulation of confessional policy, as well as in the legislative framework regulating the activities of religious communities. The interaction of state bodies and religious communities led to the creation of divisions in many subjects of the Russian Federation to organize work with religious associations in various organizational and legal forms. In the Novosibirsk Region, the interaction with confessions was carried out by the Committee for Relations with Religious, National and Charitable Organizations of the administration of the Novosibirsk Region. In the Altai Republic, the supervision of state and confessional policy was the responsibility of the Department for Information and National Policy, public Relations, which operated in the structure of the Ministry of Culture of the Altai Republic. In the course of the study, based on the analysis of archival documents, it was found that at the end of the XX century. In Western Siberia, there was a «revival» of religious life, an increase in the number of religious communities, the number of priests and believers. In addition, Protestant religious organizations conducted active missionary activities during the study period. Until the mid-1990s, extensive evangelization campaigns took place in Russia. The activity of spreading the faith was characteristic of many regions of Russia, including Western Siberia. Along with this tendency to activate certain religious communities, near-religious mystical associations have also launched their activities.

Aktywność polityczno-społeczna „księży patriotów” diecezji częstochowskiej (1949–1955)

The article presents the participation of the Częstochowa clergy in the so-called patriot priests movement. It gives the number of priests belonging to the District Commission of Priests in Katowice, the District Commission of Priests in Łódź, the Commission of Catholic Intellectuals and Activists, the Commission of Catholic Clergy and Lay Activists, it brings closer the motives of their involvement, the functions they performed in central and regional structures, it characterizes the forms of political and social activity. The 'patriotic priests' from Czestochowa actively participated in all propaganda actions concerning, among others, the so-called 'struggle for peace'. They also condemned, according to official rhetoric, the activities of the Church Caritas and sat on the new provincial boards established by the communists. They joined the fight to establish permanent church administration in the so-called Recovered Territories. They condemned the priests accused in the trial of the Krakow curia and spoke positively about the decree of the State Council of 9 February 1953 concerning the filling of church posts. They supported, and often themselves actively participated in social actions, e. g. sowing, harvesting, threshing, anti-potato beetle actions. The catechists instilled in the youth a respect for the state authorities, a love of work and the need to make an effort to implement the 6-year plan. An important aspect of their activity was writing and participation in the work of national councils at the provincial and district level.

THE ESTABLISHMENT AND ACTIVITIES OF THE PASTORS’ SCHOOL IN THE VILLAGE OF BUSHTYNO IN SUBCARPATHIAN RUS IN 1923 – 1924

This article deals with the issue of establishing the school of pastors and its activities in the village of Bushtyno of Tiachiv district. Particular attention has been paid to the local and central authorities’ policies regarding the functioning of the school. It is argued that the officials needed school’s activities to support Archbishop Savvaty (Vrabets), who intended to found a separate church organization in the Czechoslovak Republic. Different sources have shown quantitative indicators of financial support from the authorities; it has also been clarified what amount of money the teaching staff received. The author characterizes the content of the educational disciplines in general, paying attention to the fact that certain courses feature an insufficient level of detail. The article reveals the main stages of the students’ educating process and how long the first enrollment and the second enrollment periods lasted, and delineates the periodization of the school’s activities. Considerable attention is paid to the students’ daily life. The biography of Archpriest Ivan Chernavin, the school’s head, has been investigated. There have been described his activities before arriving in Subcarpathian Rus and after emigrating to France and the USA. The author puts stress on the priest’s significant organizational experience. Based on the archival documents it has been proved that the school administration resorted to the financial malpractice, which consisted in assisting the students with an early initiation into priesthood. The police’s investigations and allegations led to the rapid emigration of Archpriest I. Chernavin. The article puts forth the thesis that a significant part of the students was ordained without being properly trained at the beginning or in the middle of the academic semester. The author concludes that an increase in the number of priests, whose educational level is low, has led to the deteriorating situation of the Orthodox Church. Their activities led to an escalation of the confrontation between the two existing jurisdictions of Serbia and Constantinople, provoking a new round of conflicts with the Greek Catholic clergy and the believers. The author emphasizes that the source base is insufficient which was caused by the loss of the pastors’ school’s internal documentation.

The Execution of ‘Rebel’ Priests in the Western Rising of 1549

This article explores the killing of priests by supporters of Edward VI's Protestant regime during the Western Rebellion of 1549. It begins by considering what previous historians have had to say on the subject – and by noting that they have differed quite sharply about the number of priests who died. The article then moves on to re-consider the primary evidence in depth, in order to establish what a minimum figure for clerical fatalities might reasonably be said to be – and concludes that that figure may well have been a good deal higher than has been appreciated hitherto.

Headteachers in Catholic schools in England: contemporary challenges. A follow-up research study: part 1

Headteachers of Catholic schools in England in the early twenty-first century are facing unprecedented challenges in exercising their role. In addition to concerns about funding and recruitment, leaders in Catholic schools are subject to challenges about Catholic identity and integrity, which are tested by pressures such as social media that have an impact not only upon the mental and emotional health of young people but on faith practice in families and in the community. Traditionally, the Catholic school community comprised a balance across the home, the parish and the school. However, pressures on home life and the reduction in the number of priests have often left the school as the single focus of the Catholic community. Catholic education, moreover, has been open to challenges from what Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor called ‘aggressive secularism’, which questions the very existence of Catholic schools. In this paper, the writer explores contemporary challenges for headteachers in Catholic schools as expressed from the perspective of headteachers in one diocese in England. The research was conducted in two phases. In the first phase of the investigation, an open question was distributed at a diocesan conference of Catholic headteachers and deputy headteachers, inviting participants to indicate their three most pressing challenges. A phenomenological approach was adopted, and, through a process of Thematic Analysis (TA), five pre-eminent issues were identified.

Der Deutsche Orden und seine pastorale Tätigkeit in der Ballei Österreich bis zur Krise im 16. Jahrhundert

The Teutonic Order and Its Pastoral Work in the Bailiwick of Austria up to the Crisis in the 16th Century The Teutonic Order began to acquire land tenure in the Eastern Alps soon after its formation. After the Order’s structure had been established the Order also acquired rights of patronage over individual parishes in the 13th century. Up to the end of the Middle Ages the Order exercised the rights of patronage over seven parishes in the Bailiwick of Austria. Initially, however, pastoral work was not the Order’s main pursuit within the bailiwick; parishes served predominantly as the Order’s additional source of income. In the case of Velika Nedelja (Grossonntag) and Bela Krajina (White Carniola) the Teutonic Order had also a political function. The Order was tasked with the political, economic, and ecclesiastical integration of an area that did not become an integral part of the Holy Roman Empire before the 12th and early 13th century. From the 14th century onwards the Order intensified its pastoral activities, which coincides with the increase in the number of priests among its members.

Причини конфліктів між парафіяльними ієреями Пирятинської протопопії другої половини XVIII століття

У статті проаналізовані конфлікти між парафіяльними священиками Пирятинської протопопії другої половини XVIII ст. З’ясовано статистику конфліктів і кількість ієреїв втягнутих у них. Проаналізовано суть конфліктів. Встановлені головні причини протистоянь. Розглянуто зміст основних конфліктних ситуацій.

New Monasticism: An Answer to the Contemporary Challenges of Catholic Monasticism?

New Monasticism has been interpreted by its protagonists as an answer to the challenges of the future of Christian monasticism. New Monastic Communities can be defined as groups of people (at least some of whom have taken religious vows) living together permanently and possessing two main characteristics: (1) born in the wake of Vatican Council II, they are renewing monastic life by emphasising the most innovative and disruptive aspects they can find in the Council’s theology; and (2) they do not belong to pre-existing orders or congregations—although they freely adapt their Rules of Life. New Monastic Communities developed and multiplied in the decades during which, in Western European countries and North America, there was a significant drop in the number of priests, brothers and sisters. Based on our empirical research in a new monastic community—the Fraternity of Jerusalem (a foundation in Poland)—we addressed the following: Why are New Monastic Communities thriving? Are they really counteracting the decline of monasticism? What characteristics distinguish them from traditional communities? We will show how they renew monastic life by emphasising and radicalising the most innovative and disruptive theological aspects identified in Vatican Council II.

Organistes i mestres de capella de la diòcesi de Girona

Des de 1554 a 1835 la práctica musical s'institucionalitzà a la diòcesi de Girona en 26 parroquies, sis monestirs, tres col•legiates i dos santuaris, que comptaren amb organista permanent, en total 37 esglésies, a mes de la catedral. El titular del càrrec, a més de tocar l'instrument, havia de compondré peces noves i d'ensenyar música gratuïtament. En set localitats, a més, existí el càrrec de mestre de capella. Se sostenien amb fundacions, que resultaren empobrides per la desamortització de 1835. El nombre d'organistes, no obstant, va créixer encara entre els anys 1875 i 1936. La baixa del nombre de sacerdots després de 1939, causà una dràstica disminució de la música eclesiàstica, tot i que una devaluació de la funció musical ja es pot constatar en la política del bisbat des de principis del segle XX. En l'article es documenten les fundacions i 391 organistes i mestres de capella de la diòcesi, entre 1554 i 1987, a partir de l'Arxiu Diocesà de Girona.

Mariage clérical et masculinité sacerdotale dans la Catalogne du XIVe siècle

Clerical Marriage and Priestly Masculinity in Fourteenth-Century Catalunya. In fourteenth-century Catalunya, Catalan priests formed domestic unions with women that were marriage all but in name. Episcopal visitation records from the diocese of Girona, Barcelona, Vic, and Urgell show that parish clergy were able to meld a family and a household with their profession in spite of the Church’s prohibition against clerical marriage. The fact that so many clergymen were promoted through the holy orders to become parish priests and still managed to form de facto marriages and support their children indicates that although the standards of the medieval Church had changed since the Gregorian period, the customs of parish clergy had not. Countless clergymen defied orders to expel their women and set aside their families, regardless of the threats of excommunication and repeated episcopal fines that were inconsistently applied to the clerical population. Judging from the number of priests who persisted in these de facto marriages, the financial burden was ultimately tolerable not only because clergymen were emotionally attached to their families, but also since the role of a paterfamilias, who ruled a household with a wife and children, was central to the masculinity of priests. It was not merely proof of sexual activity or evidence of offspring that conferred masculine status in the parishes of late medieval Catalunya. Priests established marital households because medieval society defined adult male masculinity as one in which a man advanced to take on the role of husband and father.

Проблема изменения численности священников в США и Англии во второй половине ХХ века

Проблема изменения численности священников в США и Англии во второй половине ХХ века

Music, Meditation, and Martyrdom in a Seventeenth-Century English Seminary

Literary responses to the martyrdom of English Catholic clergy in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England have attracted much attention from scholars in recent years. Musical studies of English Catholic meditations on martyrdom have usually followed on from these: William Byrd’s so-called scaffold motets and two motets of unknown origin in Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Eng. Th. b.2, a Catholic encyclopedia (once thought to have been compiled by Thomas Tresham) are reputed to be musical settings of these priests’ last utterances. Given the number of priests who are reported to have sung music either after being sentenced to death or at their execution, however, it would appear that music was used in English Catholic seminaries to help intending martyrs to construct their identity as much as it was used by the laity to venerate them. This study considers the musical practices of the English College at Valladolid during the seventeenth century in the context of the practices surrounding the veneration of ‘La Vulnerata’, a statue of the Virgin Mary desecrated and defaced by English and Dutch troops when they sacked the Spanish port of Cadiz in 1596.

Wpływ specyfiki podlaskiego pogranicza na deklarowanie gotowości przejścia na prawosławie duchownych unickich w obwodzie białostockim w latach 1836-1839

In the process of restitution of the Orthodoxy, according to the plan of Bishop Jozef Siemaszko, it was important to carry out de-latinization of the Uniate Church, which included liturgy, interiors of temples, believers and rituals. It became a priority to acquire the Uniate clergy, especially canons, teachers, clergy deputies, deans and their deputies. The Lithuanian bishop courted for it personally. The clergy signed the written declarations of consent to joining the Orthodox Church ie. podpiski since the mid-30s the nineteenth century. In the Lithuanian diocese the number of priests, who accepted podpiski was much larger than in the Byelorussian diocese. At the turn of spring and summer 1838, these previously voluntary declarations were enforced. The declarations were not signed by two Uniate priests within the prescribed period in the circuit of Bialystok, at the deanery of Bialystok. In June 1838 more than twenty priests did not sign podpisek at the deanery of Bielsk. The clergy opposed the restitution of the Orthodox Church, wrote letters to the church authorities and the tsar, and agitated the parishioners. Some of them signed the declarations gradually and the church authorities did not draw any consequences. Those who resisted longest made declarations in the last months of 1838, with the exception of standing at the head of opponents – Antoni Sosnowski, who made it in February 1839. The several factors had an impact on the opposition to the signing the declarations by the Uniate priests. Here, on the borderland the far-reaching latinization and polonization, and the activity of Latin priests mostly during the missions, took place. Also, not without significance were close relations between the Uniate priests and the clergy of the Roman Catholic and the Uniate believers along with Latin church, which resulted in blurred differences between the two Catholic rites. Furthermore, the offended ambition of Antoni Sosnowski, whose position was not appreciated by clergy authorities, was significant, as well.

Catholic Hispanic Deacons and Hispanic Parishes

Hispanic deacons ( n = 156) from across the United States completed measures on personal leadership style and their perceived sense of parish community along with demographic items. Most deacons ( n = 91) were assisting at Hispanic parishes, while many assisted at predominately non-Hispanic parishes ( n = 65). Results found no significant difference between Hispanic deacons at Hispanic or non-Hispanic parishes on their leadership style or parish sense of community (controlling for the total number of families in a parish). However, at Hispanic parishes only, Hispanic deacons perceived that the more fellow deacons, the significantly less sense of community was experienced in the parish. There was no significant relationship between the number of priests and perceived sense of parish community. Implications for staffing and the nature of Hispanic parishes are presented.

Priestly Celibacy and Identity: The Rocky Reception of Vatican II’s Presbyterorum Ordinis

The Second Vatican Council’s 1965 decree, Presbyterorum Ordinis (On the Ministry and Life of Priests) received an unwelcome reception within the Church. Priests, principally in the United States, Canada, and Europe, believed the document inadequate because it had not resolved the debate on mandatory clerical celibacy and priestly identity. The immediate aftermath of the council saw large numbers of priests leave active ministry and fewer men in formation for priesthood. Presbyterorum Ordinis ’s unresolved questions led to the 1971 Synod of Bishops on the Ministerial Priesthood. After a lively debate, clerical celibacy was reaffirmed and by the late 1970s the controversies surrounding priestly life and ministry were in decline.