|
|
| |
The Changing Face of the Priesthood Donald Cozzens The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN, 2000 Opening Paragraph to Introduction Heavy, fortress-like doors opened slowly and I passed under the vaulted entrance to Cleveland’s Saint Mary Seminary. I moved into a womb of monastic arches and chambers that promised to form me afresh and to carry me to birth as a priest. The seminary narthex held just enough light for me to find a place on a padded medieval bench placed against a cream stucco wall. It was early in the summer of 1957 and just a few weeks had passed since my graducation from high school. Applying for admission to the seminary required little reflection for me; I had wanted to be a priest for as long as I could remember. The priesthood of my childhood and youth, the only priesthood I knew, had but one face then, a face that defined the role of the priest for some four hundred years. I had no suspicion just how significantly the face of the priesthood was about to change. Table of Contents: Part I. Issues 1. Discovering an identity 2. Guarding one’s integrity 3. Loving as a celibate Part II. Challenges 4. Facing the unconscious 5. Becoming a man 6. Tending the word Part III. Concerns 7. Considering orientation 8. Betraying our youth Part IV. Realities 9. The changing face of the priesthood Return to Resource Section |