The Reductive Priest

Imagine for a moment that all priests were faithful to the Church's teaching and traditions; or if that is too far-fetched, imagine at least that the majority of them were. If this were the case, what would our definition of a "good" priest be? It certainly would not be orthodoxy, since this would be a sine qua non of all the ordained. What would a "good" priest be in those happy circumstances?

I'd imagine a "good" priest would be characterized by his well-rounded character, his patience, or courage in the face of adversity. Probably his skill at homiletics, prudence in dealing with the parish's financial resources, manner of offering the Mass, management of volunteers, or quality of his confessions would all play a part as well. All of these things are important to one degree or another, and they all go in to making a great pastor.

Unfortunately, is this what we are getting at when we talk about a "good" priest? Usually not. In a situation where the vast majority of priests are heterodox, we do not have the luxury of discussing "good" priests in terms of the criteria mentioned above. In a given diocese where, say, 80% of the priests are heterodox or progressive, it is inevitable that a "good" priest is simply one who is orthodox and says a decent Mass,

This is a shame, for two reasons. One is that it is an extraordinarily reductive view of what makes a good pastor. Orthodoxy was never meant to be a quality that makes a particular priest good or better than any other; it is simply supposed to be a sine qua non of the priesthood. To speak of a priest being a "good" priest because he is orthodox is like saying a fireman is a good fireman because he has legs, or that a chef is a good chef because his food is edible. These things are not meant to be measurements of goodness or skill, but rather are very general attributes that make the vocation possible. So to speak of a priest as "good" because he is merely orthodox contributes to a greatly reductive view of the priesthood.

Second, this means that all sort of other faults and problems must simply fade into the background. Suppose Father is orthodox and his Mass is fairly reverent. But also suppose Father is terrible with money Suppose he is arrogant and rude to people. Suppose he is an alcoholic. Suppose he is socially awkward and cannot maintain professional relationships. Suppose, though his homilies are orthodox, they are still awful. Suppose he is a bully. Suppose he is greedy. Suppose he is a terrible confessor. Suppose his character is horribly out of balance. Suppose he has all or many of these problems in such a way that they present tremendous obstacles to the efficacy of his ministry and the good of the parish's life.

Well, so what? Where else will one go? "You alone have the words of eternal life." It's either deal with Father's occasional drunkenness and endure a crappy - but orthodox - homily once a week, or else go off to the parish where the priest is a heretic. Of course, I would never go to a parish where heresy is being preached. But because there are so few parishes where heresy is not being preached, our choices are extraordinarily limited, and whatever orthodox remnant we are left with we have to deal with, regardless of all the other problems that might be simmering there.

And who would ever complain? If we nitpick about these sorts of problems, why would an orthodox priest want to serve us? I should just shut up and be happy that Father is not preaching heresy; who cares if a couple million here and there gets frittered away? Who cares if he is a bully? I should just be thankful that he's not a heretic!

You see the dire straits the situation with the priesthood has placed us in. I understand that traditionally laity did not "choose" their priests. But modern transportation has made that inevitable, and realistically, we all do it. Territorial parish boundaries are practically meaningless. We all search around for the orthodox, home-school friendly parish to call our own. The fact that these things have to be actual criteria upon which we choose where to worship - as opposed to characteristics common to all Catholic parishes - is very unfortunate.

Please note that I am not writing about any particular priest. I am writing to try to put words to something I have noticed over the years where good Catholic families are willing to "trade" putting up with a priest's (sometimes serious) personal problems in exchange for getting someone who is not a heretic. It is just a sad thing that Catholic families have to be in that dilemma. It'd be great if priestly orthodoxy was as common as arms and legs on a fireman. But we live in dark times and we must make do with what we can.

Measuring a priest as "good" by his orthodoxy is like measuring a doctor or lawyer by the fact he is licensed to practice. That should not be a measure of how "good" he is; it is merely the bare minimum. Unfortunately, circumstances are such that we have to search just to find that bare minimum, and it shouldn't be so. If you have a priest who is both completely orthodox, traditional and has a well-formed personality with no major character flaws, you are extremely blessed.