Faith, Hope and Chastity: Honest reflections on the Catholic priesthood - Softcover

Butler, Carolyn

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0006281362 ISBN 13: 9780006281368

Publisher: Fount, 1999

Synopsis

A wide spectrum of Catholic priests share their personal thoughts and feelings on a range of vital issues. They tell of struggles and successes and of how they have resolved dilemmas within their ministry.

An honest and searching book exploring the life and work of a selection of Catholic priests today. What are the struggles faced by priests, and how do they overcome them? How do they view their vocation in the modern world? The contributors speak openly and freely on issues of concern: celibacy and loneliness, homosexuality, social justice, spirituality, child abuse.

Contributions include:

Fr Timothy Radcliffe, Master of the Dominican Order, on the pain and loneliness of life as a monk
· Cardinal Winning talks about his life and ministry, and reflects on the papacy of John Paul II
· Fr Michael Seed on his extraordinary childhood and its effect on his work as a priest
· Bishop Vincent Nichols on his upbringing in Liverpool and the ups and downs of a bishop’s life
· Fr Philip Inch, a young priest living alone in a new presbytery talks of celibacy and the need for relationships
· Stuart Carney, a trainee Jesuit, tells of his decision to abandon a promising career in medicine for the priesthood
· An anonymous priest speaks out on homosexuality

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Revealing “behind the scenes” conversations with men whose vocation is one of the most misunderstood and ridiculed in modern society. A wide spectrum of Catholic priests speak freely and openly about the struggles of celibacy, personal dilemmas of conscience, sexuality, loneliness and their sense of calling.

Contributors include: Cardinal Basil Hume (Archbishop of Westminster), Bishop Vincent Nichols (Bishop in North London), Father Timothy Radcliffe (Master of the Dominican Order), and Cardinal Thomas Winning (Archbishop of Glasgow).

“I love to see a good-looking man in the street; I no longer have a pressing urge to have him.”
FATHER “JOHN”

“It is very difficult being a priest in a very secular country. One of the friars went out recently to buy a new telephone. The kids were shouting “Friar Tuck” and things like that – they have no concept of why he is wearing this weird outfit.”
BROTHER BEN KIELY

“I need to be loved by people, to be intimate with people, because celibacy doesn’t deny intimacy.”
FATHER PHILIP INCH

“It is when one realizes that one has absolutely nothing to offer that one comes to God with empty hands, and he just begins to fill them.”
BROTHER STEPHEN DE KERDREL

“The priesthood is not the be-all and end-all of my existence. Catholicism has no monopoly on spirituality or salvation.”
FATHER MICHAEL SEED

Synopsis:

This is an exploration of the life and work of a selection of Catholic priests today. What are the struggles faced by priests, and how do they overcome them? How do they view their vocation in the modern world? The contributors speak openly and freely on issues of concern: celibacy and loneliness, homosexuality, social justice, spirituality, child abuse. Contributions include: Fr Timothy Radcliffe, Master of the Dominican Order, on the pain and loneliness of life as a monk; Cardinal Winning talks about his life and ministry, and reflects on the papacy of John Paul II; Fr Michael Seed on his extraordinary childhood and its effect on his work as a priest; Bishop Vincent Nichols on his upbringing in Liverpool and the ups and downs of a bishop's life; Fr Philip Inch, a young priest living alone in a new presbytery talks of celibacy and the need for relationships and Stuart Carney, a trainee Jesuit, tells of his decision to abandon a promising career in medicine.

About this edition

• Publisher: Fount
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0006281362
• ISBN 13: 9780006281368
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 176