FAIRFIELD, Pa. – If you missed your local parish priest at Mass the week of Oct. 10, you were not alone. More than 100 priests of the Archdiocese of Baltimore gathered Oct. 10-13 at Liberty Mountain Resort for a priests’ convocation.
The gathering normally is held every two years but was last held in 2018; it was skipped in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic.
Reflection sessions included two on the happiness of priests and three on renewal in the Eucharist. The days also included Mass and morning and evening prayer, as well as fellowship.
The camaraderie was an important part of the gathering, according to Father Patrick Carrion, pastor of St. Ignatius Loyola in Ijamsville and director of the archdiocesan Office of Catholic Cemeteries.
“The value is getting away and being with a homogenous group of men with the shared mission of priesthood,” he said, noting that the format allows dialogue between generations.
Some of those in attendance “have been priests longer than others have been alive,” Father Carrion said, and each generation learns from others. “You get wisdom from the older ones and enthusiasm from the younger ones.”
Father Carrion was ordained 40 years ago next month. On the other end of the spectrum was Father James Bors, just ordained four months ago, who also appreciated the chance to get together. He serves as associate pastor of Our Lady of the Chesapeake in Lake Shore and St. Jane Frances de Chantal in Riviera Beach.
He recalled the great fraternal connection he had with other seminarians at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg. Getting together in person with other priests “feels the same, being with other men who are called by God.”
He said he was looking forward to the talks, especially the ones on the Eucharist.
Monsignor Stephen J. Rossetti presented the first evening of the convocation and the next morning, using data from surveys he has done regarding the wellness of priests for a book, “Priesthood in a Time of Crisis,” to be released next year by Ave Maria Press. The surveys conducted between 2019 and 2021 included 1,962 priests from across the country representing 25 dioceses, including the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
The “time of crisis” referred to in the title encompassed both the aftermath of reports about clergy sexual abuse, such as the one released in 2019 by the Pennsylvania attorney general, as well as the coronavirus pandemic that strained parish life and had a profound impact on clergy.
“We were looking at the pandemic in the midst of the pressure of the abuse crisis,” said Monsignor Rossetti, who is a research associate professor of theology and religious studies at the Catholic University of America. He also served at the St. Luke Institute in Silver Spring, Md., from 1993 to 2009 and again from 2013 to 2014 as its executive vice president and then as its president. The institute serves Catholic clergy and religious who have addictions, disorders or other mental health issues that require clinical attention. He has done extensive research and written a number of books about priests’ wellness and spirituality.
The research conducted in the last few years acknowledged that there is a percentage of anxiety and depression within the priesthood, but not as high as some myths and preconceptions assume.
He noted that during the pandemic, generally, depression rates doubled for priests in the United States, but he added that the rates of depression more than tripled during that time for the general population.
“Priests, as a group, tend to be more resilient,” Monsignor Rossetti noted, which could explain why clergy had a lower rate of increase of depression.
He solicited from the priests gathered what they could think explains that phenomenon. Some of the reasons included having a strong prayer or spiritual life, having a community, faith giving them hope, and being mission-oriented. Monsignor Rossetti said all of those are factors. “When you spend your life helping others, you are almost always more resilient,” he said.
He said that, generally, priests are not burned out or overstressed. “Yes, they’re stressed, but burnout levels are not that high. Not many are planning to leave the ministry.”
He said there is a difference between being tired and being burned out. “If you can take a two-week vacation and come back energized, you are tired, but not burned out.
Depression and anxiety are very treatable – for anyone, not just priests – and the fact that some of the priests indicated in the survey that they are depressed or anxious means their diocese needs to ensure they get the care they need.
However, if a priest is depleted, angry or cynical, those are signs of a more serious problem.
There are obvious risks for stress for priests, including long hours, being overwhelmed, intense work, relentless responsibilities, the shortage of priests and compassion fatigue.” Monsignor Rossetti countered that “lay people have as much stress as we do, sometimes more.”
“Priests who like what they do, have a good spiritual life, good self-esteem and good friends are unlikely to burn out,” he said.
A lot of people have full-time jobs that they don’t like. “If you like what you do, if you like being a priest, you won’t burn out. Data shows priests like what they do,” and also shows that about nine in 10 priests indicate they are happy.
During the chrism Mass April 13 in St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis told priests who were renewing their vows about the importance of preaching with a joy that touches people’s hearts.
“The priest makes the message joyful by his whole being, the pope said, and it is in “little things” that this joy is best shared.
For example, he said, by stepping into today’s “no man’s lands” to bring God’s mercy to forsaken situations, by picking up the phone and scheduling a needed meeting, by patiently allowing others “to take up our time.”
The “good news” of the Gospel is not a thing, he said, but a mission that brings “delightful and comforting joy” to the evangelizer.
Monsignor Rossetti noted that being happy is part of the reason for being religious, noting Christ’s invitation “that my joy might be yours and your joy may be full. … Jesus promised joy and peace … and the cross.”
He told the Baltimore priests, “The real homily you preach is the look on your face. Try smiling.
But, if you haven’t smiled in six months, you’re probably depressed and should get some help.
But if you think there’s nothing wrong with the priesthood today, you’re not paying attention. … We have to manage the daily stresses of being a priest.”
Monsignor Rossetti added, “When priests talk about happiness, they’re not talking about the day-to-day stuff. Instead, what they focus on is whether they feel they are called to this ministry, if this is how they are growing with the Lord and they feel fulfilled.”
“If priests say they are happy, they are,” he said. “And 90 percent of priests in the U.S.A. say they are happy.”
Email Christopher Gunty at editor@CatholicReview.org
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