Rating: 
Summary: Beyond doing no harm
Review: "This reflection on the priesthood developed over the last two decades." (p.vii) One must bear this statement in mind in reading. There is no strict need to read in sequence the 4 parts: Issues, Challenges, Concerns, Realities. Chapters 4 and 5 based on work done from 1981 to 1989 on the Freudian and Jungian perspective of the priesthood are creative pieces on their own. Most people will probably be stirred up by the very frank discussions of "Betraying Our Young" (clergy misconduct with minors) and "The Priesthood as a Gay Profession" and may be shocked by one (not necessarily reliable) estimate "from 23 percent to 58 percent" of the Catholic clergy having a homosexual orientation. (p.99) The author is balanced and advocates distinguishing between celibate clergy, straight and gay, who are struggling and sometimes failing to be chaste and those who coolly exploits the priesthood. The issue of orientation must be faced forthrightly. I like the chapter on "Loving as a Celibate" most, esp. the clarification of intimacy and transcendence. St Thomas Aquinas has been quoted as saying that "it is unchaste to be unfeeling". Priests today must become fully human, affective, compassionate and deeply rooted in the transcendent that is not merely other-worldy. The experience of transcendence can be found in quiet moments of solitude, liturgy, play, meaningful work... It is characterised by the loss of a sense of time and place. Simone Weil says, "...a quarter of an hour of attention is better than a great many good works." (p. 34) You wish all these chapters could be further developed in depth. There are so many quotable passages you may want to highlight throughout the book. The book refrains from any discussion of women priests and married clergy. Ultimately, it is the priests' rich inner life (including the intellectual), freedom and over-all development, that will sustain them through all the challenges of identity, integrity and mission. This is a timely and thought-provoking book for all priests and seminarians.
Rating: 
Summary: Psychobabble
Review: Cozzens is full of psychobabble; that a seminary rector is trained in psychology rather than theology indicates that the Church has lost confidence it its own resources of Scripture and the Fathers and turned to always changing secular opinions.Priests have lost the sense that the word they preach and the sacraments they administer are the key to repentance and eternal life; their job has become simply a cheerleader for the community, whose main occupation is telling itself how wonderful it is. The presence of large numbers of homosexuals in the clergy is probable, although the 50% that Cozzens suggests seems far too high. But these homosexuals have an interest in distorting church teaching and questioning church authority to justify their own behavior. Cozzens can't bring himself to say that homosexual behavior is wrong (that would be illiberal) but he plays upon the popular distaste for homosexuality and implies that a married priesthood would at least be heterosexual. However, the problems of the Anglican and Episcopalian clergy suggest that a married priesthood would not be a solution.
Rating:
Summary: Passionate and Empathetic...
Review: Cozzens presents a passionate and empathetic discussion of the state of the priesthood in the Roman Catholic tradition. His blend of personal reflection and sociological and psychological research is impressive and balanced. My only criticism is that, perhaps out of his affection for the priesthood, Cozzens still presents a hierarchical view of priesthood, that is, priesthood as THE ministry within the Catholic community. One could argue that it is one of a number of necessary roles within the community and buttress the argument with the fact that as the number of priests [and priestly ministries] decreased the number of Catholics in the US increased. In conclusion, Cozzens' discussion offers an honest, compassionate and balanced discussion of the changing role of priesthood in the Roman Catholic tradition.
Rating:
Summary: Heterodox approach to the issues
Review: Cozzens wrote: "The very face of the priesthood - the external cues and customs, the internal hallmarks of identity and function - seemed to be changing..." (P. ix). I read this book seeking these "internal hallmarks" and found them most clearly expressed in Part I. In Part I Cozzens defines his topic for reflection, that is, the human transformation necessary for a priest of Jesus Christ, and then he turns his attention to external cues and customs current in the U. S. Catholic Church. Only after reading Cozzens' book (twice) did I read the customer reviews. To my mind, the reviews written by DelMonico, irisharsh, Merryman and Zee grasped the deeper significance of Cozzens' book for the spiritual life. This is, in fact, primarily a book on the deeper concept of spirituality, not a book on the sociological or psychological insights of the spiritual life. The enduring value of this book is that Part I touches on the human psyche and pneuma and effectively introduces the principle of "gratia praesupponit naturam" (grace builds on nature). In this context, I found it helpful to read Cozzens' book in light of James Forsyth's (1997) work, "Faith and Human Transformation: A Dialogue Between Psychology and Theology", which thoroughly elaborates Aquinas's second principle "gratia perficit naturam" (grace perfects nature). Cozzens' book is about the Catholic Church in the United States which provides the sociological and psychological context for his external cues. However, to my mind, the book's fundamental concern is the appropriate understanding of spirituality of the part of the individual seeking to discern the internal hallmarks of Christian identity.
Rating:
Summary: Facing the Truth with the Changing Face
Review: Donald B. Cozzen's stimulating The Changing Face of the Priesthood is divided into four parts: Issues, Challenges, Concerns, and Realities. Most notable in the first half (in effect, a warm-up for the meatier and more compelling second half of the book) is the change that Cozzens explicates concerning the transition from a pre-Vatican II cultic model of "priest on pedestal" to that of the Vatican II "servant-leader". As well, a delving into the Jungian archetype of priest as "shaman" versus a companion archetype of "Puer Aeternus" (Eternal Boy) is useful in examining the relationship of one identified as a priest to his faith community, institutional church, himself, and others with whom he interacts. It is in the chapters relating to "Concerns" and "Realities" that the greatest challenge awaits those unafraid of confronting the major questions this book presents to all who care about the priesthood. Correctly, Cozzens does not attribute the rash of ephebophilia molestation (crimes deriving from sexual fixation on post-pubescent teenagers) to the homosexual orientation of high numbers of priests. But he does raise the very necessary question of how these activities are related to the institutional church's "systemic structure" ("ecclesial patterns of communication, operation, and discipline that both define the lives of the ordained and facilitate their exercise of authority and power"). I will confess myself as one reader who does not consider two of the "realities" to which Fr. Cozzens directs our attention as "crises" -- in the arenas of vocation (lack of) and gay orientation (of high numbers of seminarians and ordained). The fact is that diminished numbers of priests have enabled the laity to step forward as maturing Christians and fulfill their roles as Catholic leaders. And to my mind, a heavily "gay" orientation of the ordained is a gift -- "gays" recognize their identity, as opposed to "homosexuals" who cannot or will not come to terms with this very essential part of their personality. As such, the former know they are not the freaks and perverts that many might paint them to be, while the latter remain at a remove from their authentic selves. The actual crisis exists with Church authority, and, at its heart, in the intellectual realm as Cozzens shows us. Confronting this reality will lead to the unfolding of truth and the upholding of the good as our Church steps into the new century.
Rating:
Summary: Facing the Truth with the Changing Face
Review: Donald B. Cozzen's stimulating The Changing Face of the Priesthood is divided into four parts: Issues, Challenges, Concerns, and Realities. Most notable in the first half (in effect, a warm-up for the meatier and more compelling second half of the book) is the change that Cozzens explicates concerning the transition from a pre-Vatican II cultic model of "priest on pedestal" to that of the Vatican II "servant-leader". As well, a delving into the Jungian archetype of priest as "shaman" versus a companion archetype of "Puer Aeternus" (Eternal Boy) is useful in examining the relationship of one identified as a priest to his faith community, institutional church, himself, and others with whom he interacts. It is in the chapters relating to "Concerns" and "Realities" that the greatest challenge awaits those unafraid of confronting the major questions this book presents to all who care about the priesthood. Correctly, Cozzens does not attribute the rash of ephebophilia molestation (crimes deriving from sexual fixation on post-pubescent teenagers) to the homosexual orientation of high numbers of priests. But he does raise the very necessary question of how these activities are related to the institutional church's "systemic structure" ("ecclesial patterns of communication, operation, and discipline that both define the lives of the ordained and facilitate their exercise of authority and power"). I will confess myself as one reader who does not consider two of the "realities" to which Fr. Cozzens directs our attention as "crises" -- in the arenas of vocation (lack of) and gay orientation (of high numbers of seminarians and ordained). The fact is that diminished numbers of priests have enabled the laity to step forward as maturing Christians and fulfill their roles as Catholic leaders. And to my mind, a heavily "gay" orientation of the ordained is a gift -- "gays" recognize their identity, as opposed to "homosexuals" who cannot or will not come to terms with this very essential part of their personality. As such, the former know they are not the freaks and perverts that many might paint them to be, while the latter remain at a remove from their authentic selves. The actual crisis exists with Church authority, and, at its heart, in the intellectual realm as Cozzens shows us. Confronting this reality will lead to the unfolding of truth and the upholding of the good as our Church steps into the new century.
Rating: 
Summary: Candid about the problems, hopeful about solutions
Review: Father Cozzens is highly qualified to write this book. He has a doctorate in psychology and decades of experience as a priest, vicar of clergy, and seminary rector. What he has given us is a courageous and unblinking analysis of the crises of the American priesthood. The tone is consistently respectful and by no means is this to be understood as an attack on the Church. He never engages in hopelessness and hand-wringing or in bitter critique of the hierarchy. Each presentation of the problems facing the priesthood (the identify confusion, psychological/developmental problems, sexual misconduct) is accompanied by hopeful commentary on how to address these problems. Every priest, every bishop, and every serious Catholic should read this fine book.
Rating:
Summary: The truth will set you free, but first it will make you mad!
Review: Fr. Cozzens has no axes to grind. He obviously loves The Church. He's the president-rector of a seminary preparing young men for the priesthood. He is not an angry ex-Catholic or an outsider throwing stones through the stained glass windows. He doesn't discuss the shortcomings of priests for the sake of prurient interest or to create scandal. He does speak the truth about some serious issues facing the priesthood in the American Catholic Church. As Jesus said, "The truth shall set you free." Donald Cozzen's book, "The Changing Face of The Priesthood," is a credible, "must read" for Catholics seeking a greater understanding of their Church and its leaders. I am a Catholic priest ordained several decades ago and nothing I read in this book surprised or shocked me. That such a prominent Churchman/theolgian took the risk to publish this book is a wake up call to face some painful issues. With the Church and priesthood suffering from post traumatic shock syndrome from the recent revelations of coverups, this book is even more "required reading" for Catholics than before the scandal broke. In chapter four, "Facing the Unconcious," Fr. Cozzens applies Freud's theory of the unresolved Oedipal complex to institution of the priesthood. I recommend this chapter to anyone looking to face their own "shadow." I belive that every seminarian in the world should be required to study this chapter and meditate upon how it manifests in his own life. Powerful stuff.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent study of the good and the bad in the priesthood
Review: Fr. Cozzens' book is a small one -- only 143 pages -- but in those pages he has put together some of the best and most challenging insights into the Roman Catholic priesthood that I have ever seen. Cozzens' is no stranger to this subject -- he has been a vicar for priests and is currently in charge of a major seminary in Cleveland. This makes him extremely qualified to reflect on what he has seen, heard, and experienced in the priesthood over the past decades. Cozzens obviously has achieved what he calls on all priests to achieve -- a healthy balance between being a representative of the institutional church and being faithful to one's own vision and one's own person. This, at times, means raising uncomfortable issues. Some of the ones faced in this book include the need for emotional and spiritual maturity and integrity in priests today, and how that can be/has been achieved by many priests; serious consideration of celibacy and what is needed to live a healthy life as a celibate (i.e. intimacy); a presentation of the tension between priest-bishop-church and how priests must deal with that tension; and the need for priests to let God's Word speak to them to empower them to be the best preachers they can be. Finally, the most controversial areas Cozzens deals with are around the seeming increasing number of gay men in the priesthood and what that means for the gay priest, the straight priest, and the institution of the priesthoood itself; and the painful reality of clergy sexual abuse of children and the unasked questions about its causes. The only thing I was disappointed in was Fr. Cozzens' lack of specific suggestions to address some of these issues. My hope is that perhaps he might do a follow-up to this book in which he articulates some to help begin a much needed conversation about the priesthood in our church today. I am grateful to Fr. Cozzens for his book and for being a model priest who loves the church and the priesthood enough to help it to grow and be transformed and renewed. My own faith has been strengthened by reading "The Changing Face of the Priesthood," and I recommend it to any priest, any relative of a priest, and anyone who has a priest as a friend.
Rating:
Summary: Denial
Review: The author refuses to face the crisis of the priesthood: a crisis of faith. The American Catholic priesthood is full of people who just don't believe what the Catholic Church teaches, especially when that teaching contradicts the wisdom of the media-academic elite. Who in the world would give his life for the soporific slogans we dole out from the pulpit and in our CCD classes? This is a work of sheer denial.
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