The Influence of Priests on the Political Attitudes of Roman Catholics

For years, scholars in religion and politics have worked under the assumption that clergy wield significant political influence with their congregations. Until recently, however, this assumption had gone largely uninvestigated and undemonstrated. This article helps correct this shortcoming by analyzing the Notre Dame Study of Catholic Parish Life for evidence of priestly influence on the political attitudes of Catholic parishioners. Though the data indicate that Catholic priests do, indeed, appear to influence the political attitudes of their parishioners, the nature of this influence is more complex than previously demonstrated. Specifically, pastor ideology is the key predictor of both parishioners' issue positions and political ideology, and influence appears to be restricted to politically liberal pastors.     

Catholic Priests and the Political Order: The Political Behavior of Catholic Pastors

A nationwide mail survey of Catholic priests is analyzed with respect to their political behavior in the presidential election of 2000. Priests exhibit a slight tendency to self-identify as political liberals, and a strong tendency to identify with the Democratic Party. Nevertheless, Bill Clinton won a very narrow victory over Bob Dole among priests in 1996, and George W. Bush trounced Al Gore among Catholic clergy in 2000. My analysis suggests that support for Gore was motivated by concern for hunger and poverty among Catholic priests, while support for Bush was driven primarily by priestly opposition to abortion. Political participation among priests was predicted by the importance attached to social justice concerns, and by congruence between the social and economic views of each priest and his congregation.     

The Calling of the Whole People of God into Ministry: The Spirit,Church and Laity

This article discusses implications of Bonhoeffer's notion of maturity (being of age), particularly for the notion of redemption and the ethical self. This is done through a reading of the relation between maturity and redemption in Kant, Nietzsche, and Levinas, which again is compared with Bonhoeffer's late thought as we find it in his Prison letters and his Ethics. All three philosophers share with Bonhoeffer the important premise that otherworldly redemption is downplayed to the benefit of a strong demand put on the self. At the same time, their notions of maturity show important differences, with subsequent consequences for their notions of redemption; Kant's notion is based on ethical autonomy, Nietzsche's on aesthetical autonomy, whereas Levinas presupposes ethical heteronomy. The reading of Bonhoeffer shows that he shares premises with all three thinkers, but particularly with Levinas. This is shown in the analyses of religionless Christianity as a turn to the practical dimension of faith, in the messianic structure of the ethical self, and in the turn to the Old-Testamently and the arcane discipline. Bonhoeffer's high estimation of the worldly and the aesthetic, however, also illustrates his affinities to Nietzsche.     

Information and Communication Technology in the Work of Catholic Priests

ABSTRACT

This article presents data gathered in a doctoral study, the aim of which was to identify information needs and behavior patterns of Croatian Catholic priests for pastoral work. Results of the research focus only on the role of information and communication technology and using electronic sources by the priests in the liturgy and caregiving role. The research was conducted using quantitative and qualitative methodology (print questionnaires and semi-structured interviews). A total of 327 respondents took part in the quantitative study and twenty respondents were interviewed. Although research results showed that many respondents are not very familiar with the information and communication technology, most of them still occasionally use computers for making documents and consult the Internet for finding religious information in pastoral work. Computers and the Internet to a larger degree are used by younger and well-educated priests who have the least experience regarding management of the parishes in major locations. Since the results indicated that parish priests mostly seek religious and secular information on the Internet, it is recommended that the Catholic Church in Croatia offer them increased electronic resources for pastoral work.     

The Great War and Christian Faith: The Firsthand Accounts of Three Priests in France

In this essay I explore three firsthand accounts of religious faith from The First World War: Forsaken by Private Orr, The Letters of John Ayscough to His Mother, and The Making of a Mind: Letters from a Soldier Priest 1914‐1919, by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. These three priests provide us with a glimpse of how faithful people responded to very challenging situations. Private Orr came into the war as an ordained priest, but lost his faith after two years of fighting. Monsignor Ayscough worked mainly with wounded soldiers, offering them pastoral care in many different settings. Teilhard de Chardin served as a stretcher‐bearer on the frontlines of many fierce battles, earning the respect he would need to talk to soldiers about their faith in the moments just before they went ‘over the top.’ In a concluding section, I try to draw out some implications of their stories for pastoral care today.