It's a Total Way of Life? Catholic Priests,Women's Ordination,and Identity Work

Research has shown Catholic priests to be polarized on a few issues, including women's ordination. Explanations have been offered for why priests are initially polarized—particularly the influence of ordination cohort—but not for how attitudes are maintained over time. Using 31 in‐depth interviews with Catholic priests in the United Kingdom, I find that priests are indeed polarized into groups I call “Total Identity Priests” and “Plural Identity Priests.” Taking the example of women's ordination, I show that these two groups of priests maintain their anti‐ or pro‐women's ordination attitudes (respectively) via patterned, everyday identity work, in which they mobilize available cultural schemata. I highlight four areas in which their identity work differs: explicit identity talk, narratives of calling, clericalism and titles, and clothing. This identity work serves to summarize, communicate, and reinforce their personal identities, which in turn reinforce their existing attitudes towards women's ordination.     

Depression and Anxiety in Roman Catholic Secular Clergy

A nationally selected random sample of Roman Catholic secular priests was investigated using the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Form Y. Additionally, a Self-Report Inventory requested information regarding participants' demographics as well as four categories of predictor variables (i.e., Vocational Satisfaction, Social Support, Spiritual Activities, Physical Environment) potentially associated with depression and anxiety. The study yielded a return rate of 64%. Secular clergy reported significantly greater depression and anxiety (both state and trait) than are reported in the general population. Low Vocational Satisfaction was found to be predictive of depression as well as both state and trait anxiety. Additionally, low Social Support was found to be predictive of state and trait anxiety. When the significant predictor variables were conceptually collapsed, it appeared that both people and place were significantly related to Roman Catholic secular priests' experience of depression and anxiety.     

Pilot Study of Psychopathology Among Roman Catholic Secular Clergy

This pilot study gathered information regarding overall levels of psychopathology in a nationally selected, random sample of U.S. Roman Catholic secular (i.e., diocesan) priests using the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R; Derogatis, 2004). The study yielded a response rate of 45%. One-half of the participants reported marked psychological problems, with interpersonal sensitivity, anxiety, and depression most strongly correlated with the instrument’s overall index of psychopathology. Four dimensional scales were elevated (i.e., obsessive-compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, psychoticism), as were two indices (i.e., GSI, PST). Implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

Depression and Contributors to Vocational Satisfaction in Roman Catholic Secular Clergy

A nationally selected, random sample of Roman Catholic secular (i.e., diocesan) priests was examined using the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale and an instrument developed for this study to assess contributors to priests' vocational satisfaction. In addition, a self-report inventory gathered information regarding participants' demographics as well as four categories of predictor variables (i.e., overall level of vocational satisfaction, social support, spiritual activities, physical environment). The study yielded a response rate of 45%. Secular clergy reported rates of depression approximately seven times greater than are found in the general population, and also indicated that the recent sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic church had negatively affected their mood. Priests' engagement in sacramental activities contributed greatly to their vocational satisfaction, and low levels of vocational satisfaction were found to be most predictive of depression. Factors comprising priests' vocational satisfaction were External Manifestations (e.g., preaching, teaching), Internal Manifestations (e.g., prayer life, affirmation of God's call), and Social Manifestations (e.g., relationships with parishioners, appreciation from others).     

The Pedophile and the Pious

Abstract

This chapter is an attempt at providing heretofore unpublished and essential background information and historical understanding about clerical sexual abuse, which might allow some to contextualize differently the serious problem in the Roman Catholic and other faith based communities in the United States. Discussion indicates some variables that might provide researchers with clear markers for differentiation. Directions for future research are discussed.     

Indulgences in the Catholic Reformation

Abstract

Ever since Luther’s ‘Ninety-five Theses’ (1517), indulgences have been synonymous with corruption in the Catholic Church, although their proper use was to be reaffirmed at the Council of Trent. This article comprises firstly, an exploration of the theory, nature, uses, and evolution of indulgences after Luther up to about 1700; secondly, an examination of indulgences as a product of ecclesiastical jurisdiction of popes and bishops; and thirdly, an exploration of the individual acquisition of pardons and the progression of different devotions over time. The focus will be on France as a case study. It will be shown how indulgences in Catholicism survived Luther, were reinvented and emerged as a powerful tool of personal and institutional reform. They provide a lens through which to explore the history of the institutional Church, in particular relationships between centre and periphery during the Catholic Counter-Reformation centuries.     

Pratiques d’encadrement et usages des TIC : un exemple en Gendarmerie nationale

This article will present the results of field research conducted in a French army civilian body responsible for the safety of property and people. The object of study concerns “e-leadership” management practice in connection with the information technology and communication (ICT). After recalling the role played by ICT in situations of current work, the issue of management relationship will be developed, as well as knowledge on the “e-leadership”. The results show the impact of ICT on the management relationship is rooted in a multiple determinism related to the nature of tasks, the characteristics of technological tools and constraints in the use situations.     

Multiple information sources in interceptive timing

This study was designed to explore the limitations of tau (τ) as an explanatory construct for the timing of interceptive action. This was achieved by examining the effects of environmental structure and binocular vision on the timing of the grasp in a simple one-handed catch. In two experiments, subjects were required to catch luminous balls of different diameters (4, 6, 8 and 10 cm) in a completely darkened room. In the first experiment the influence of the presence vs. absence of an environmental background structure (both under monocular viewing) was tested, and in the second experiment the influence of monocular vs. binocular vision was examined. It was found that irrespective of the presence of environmental structure, an effect of ball size occurred in the monocular viewing conditions. That is, in monocular viewing conditions the grasp was initiated and completed earlier for the larger balls as compared to the smaller ones, while in the binocular viewing condition subjects behaved in accordance with a constant time to contact strategy: no effects of ball size were found. It is concluded that under binocular viewing a binocular information source is used, while in the monocular viewing condition a lower order information source like image size or image velocity is probably involved.     

The Subject of Pastoral Care: A Discussion Based on the Theology of Henning Luther

In this article the author discusses the differences between pastoral care and psycho-social therapy. She clarifies the specific identity of pastoral care on the basis of Henning Luther’s theology. He distinguishes different anthropological presuppositions in pastoral care and psycho-social therapy. Consequently, she demonstrates the relevancy of Luther’s theology for today’s Practical Theology.