Restless Priest Research Paper

Restless Priests In the mid-1960’s a group of Pittsburgh priests began meeting, seeking a strategy to bring diocesan officials and other clergy to a greater awareness of the promise and potential of the council that had ended in 1965. From these meetings came the formation of “The Association of Pittsburgh Priests.” The existing official Council of Priests was appointed and controlled by the bishop. In our view it was similar to a “politburo” that rubber-stamped the bishop’s decisions. We envisioned, instead, an independent organization serving as a voice of local priests for social justice, church reforms, and public discussion of issues that we believed were not being addressed by diocesan officials. Such a group had formed in Chicago, and we were in contact with them to learn from their experiences. Western Pennsylvania had a history of local organizing and a strong union tradition. A “union” of priests was considered, but it did not seem appropriate for our objectives. When we decided to go public, the problem we
He had grown to appreciate the collegial spirit he experienced in the council, and he worked to implement that style in his diocese. Later, when he tried to extend that spirit across the U.S. as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, he had less success. Wright, however, turned the other way. He was no longer the progressive man he once had seemed to be. He delayed implementing many of the council reforms for as long and as much as possible. It was to this type of intransigence that many of us were reacting. Perhaps he sensed that the winds of power at the top had shifted. Following the council, he returned to Rome to head one of the important curial posts in the Vatican: Prefect for the Sacred Congregation of the Clergy. There was little hope that reforms suggested by the Council for the clergy would ever be