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Rose has some very good points. A lot of this is true. There is, however, a certain complexity to some of the issues which Catholic priests will have to face in their pastoral stewardship of the Catholic faith in the contemporary postmodern American wasteland. Depending upon how the "conservative" candidates are styling themselves, the way "the faith" is presented requires some subtlety and psychological sophistication in certain situations. It's not always just a mere matter of spouting dogmatic formulas and Latin codewords from papal encyclicals as some fellow orthodox conservative Catholics all too often do. What do you tell a girl who has just had an abortion? What happens when a young homosexual man comes seeking help? How do you convince a man in a confessional to stop cheating on his wife or to seek help for spousal abuse? These kinds of situations do require sensitivity, sophistication, and spiritual perceptiveness which conservative muscle-flexing cannot always deliver. Some orthodox conservatives do make mistakes in the way they approach some Church matters. Anyone thinking about becoming a priest today needs to learn how to deal and talk with strident liberals, homosexuals, and wide variety of odd characters.

Depending upon how the "conservative" candidates are styling themselves, the way "the faith" is presented requires some subtlety and psychological sophistication in certain situations. It's not always just a mere matter of spouting dogmatic formulas and Latin codewords from papal encyclicals as some fellow orthodox conservative Catholics all too often do. What do you tell a girl who has just had an abortion? What happens when a young homosexual man comes seeking help? How do you convince a man in a confessional to stop cheating on his wife or to seek help for spousal abuse? These kinds of situations do require sensitivity, sophistication, and spiritual perceptiveness which conservative muscle-flexing cannot always deliver. Some orthodox conservatives do make mistakes in the way they approach some Church matters. Anyone thinking about becoming a priest today needs to learn how to deal and talk with strident liberals, homosexuals, and wide variety of odd characters.

What in the world makes you think that being orthodox (i.e. conservative) means that one totally lacks compassion and an understanding of how to deal with various personality types? This is awfully arrogant and condescending. This is exactly the problem the Church is encountering and that Rose describes.

One tells the girl who had an abortion or the man struggling with homosexuality that their sin is not unforgiveable, that God can give them the grace to overcome their condition. Duh. What's so hard about that? I would rather that priests uphold our teachings, than they be ineffective but well-liked.

These kinds of situations do require sensitivity, sophistication, and spiritual perceptiveness which conservative muscle-flexing cannot always deliver.

...For which the seminary trains the prospective priest. This is why such terminal recommendations about rigidity, lack of pastoral sensibility, etc. ought to be made while the man is in seminary, and not before he has even begun his education. The seminary is for seedlings, not for fully-matured trees.

Anyone thinking about becoming a priest today needs to learn how to deal and talk with strident liberals, homosexuals, and wide variety of odd characters.

This is SO true! The old 'pieties' just don't work the same as they used to. Priests today are dealing with a population in the Church which sometimes isn't even sure what is meant by 'Benediction' or 'Perpertual Adoration'. It is a foreign language to most Catholics, and until we can start at the bottom with a new generation, it will be difficult to bridge the language gap.

The priest nowadays has to deal with people coming back to the Church after a lifetime of sin of the most heinous sort. The priest needs to know how to talk to these people in the way Jesus would have; forgiving, but making it clear that the behavior must stop and WHY it must stop in order to be fully open to God's grace. He must be comfortable talking to teenagers about pre-marital sex, and why it is not good for them, physically or spiritually! And he must be willing to tell a young married couple that they will be blessed for NOT using artificial contraception and instead learn to control their sexuality so that they can accept children as God's gift, and that doesn't have to mean having kids every other year!! And he has to make it clear that you don't have to employ extraordinary means to keep folks alive when they don't want to be plugged up, but that you can't unplug Granny or starve her to death because her care has become inconvenient for you. And he has to be aware of alternatives when a young woman comes to him pregnant, afraid, and contemplating abortion.

The old "say a Rosary' won't cut it anymore, so much more has to be said and done. So the priests must be carefully trained and know that when they present the Church's teachings, they must do it confidently and without apology.

It's not always just a mere matter of spouting dogmatic formulas and Latin codewords from papal encyclicals as some fellow orthodox conservative Catholics all too often do.

Oh, please. My pastor is about as orthodox and conservative as they come, but he isn't a cold, prudish, elitist kind of guy.

What do you tell a girl who has just had an abortion? What happens when a young homosexual man comes seeking help? How do you convince a man in a confessional to stop cheating on his wife or to seek help for spousal abuse? These kinds of situations do require sensitivity, sophistication, and spiritual perceptiveness which conservative muscle-flexing cannot always deliver.

That's quite a generalization. What makes you think that being conservative precludes one from being charitable, forgiving, and understanding human nature? I think if one is truly called to the priesthood, then they will have the necessary "people skills."

What you say is very true, it does take a broad minded person to approach the way "the faith" is presented requires some subtlety and psychological sophistication in certain situations. I couldn't agree more. However, the Political Correctness of recently hiring a Lesbian as part of the clergy at my church does not sit well with me personally. And I don't like nor agree with the 'in your face' sex education being pushed by many of these 'outside of the loop' people on youngsters who don't need to know the sexual play of homosexuals as well as heterosexuals be they men or women.

I love your phrase,"pastoral stewardship of the Catholic faith in the contemporary postmodern American wasteland." Well put.

What do you tell a girl who has just had an abortion? What happens when a young homosexual man comes seeking help? How do you convince a man in a confessional to stop cheating on his wife or to seek help for spousal abuse?

You know, it's funny. I've occasionally had conversations like this with various people. Of all the methods I've tried, the absolute MOST effective is to hit them right between the eyes with the true Catholic teaching on the subject. Most folks who are fallen away Catholics or who have lived a long time in a sinful lifestyle never realize that their sins can be wiped clean if they confess and truly repent. It's an absolute revelation to them and generally something no liberal, namby-pamby Catholic ever mentioned!

The biggest problem with most Catholics today is how abysmally they have been catechized over the past 40 years. On most issues, they have no idea what the true Church teaching actually is.