Sample page from -- On the selection, formation and placement of parish priests

By Robert A. Gallagher

From Fill All Things: The Dynamics of Spirituality in the Parish Church

My interest in this paper is to suggest ways that parishes can improve their role in the selection, formation and placement of parish priests. I’m not addressing the seminaries role and will only touch on the diocese’s role. Most of my attention is on the front end of that process – selection.

What are we seeking in a priest?

Possibly the most significant force in shaping effective and healthy parish oversight is the parish priest.  The priest is central in the parish’s capacity to face into a crisis, take advantage of opportunities, and in establishing the structures, processes and climate needed for formation. The priest’s person and competence have a major impact upon the parish’s life.

We have all known clergy who did these things well. We have also known others who just “got into the wrong business”; people who were moved through parish and diocesan discernment processes and rewarded for their ability to jump through hoops and survive.

How might we increase the number of clergy who can serve our parishes with competence and faithfulness? What might we experiment with to improve our processes of selection, formation, and placement?

From a systems perspective one thing to be done is to build upon elements that are already strong and contribute to our success and to strengthen the weaker elements. There are a number of system models that identify the key and interdependent elements that make up a system. For example, a system can be seen as having 1) direction -in goals, values, and vision, 2) structure and processes – in groupings, standards, and the steps of decision making, 3) people – in the competence and commitment of participants, 4) dynamics – such as inclusion and information flow, trust, inter-group issues, and 5) leadership – which includes the ability to focus and navigate the system.

In selecting, forming, and placing priests we seem to have worked more on structure and processes to the neglect of the other elements. All organizations have a tendency to focus on one or two system elements, and then in time swing their attention to other elements, and in that swing proceed to neglect what had been the earlier center of concern. The area of structure and processes is one of the easier places to focus because it can be done relatively quickly and costs less than dealing with other elements such as the training and support needed to increase the competence of people. It also avoids the difficult political work of clarifying direction and values.

Balancing and strengthen our system around the selection, formation and placement of parish priests needs to include improving our sense of direction by giving more definition to what we are seeking in a priest. Sometimes we are not clear about the essential elements the church needs in its priests; other times we use lists that are so long that they are useless in real decision making. We could also improve the process element by making better use of the learnings from quality management. I wonder what it would be like if early in the discernment process a designated person, with an ability to deliver hard news, just said to the candidate – “John, I’m not commenting on you as a human being or as a member of the Body of Christ. I am saying that we do not see in you something essential for effective priestly ministry in a parish church. Specifically, we have not seen … (say something about capacity for leadership, spiritual maturity, emotional intelligence, or priestliness).” The same directness and honesty might be useful in the process of forming priests and later by bishops and search committees.

Five critical elements

R. David Cox writes, “The presbyterate remains an essential pastoral office within the priesthood of all Christians, for teaching, for nourishing the community of faith through word and sacrament, and for leading the community as an elder.” (Priesthood in a New Millennium, Church Publishing, 2004) Cox acknowledges that not all priests will be parish priests. But he sees the leadership task as being part of the ministry for all priests. What is it we need from those who will exercise this leadership and especially those who will do that as parish priests?

What might we look for in the discernment process that leads to ordination as a priest? What do we need to equip and develop in the formation process? What does a parish need to consider as they seek a priest? Five elements come to mind.