Clergy Day – Looking Ahead to “Cultivating Unity” Convocation 2018

November 21 2017

Topic: Same Call, Different Men, The Evolution of the Priesthood since Vatican II
Speaker: Rev. Stephen Fichter, Ph.D., Research Associate,
Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.

Bishop Marshall Center
10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Far-reaching changes continue to take place in the American priesthood.Building on insights gained from four previous surveys, Same Call, Different Men uses data from a 2009 survey-jointly implemented by the National Federation of Priest’s Councils and the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate – in which 900 priests shared attitudes and stories about their lives and ministry. Among topics covered are the challenges of ministry with fewer ordinations and larger parishes, ministering to an increasingly multicultural laity, collaboration with lay leaders, and personal reflections on the sexual abuse issue. It also relates the many satisfactions of being a priest, one who brings Christ to others and who is invited into many profound moments of individual lives.