Priest: Portraits of Ten Good Men Serving the Church Today, by Michael Rose, Sophia Institute Press, 187 pgs., $14.95.

Reviewed by MICHAEL F. FLACH
Herald Staff Writer
(From the issue of 9/4/03)

Priest is author Michael S. Rose’s sequel to his controversial book Goodbye, Good Men, which detailed a general breakdown in the U.S. seminary system, including widespread homosexuality and sexual abuse. In his latest effort, Rose takes a more optimistic look at the Catholic priesthood by giving a brief glimpse into the lives of 10 priests from various parts of the country, including Arlington’s own Father James R. Gould, former diocesan vocations director and now pastor of St. Raymond of Penafort Parish in Fairfax Station.

In Rose’s words, Priest is a book "written neither from the perspective of anti-Church reformer who wants fundamentally to change or eliminate the Catholic priesthood, nor from the perspective of one who seeks to sugarcoat the sacred institution by painting an image of priests who stand head and shoulders above the rest of society simply by dint of their ordination."

Rather, Rose says, the book "is a simple and forthright look at the priesthood at the beginning of the 21^st century, through the eyes of priests who are devoted to Christ and His Church."

In addition to Father Gould, many local Catholics will be delighted to read the chapter on Father C. John McCloskey III, an Opus Dei priest who directs the Catholic Information Center in Washington, D.C. His chapter is titled "The Conversion Specialist" because of Father McCloskey’s ability to attract numerous high-profile converts to the Catholic faith, including former abortionist Dr. Bernard Nathanson; author and political commentator Robert Novak; Wall Street economist Lawrence Kudlow; Kansas Senator Sam Brownback; and conservative publisher Alfred S. Regnery.

Father McCloskey served for many years as Catholic chaplain on the campus of Princeton University, a place where "hedonism, prestige, security, power and ambition are the standards by which they live." He eventually was removed from this post because he was considered too conservative and confrontational by the university administration.

The chapter on Father Gould — "Fostering Vocations for Future Generations" — highlights many of the successes he achieved as diocesan vocations director during a 15-year period under Bishops Thomas J. Welsh and John R. Keating. During that time, the diocese produced an average of eight new priests a year and lowered the average age of its priests to 42, nearly 20 years below the national average.

Father Gould actively sought out men who demonstrated prayer, generosity, hard work and sacrifice. He attributes his success to unswerving allegiance to the pope and magisterial teaching, perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in parishes "and the strong effort by a significant number of diocesan priests who extend themselves to help young men remain open to the Lord’s will in their lives."

The true vocations directors are at home, Father Gould said, not in the Chancery office. "I’m just the gatekeeper. I’m the one who helps get them in, and I’m the one who helps throw them out, if need be. But the real vocations directors are the parents."

The only blemish I could find in Rose’s book was his referral to Bishop Welsh, Arlington’s founding bishop, as Bishop "Welch." Otherwise, his portrayal of Father Gould’s work was right on the mark.

Other priests profiled by Rose include Dominican Father James Sullivan; U.S. Army Chaplain Father Patrick Rohen; Father Myron Effing, a U.S. priest serving as a missionary in Russia; and Father Paul Berschied, a priest active in pro-life ministry along the Kentucky-Ohio border.

Rose observes that despite all the problems and challenges facing the Catholic priesthood today, "the priesthood itself is not the problem. It is abuse within the ranks of the priesthood, burning like a brush fire, that is more often than not the true problem."

The solution, he says, must be rooted in fidelity to the Church’s teaching, especially on faith and morals. "The basic formula for a strong priesthood," he says, "is fidelity and fortitude."

Father McCloskey used a military metaphor to describe the fortitude needed by aspiring priests. Priests "are the Navy Seals, the Army Rangers and the Green Berets of the Catholic Church," Father McCloskey said, "and I’m proud to serve among their ranks."