Few today would contest that the priesthood is in a stateof crisis. The nature and implications of that crisis, however, remainthe subject of considerable discussion and debate. In The ChangingFace of the Priesthood, Donald Cozzens offers insight into the crisisby reflecting on the issues, challenges, concerns, and realities ofthe priesthood today.

The same year that Pope John XXIII surprised the Catholic world withhis call for an ecumenical council, Cozzens began his formal study oftheology. As a seminarian he felt the shaking of the priesthood'sfoundations. The very face of the priesthood was evolving even as hearrived at his first parish assignment. A generation later, the faceof the priesthood continues to reveal new contours, fascinatingfeatures and, sadly, some tragic blemishes.

In The Changing Face of the Priesthood, Cozzens takes a long, honestlook at the present state of the priesthood. He provides thisexamination not merely from an empirical, scientific perspective butalso from a personal, pastoral perspective. Drawing on clinical data,Church documents, and his nearly forty years of pastoral experience,Cozzens gives shape and form to the changing face of thepriesthood. Through his reflections he leads readers to both concernand hope for the priesthood of the twenty-first century.

Chapters are "Discovering an Identity," "Guarding One's Integrity,""Loving as a Celibate," "Facing the Unconscious," "Becoming a Man,""Tending the Word," "Considering Orientation," "Betraying Our Young,"and "The Changing Face of the Priesthood."