Call
to Action of Michigan Call
to Action of Michigan
P. O. Box 691, Warren Michigan 48090-0691
(586)751-8592 margeorlando@comcast .net
CTA Survey of Michigan Priests
In January 2004, Call To Action of Michigan mailed a survey to all priests in Michigan in an attempt to gain greater understanding of the views of diocesan and religious order clergy on several critical issues that the Catholic Church is facing today. Critical issues included mandatory celibacy, exercise of authority and decision-making by Church officials, and Church teaching on divorced/remarried Catholics, birth control, role of women in the Church, and homosexuality.
A total of 1515 surveys were mailed, and 342 completed surveys were returned. This yielded a response rate of 23%. Respondents provided basic demographic information, which is summarized below. Seventy-five percent of the respondents were age 51 to 69 and were ordained between 1962 and 1982. Most listed their status as “active.” About half of the respondents were from Detroit. The next largest group was Lansing at 15%. Overall, about 5 % of survey respondents were unwilling to provide demographic information, although they did respond to questions about critical issues. These responses were included in summary data for the group as a whole, but were omitted from individual comparisons, e.g., age group, year of ordination, diocese, etc.
Table 1
Demographic Characteristics of Participants (N = 342)
Characteristic n % M SD
Age at time of survey (314) 60.2 13.13
28 – 49 67 21.3
50 – 59 81 25.8
60 – 69 89 28.3
70 + 77 24.5
Status (328)
Active 267 81.4
Retired 61 18.6
Year ordained (318) 1972 14.69
Before 1962 77 24.5
1962 – 1969 74 23.3
1970 – 1981 78 24.5
1982 – present 88 27.7
(Table 1 continued)
Characteristic n % Total* %
Diocese (326)
Detroit 166 50.9 768 53
Saginaw 31 9.5 120 8
Lansing 50 15.3 185 13
Grand Rapids 31 9.5 135 9
Kalamazoo 16 4.9 69 5
Gaylord 16 4.9 78 5
Marquette 16 4.9 101 7
*Total = total number of priests for each diocese (includes diocesan and religious order priests) reported in The Official Catholic Directory 2003.
In terms of geographic location, the present sample would appear to be representative of priests in Michigan. Age groups and retirement status figures are fairly consistent with national sample data reported by Hoge & Wenger (2003), although comparisons to national data are limited because we did not ask for information regarding diocesan vs. religious order status.
Questions were asked about the six critical issues described above. Specific questions included: Do you favor an open discussion on the mandatory celibacy rule for diocesan priests? Are you satisfied with the way authority is exercised and decisions are made by the Vatican? By your diocese? Do you agree with the Church's teaching on birth control? Do you agree with the Church's teaching on divorced/remarried Catholics? Do you agree with the Church's teaching on the role of women in the Church? Do you agree with the Church's teaching on homosexuality? Response choices were ‘yes,' ‘no,' and ‘unsure.' Respondents were also asked to list any other issues that they regarded as critical for the Church today. Responses from the group as a whole were tabulated, and then the sample was divided according to age groups, ordination groups, ‘active/retired' status, and diocese. Significance tests for comparisons of the frequency of ‘yes' and ‘no' responses to the various questions, according to these groupings, were carried out using the chi square statistic. Significant differences were not reported unless they were significant at the .05 level. This is an accepted convention in data analysis. The following is organized according to the specific questions asked, followed by a discussion of additional critical issues.
For the group as a whole, 69% of respondents said that they favored an open discussion on mandatory celibacy. Twenty-eight percent did not favor such a discussion, and 3% were unsure. The difference between ‘yes' and ‘no' responses for this group was statistically significant, c ² (1) = 60.12, p < .0001. Compared to respondents in other age groups, the youngest priests, ages 28 to 49, did not show a significant majority in favor of an open discussion on celibacy. Fifty-seven percent said they favored such a discussion. Thirty-eight percent did not, and 5% were unsure. The difference between ‘yes' and ‘no' responses was not significant for this group. Each of the other age groups strongly endorsed an open discussion on mandatory celibacy. Seventy-eight percent of the 50 to 59 year olds said they were in favor of such a discussion. Twenty percent were opposed, and 3% were unsure. The difference between ‘yes' and ‘no' responses was significant,
c ² (1) = 27.96, p < .0001. Eighty percent of respondents in the 60 to 69 year old age group endorsed an open discussion on mandatory celibacy. Sixteen percent of this group was opposed, and 4% were unsure. For the oldest group, age 70 and above, 62% were in favor of an open discussion on mandatory celibacy, and 38% were opposed. No one in this group was unsure. This difference was significant, c ² = 4.68, p < .03.
The group was also divided according to active/retired status, diocese, and year of ordination, and comparisons were made using these groupings. The majority of respondents who reported their status as ‘active' said that they favored an open discussion on mandatory celibacy. The difference between ‘yes' and ‘no' responses for this group was statistically significant, c ² = 61.53 (1), p < .0001. Respondents who reported their status as ‘retired' did not show a clear majority in either direction. With regard to diocese, respondents from Detroit, Saginaw, and Lansing showed a significant majority in favor of an open discussion on mandatory celibacy. Respondents from Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Gaylord, and Marquette did not show a clear majority in either direction. Each of the ordination groups listed in Table 1 showed a clear majority in favor of an open discussion on mandatory celibacy.
This question considered authority and decision-making by the diocese and by the Vatican. For the group as a whole, 58% of respondents said that they were not satisfied with the way authority is exercised and decisions are made by the Vatican, while 35% said they were satisfied. Seven percent were unsure on this question. The difference between ‘yes' and ‘no' responses was statistically significant, c ² = 19.63 (1), p < .0001. With regard to the exercise of authority and decision-making by the diocese, 41% of the group as a whole said that they were satisfied, while 47% were unsatisfied. Twelve percent were unsure.
When the group is classified according to age and ordination groups, similar patterns are evident with regard to this question. Respondents from the 28 – 49 age group and those age 70 and above did not show a clear majority in either direction. This was also the case for those ordained before 1962 and those ordained after 1981. Sixty-eight percent of respondents in the age 50 – 59 age group, however, said that they were unsatisfied with the exercise of authority and decision-making by the Vatican, while 25% were satisfied. Seven percent were unsure. The difference between ‘yes' and ‘no' responses to this question was statistically significant, c ² = 16.33 (1), p < .0001. This age group did not show a clear majority in either direction regarding satisfaction with diocesan authority and decision-making. Seventy-one percent of respondents age 60 – 69 said that they were unsatisfied with the exercise of authority and decision-making by the Vatican. Twenty percent were satisfied, and 9% were unsure. The difference between ‘yes' and ‘no' responses for this age group was significant, c ² = 25.0 (1), p < .0001. For the same group, 51% were unsatisfied with authority/decision-making by the diocese, while 31% were satisfied. Nine percent were unsure. The difference between ‘yes' and ‘no' responses in this group was significant, c ² = 3.95 (1), p < .05. With regard to ordination groups, a clear majority of those ordained between 1962 and 1969 and between 1970 and 1981 said that they were unsatisfied with the exercise of authority and decision-making by both the Vatican and the diocese.
A majority of respondents reporting ‘active' status said that they were unsatisfied with the exercise of authority/decision-making by the Vatican. The difference between ‘yes' and ‘no' responses on this question was significant, c ² = 24.53 (1), p < .0001. ‘Active' priests did not show a clear majority in either direction on the question of satisfaction with the exercise of authority and decision-making by the diocese. Respondents reporting ‘retired' status did not show a clear majority in either direction on either question.
With regard to diocese, respondents from Detroit and Saginaw reported dissatisfaction with the exercise of authority and decision-making by the Vatican. Respondents from Lansing, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Gaylord, and Marquette did not show a clear majority in either direction on this question. When asked about authority and decision-making at the diocesan level, a majority of respondents from Detroit and Gaylord reported dissatisfaction, while a majority of those from Kalamazoo reported satisfaction. Respondents from Saginaw, Lansing, Grand Rapids, and Marquette did not show a clear majority in either direction.
Church Teaching – Critical Issues
Four questions were raised regarding Church teaching on specific critical issues. Respondents were asked whether they agreed with Church teaching on birth control, divorce/remarriage, role of women in the Church, and homosexuality. For the group as a whole, the only clear majority that emerged was on the question of the role of women in the Church. Fifty-five percent said that they did not agree with the position of the Church on this issue. Thirty-nine percent agreed with Church teaching, and 6% were unsure. There was a significant difference between ‘yes' and ‘no' responses to this question for the group as a whole, c ² = 9.35 (1), p < .002. With regard to the same question, priests in age groups 50 – 59 and 60 – 69, and ordination groups 1962 – 1969 and 1970 – 1981, showed a clear majority in disagreement with Church teaching on the role of women in the Church. ‘Active' status priests and priests from Detroit and from Saginaw also showed a clear majority in disagreement with Church teaching in this area.
With regard to Church teaching on birth control, a majority of the youngest respondents, age 28 – 49, and a majority of respondents from the Kalamazoo diocese said that they were in agreement. A clear majority of respondents from age groups 50 – 59 and 60 – 69 and from ordination groups 1962 – 1969 and 1970 – 1981 said that they disagreed with Church teaching on birth control. A clear majority of respondents reporting ‘active' status also indicated disagreement with Church teaching on this issue.
A clear majority of respondents from the youngest age group, those ordained after 1981, and respondents from Kalamazoo said that they agreed with Church teaching on divorce and remarriage. Fifty-five percent of those in the 60 – 69 age group, 61% of those ordained between 1962 and 1969, and 55% of those ordained between 1970 and 1981 reported disagreement with Church teaching on this issue. There were significant differences between ‘yes' and ‘no' responses to this question for each of the above groups in the direction reported. With regard to this question, percentages of ‘unsure' responses were relatively high. Eleven percent of respondents age 60 – 69, 14% of those ordained between 1962 and 1969, and 12% of respondents ordained between 1970 and 1981 said that they were ‘unsure' with regard to this question.
A majority of the oldest respondents, age 70 and above, those ordained before 1962, and respondents reporting ‘retired' status reported that they were in agreement with Church teaching on homosexuality. A majority of respondents from the 50 – 59 and 60 – 69 age groups, and from ordination groups 1962 – 1969 and 1970 – 1981, said that they disagreed with Church teaching on homosexuality. There were significant differences between ‘yes' and ‘no' responses to this question for each of the above groups in the direction reported. This question also elicited a relatively high percentage of ‘unsure' responses. Fifteen percent of respondents age 60 – 69, 11% of respondents age 70 and above, and 12% of respondents ordained between 1962 and 1969 said that they were ‘unsure' with regard to this question.
Other Critical Issues
Approximately one-third of the respondents listed additional “critical issues” for the Church. There were two issues most frequently endorsed. These included concerns about leadership in the Church and dissent from Church teaching. Leadership issues included concerns about lack of lay leadership, “clericalism,” perceived abuses of power and control by Church leaders, problems with Vatican authority, questions about selection of bishops and accountability of bishops. Those who talked about dissent from Church teaching expressed concerns about lack of obedience to the magisterium on one side to concerns about suppression of dissent on the other. Several raised concerns about Catholic elected officials who take positions that contradict Church teaching. A need for communication among diverse groups in the Church was also cited. Other “critical issues” included wider social justice issues, concerns about apparent “regression from the spirit of Vatican II,” the priest shortage and related concerns (e.g., ordination of women, questions about the role of married priests, concerns about seminary formation), the sex abuse crisis and handling of this matter, ecumenism, and the need to reach out to Catholic youth and inactive Catholics.
Conclusions
There are several preliminary conclusions that may be drawn from the CTA survey:
Limitations
Findings from this survey should be interpreted cautiously, based on the limited demographic data available and our relatively low response rate. With regard to the latter, other surveys of priests have yielded fairly high response rates. Hoge (2001) reported a 71% response rate for his 2001 Priest survey, sponsored by the National Federation of Priests' Councils. The LA Times 2002 survey of priests reported a 37% response rate. Finally, a 2002 survey conducted by the Archdiocese of Detroit for active priests in the diocese reported an 88% response rate.
These limitations raise some questions about whether this kind of group can obtain comprehensive data from priests regarding their views on critical issues. It is not entirely clear how the CTA group may be perceived by priests in Michigan and how this perception may have affected our response rate.
Reference List
Hoge, Dean R. & Wenger, Jacqueline E. (2003). Evolving visions of the priesthood: Changes from Vatican II to the turn of the new century . Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press
Archdiocese of Detroit Presbyteral Council (2002). Survey of priests, 2002: A report to the presbyteral council from ad hoc survey committee .
The Official Catholic Directory (2003). New Providence, New Jersey: P. J. Kenedy & Sons.