Study looks at foreign-born priests serving in U.S

National Catholic Reporter, Feb 24, 2006 by Patricia Lefevere

While research supports training foreign priests in U.S. seminaries so that they, too, will become more acculturated to the American church and improve their language skills, it also underlines why only 19 percent of the diocesan priests and 23 percent of the religious priests polled had studied here. Money.

A Vietnamese priest surveyed noted: "It costs a seminarian here over $100,000 to train to be a priest.... But in Vietnam it costs $500 to $600 a year! For four years .the total is way under $5,000."

The three most frequently voiced reasons for bringing in foreign priests are: to serve immigrant parishes, to fill the gaps in the U.S. priest shortage, and to help universalize and revitalize American Catholicism.

Some who favor using international priests often assume "a priest is a priest is a priest," drawing on the theological principle ex opere operantis, meaning that the efficacy of a priest when celebrating the sacraments is independent of the spiritual state or the abilities or even the communication skills of the priest himself. That notion seemed more prevalent in the sending than in the receiving country, the study found.

A priest who staffs an orientation program for international priests told the authors that many men who come here from overseas don't feel the need for local acculturation. They have been educated in a mentality of: "You are being trained to be a Roman Catholic priest, and we're a universal church, and this is the way it's done all over the world." This is the Mass, and everything's clear, he said.

Some U.S. priests and lay respondents thought that more preparation is required on the part of the receiving congregation or religious institution. Others suggested that U.S. clergy spend two years working as priests abroad.

Arguments against

A California diocesan staff member said international priests cause her to examine "the devotional piece" of her own religious life. She felt they "are better at that because they are so grounded in it," but said "middle-age American priests ... have lost that."

While the book emphasizes the need for international priests who "give us" a world vision but also bless us with their spiritual gifts," it also devotes a chapter to why Americans should stop bringing them in.

The chief argument against them is their difficulties with English and with cultural adaptation. Often this bias is unspoken to the priest himself, but shows up by people dozing during the homily or leaving Mass when they see who's celebrating. Americans can be quite "intolerant," Hoge said, and in general want shorter Masses and shorter homilies, which is foreign to many African priests.

A Polish religious priest and administrator told the authors that Polish priests don't get good training in English in Poland. "When they come here, they are rushed into the ministry because there's such a tremendous shortage. There's never time to do anything. There's never time for any advanced course. I think that causes lots of confusion."

Besides the barriers of language and accent, there is also the difference in style of American sermons from what these priests are accustomed to in their native lands. "I think they need to learn how to preach in the cultural context of the U.S., the same way we would need to learn how to preach if we were in Bogota, Colombia," a respondent said.