Magyar Egyház, 1971 (50. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1971-01-01 / 1. szám
14 MAGYAR EGYHÁZ Clergy Under Stress The popular image of the contented clergyman, secure in his calling and happy in his job, has never accurately reflected the real tensions and frustrations of the ministry. But only in recent years have social scientists bothered to analyze the extent and sources of clerical discontent. Now, in a report to the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, sociologist John Koval of Notre Dame estimates that one U. S. Roman Catholic priest in four is considering resigning from the priesthood gecause of what Koval describes as “serious occupational stress.” The priests’ major complaints, Koval finds, are directly related to their jobs. Between 35 and 40 per cent complain of “a lack of leadership from those in authority.” Also high on the priests’ list of frustrations is “loneliness,” followed by a desire for marriage, which Koval says is on the minds of 10 per cent of the 1,800 priests he surveyed last year for the National Federation of Priests’ Councils. In contrast to the situation in the Catholic church, Koval finds the major causes of emotional stress among U.S. Protestant clergy to be the “need for more money” and the “seemingly futile and ineffectual work of the church.” But these problems, Koval points out, are less complicated than the “multiple stresses” affecting Catholic clergy. As a result, he notes, only one Protestant cleric in eight is thinking of resigning from the ministry. Ammunition: Age is another key variable in Koval’s study. Of the 5,000 Protestant clergymen he surveyed, 20 per cent find their jobs “futile”—and the vast majority of those who do are under 45 years of age. Among Catholic priests, the gap between those who are under 50 and those who are over that age is so wide, according to Koval, “that it would not be an exaggeration to view the Catholic clergy as comprising two separate groups or, if you will, two churches.” Almost half of the priests under 30, for example, admit that the “desire to marry” is a source of serious personal stress. Koval’s report on the Catholic clergy is not yet complete. But his preliminary conclusions on priestly interest in marriage are likely to provide sociological ammunition for those Catholics who are pressing the hierarchy to make celibacy optional for priests. Equally important, his study undercuts the assumption that clergymen who discard their collars do so because they have suffered a loss of faith. On the contrary, Koval emphasizes, loss of faith is generally the least important reason. —Newsweek. Who Is The Strongest Force? The director of The National Foundation for Highway Safety says the strongest force is not the newspaper, the magazine, radio or television. “It is the religious leaders who are the mightiest force in our nation. They speak to a captive audience. With a carefully prepared 20 to 30 minute message, the religious leaders captivate the attention of their listeners.” The Foundation believes that the Sixth Annual Highway Safety Sunday can be one of the most effective single operations for a vast safety crusade. Free brochures are offered for religious leaders. A layman may write for enough brochures to distribute to all the religious leaders in his area. Write to: National Foundation for Highway Safety 3086 Westville Station New Haven, Connecticut 06515 The Highway Scene Twice as many Americans died last year in automobile wrecks in which alcohol was involved as were murdered. Even assuming that three out of four drunken drivers kill only themselves (probably a high estimate), twice as many innocent bystanders were killed by drunken drivers as were killed by robbers, rapists, arsonists and thieves combined. The value of the property destroyed in accidents attributable to drinking drivers was six times that of the property stolen in all the robberies, larcenies and burglaries in the country. More adults were convicted of drunken driving than of murder, rape, robbery, assault and burglary combined. One arrest was made for drunken driving for every 412 people in the country. A recent study in Chicago showed that only 20 per cent of those convicted of drunken driving were chronic alcoholics. The rest were ordinary social drinkers, many of whom were convinced they were not drunk until a sample or a breathtester showed otherwise. Despite the years of work by traffic court judges, policemen and highway safety people, the general public doesn’t seem to take drunken driving seriously. —Des Moines Sunday Register Pupils Planning Prayer Appeal Teen-agers in Netcong, N. J., are playing a key role in a community crusade to bring the school prayer issue before the U.S. Supreme Court. About 80% of Netcong High School’s 390 pupils went to school at 7:55 a.m. each day in the fall of 1969 for prayer readings in the school auditorium. Officials said it was the pupils idea and attendance at the prayer readings, held before the official start of school, was voluntary. But New Jersey’s courts stopped the prayers, ruling the program violated a 1962 U.S. Supreme Court decision that school prayers violate the First Amendment. But the teen-agers want the prayers back, student leaders say. So funds are being raised by community and religious groups for an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, which will be filed by the school board. — Notes — Secretary John A. Volpe, Secretary of Transportation, said at a congressional hearing “that new data indicated that 60 to 65 per cent of deaths on the highway can be attributed to alcohol.” Thus, about 35,000 fatalities can be attributed to alcohol every year. * * * The California State Court of Appeals has ruled that an alcoholic is “impaired” and therefore is eligible for welfare. In a 2-1 decision, the court overturned a State Department of Social Welfare rule that alcoholism alone is not sufficient reason to qualify for aid.
