The American Catholic Church is seeing a prolonged surge of conservative young priests, leaving the aging and far more liberal Vatican II generation with no replacements.
According to a nationally representative survey conducted by the Catholic Project at the Catholic University of America, of 3,500 priests ordained since 2020, “More than 80 percent of priests ordained since 2020 describe themselves as theologically ‘conservative/orthodox’ or ‘very conservative/orthodox.'” Foreign-born priests in the United States, a significant contingent due to the overall low number of ordinations in the U.S., were found to be significantly more liberal than their American counterparts.
However, perhaps most revealing, the study found that no priest ordained since 2020 described himself as “very progressive.” In addition, nearly all priests ordained in 2020 and afterward described themselves as politically moderate or conservative.
The findings represent an enormous shift in theological and political attitudes among the priesthood in the post-conciliar era. In the 1960s, nearly half of the priesthood that witnessed and oversaw the revolutionary changes in Vatican II aimed at “modernizing” the church described themselves as politically liberal—an even more significant percentage identified as theologically progressive.
As the Times puts it: “In the near future, in other words, the liberal Catholic priest could essentially be extinct in the United States. The shift toward more uniform conservatism puts the rising generations of priests increasingly at odds with secular culture, which has broadly moved to the left on questions of gender, sexuality, reproductive issues, and roles for women.”
While many of the roles priests perform in the church do not reveal a liberal or conservative stance, the tectonic shift in the theological and political ideology of American priests could manifest most significantly in homilies, the administering of certain sacraments, and the counsel given to parishioners on sexual relations and social issues.
Father Zachary Galante of Milwaukee, a recently ordained priest interviewed by the New York Times, says that the attitudes of previous generations of priests to change the church to appeal to an ever-changing world was a flawed and failed mentality.
Of the priests of the 1970s and 1980s, Father Galante said they “were looking at the world and saying, ‘The world is changing, we need to change, too.’” Father Galante saw this go-along-get-along attitude reflected in how priests softened their stances on cohabitation before marriage, prayer, and how people dress for church, among many other issues. Father Galante uses his Catholic grade school to prove the failure of this mentality. Out of a class of 30, the Milwaukee native says a mere handful remain practicing Catholics.
Galante’s example rings true on a broader, national level as well. For years, Catholic congregations across America have seen steady and severe declines in attendance, particularly in the Novus Ordo (New Order of the Mass) promulgated in 1969 after Vatican II.
In contrast, despite Pope Francis’ efforts to crack down and issue strict new limits, the Traditional Latin Mass (aka “the extraordinary form) has grown in popularity, particularly among young people.
New priests’ desire to return the church to traditional Catholic doctrine, even if opposed by the society surrounding it, serves as a rallying cry for young priests inspired by a daunting yet meaningful challenge.
“Young guys today desire sacrifice; they desire to do something great with their life,” said Father Luke Strand, a 31-year-old ordained with Father Galante.
The survey results prove that many “young guys” agree with Father Strand.