Inner Life of Priests

Fr. Gerard J. McGlone, SJ, PhD, has recently been appointed the Director of Counseling Services, Staff Psychologist and Faculty Member at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, Italy. He is the co-author with Len Sperry, MD, PhD of the award winning book, The Inner Life of Priests. He has authored numerous books, peer-reviewed articles and chapters. He has recently finished being the lead author of three nationally recognized sexual abuse prevention programs: Instruments of Hope and Healing, Critical Conversations and Conversations that Matter. Len Sperry, MD, PhD, is a professor at Florida Atlantic University and at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He consults to dioceses and religious orders and is on 10 editorial boards including Psychology of Religion & Spirituality. Among his 600+ publications are the award winning Transforming Self and Community: Revisioning Pastoral Counseling & Spiritual Direction; Sex, Priestly Ministry & the Church, and Spirituality in Clinical Practice (2ed).

• ContentsPreface   xiAcknowledgments   xiii1. The Inner Life of Priests: Introduction and Overview   1Gerard J. McGlone, SJ, and Len Sperry2. The Inner Life of Priests: A Model in the Journey of Holiness and Wholeness   11Fernando A. Ortiz and Gerard J. McGlone, SJ3. Psychology’s Contribution to the Church   30Len Sperry4. The Church and the Role of Psychology   44Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB5. Inner Life and Cultural Competence   59Len Sperry6. The Journey Within and Intercultural Competencies   72Gerard J. McGlone, SJ, and Fernando A. Ortiz7. The Inner World of Today’s Celibate   82Gerard J. McGlone, SJ8. Assessing the Journey Within   104Len Sperry 9. The Psyche and the Soul: Personality and Spirituality   123Len Sperry10. Reclaiming Our Catholic Anthropology   135Len Sperry11. The Joys and Struggles of Priests across the Life Span in View of the Sexual Abuse Scandal   144Gerard J. McGlone, SJ, and Fernando A. Ortiz12. Reflections on the Inner Life of Priests   165Katarina Schuth, OSF, Monsignor Jeremiah J. McCarthy, Jan Slattery, and Allan Figueroa Deck, SJReferences   179Authors and Contributors   190Index of Names   191Index of Subjects 195

Father McGlone, SJ, Len Sperry, and others address the inner life of the priest in a very insightful and helpful way. They use spirituality and psychology in a way that enables the priest to come to a deeper understanding of himself and his vocation.The Most Reverend Gregory Aymond, archbishop of New Orleans