U.S. Priests Are Introverts, New British Study Finds

By Fabrizio Mastrofini
Vatican Insider
August 9, 2013

http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/reviews/detail/articolo/preti-priests-sacerdotes-27015/


The psychological profile Catholic priests in the U.S. comes under the category of "introverted". They are more interested in the ministry in the strict sense and less involved in the social dimension of the apostolate. They are also less focused on the mission. This is according to the latest study published by a British team, led by Leslie Francis, an Anglican professor  at the University of Warwick. The study appears in the current issue of "Pastoral Psychology," an authoritative magazine on international studies published in the United States. Prof. Francis is a prominent figure in the field of psychology of religion and he has developed a special version of the test that is based on the theory of "Psychological Types" of Carl Gustav Jung and the statistical questionnaire developed by Myers and Briggs in the Sixties.

The inquiry carried out by Francis and his team is based on a fairly small sample- partly because of the complexity of the test to be administered - and it is compared with other similar surveys carried out in the Eighties and Nineties. What is new about this study, is that it looks into the inner center of gravity of the new generation of Catholic priests in the United States.

The first trait that characterises them, is "introversion." The second is "sensing", that is, the way in which information is gathered to make judgments. "Sensing" happens via the five senses, as opposed to 'intuition' for those who make exclusive use of intuition. "Sensing," Francis notes, "meant to have priests that relate exclusively to the inherited tradition and do not care to adapt it to the needs of new generations”. Priests are accustomed to preserving rather than promoting changes in their pastoral activities. "They place an emphasis on preserving the existing rather than on the missionary dimension". And this happens despite Pope Francis’ insistence on the missionary dimension of pastoral activity, on going outside the confines of the parish and welcoming anyone who knocks at the Church’s doors.  

In terms of "how" we orient ourselves in the outside world and how we prefer to relate to the outside world, the results of the questionnaire confirm that priests tend to be "judgmental" and are therefore anxious to keep the established structures they find in place when they take up their ministry. “We have a class of priests who put duty above love for others”. By focusing on "judging the relationship with the outside world, priests become less flexible and are not able to inject new life and new hope into the Church’s structures", Francis writes. 

According to the classification of Psychological Types, priests with these characteristics, comes under the general ISTJ model which includes introverts who use the five senses and intuition and rely on rationality and judgment. This type is very common, particularly among males (two thirds of ISTJ are men). Instead of contemplating the future as an “intuitive” type or celebrating the present as a “sensory extrovert” type, ISTJs always look at the past. They are engaged in protecting the way things were done in the past, as well as past traditions and conventions. "This profile - Francis concludes – is indicative of a presbytery that does not really require or encourage cooperation with the laity."