"CULTIC” LEADERSHIP VS. SERVANT LEADERSHIP IN THE CATHOLIC PRIESTHOOD.
Dean Hoge of The Catholic University of America, conducted a survey in which 1000 U.S. Catholic priests responded. The 2005 survey was a repeat of a survey he had conducted in 1990. There were a number of interesting findings from his written study of the survey titled “Experiences of Catholic Priests Ordained Five to Nine Years” that were summarized in an article by Jerry Filteau of the Catholic News Service. One finding was a return to a “cultic model” of priesthood from a trend since Vatican II towards a model based on “servant leadership”.
According to Hoge (from an article in the Boston College Magazine Summer of 2005 edition), “the cultic model […] sees the priest as mainly an administrator of the sacraments and teacher of the faith. The cultic priest stands apart from other Catholics […]. The cultic model emphasizes that priests are different from laity-higher in holiness and mediators between God and humanity.”
Hoge contrasts this with the servant-leader model of priesthood, which “positioned priests within the Catholic community, interacting closely with the laity and collaborating with them in parish life as spiritual and social leaders. […] Priests living the servant-leader model invested themselves more in community leadership beyond the parish than did cultic priests, as they attempted to have a beneficial effect on the larger society.”
As someone who believes that servant leadership has much to offer all of our institutions, this reversing trend towards “cultic” leadership in the Catholic Church troubles me. As a member of the Catholic Church and a student of servant leadership, I have felt much conflict in regards to the leadership methods used by my Church. It seems that many of the troubles that have plagued the Catholic Church are related to the “cultic” or hierarchical form of leadership that dominates the Church.
Carl Koch (one of my favorite teachers of servant leadership) pointed out in his article titled “Servant Leadership: Can the Bishops Learn from Southwest Airlines”, that “servant leadership has its roots in the person of Jesus, the Gospels and the early church, a church that collectively called forth its leaders.” It is my hope that our Catholic priests can find a way to return to their own catholic roots.
According to Hoge (from an article in the Boston College Magazine Summer of 2005 edition), “the cultic model […] sees the priest as mainly an administrator of the sacraments and teacher of the faith. The cultic priest stands apart from other Catholics […]. The cultic model emphasizes that priests are different from laity-higher in holiness and mediators between God and humanity.”
Hoge contrasts this with the servant-leader model of priesthood, which “positioned priests within the Catholic community, interacting closely with the laity and collaborating with them in parish life as spiritual and social leaders. […] Priests living the servant-leader model invested themselves more in community leadership beyond the parish than did cultic priests, as they attempted to have a beneficial effect on the larger society.”
As someone who believes that servant leadership has much to offer all of our institutions, this reversing trend towards “cultic” leadership in the Catholic Church troubles me. As a member of the Catholic Church and a student of servant leadership, I have felt much conflict in regards to the leadership methods used by my Church. It seems that many of the troubles that have plagued the Catholic Church are related to the “cultic” or hierarchical form of leadership that dominates the Church.
Carl Koch (one of my favorite teachers of servant leadership) pointed out in his article titled “Servant Leadership: Can the Bishops Learn from Southwest Airlines”, that “servant leadership has its roots in the person of Jesus, the Gospels and the early church, a church that collectively called forth its leaders.” It is my hope that our Catholic priests can find a way to return to their own catholic roots.
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