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What sort of priest is needed for the third millennium? The cultural and ecclesial landscape has changed so dramatically over the past fifty years. There are new and challenging forces at work influencing the direction of culture and many forces bearing in on the Church. The priest is at the cutting edge of the intersection of these forces as they play out in the lives of Catholics. It is timely to look again at the identity, spirituality and pastoral orientation of priests. This book is written firstly for priests, especially diocesan priests. Priests are vital for the life of the Church at the local parish level. The author has been a diocesan priest for thirty four years. More recently he has been Rector of the Seminary of the Good Shepherd, Sydney. His role as Rector raised the question of the identity and mission of the priest in the contemporary setting. This book is a fruit of living the priesthood and of a reflection on the future of the priesthood as he focussed on the formation of seminarians. The book begins with an examination of the factors in society and changes in the Church that bear in on priestly ministry. It considers new signs of hope emerging in the Church in recent times and it looks at the way in which the Church itself has responded to some of the challenges that priests have faced. The book then moves to examine the identity and character of the priest, considering the human reality, the pastoral orientation and the spiritual life of the priest.
