Addressing a priest with a PhD

[Cristiano]

Father (and steer clear of any priests with PhD’s who prefer to be called Dr.- their vocation to the priesthood should be their most important one)

That is a good point; however even a priest can be subject to vanity while still considering their vocation the most important thing. I think that it is easier to identify a priest than to identify a priest with a PhD.

(I don’t remember who said this). I suspect you have not tried to get a Ph.D. You don’t just have to pass some tests. The tests you do have to pass are very difficult, you have to write a dissertation that is very difficult- and present it to a committee (you have to defend it in front of them). If not a dissertation, then a difficult internship (for medicine/Psy.D.), or a couple of recitals, or compositions, or exhibits, or productions (Music, Theatre, Art, Dance, etc.)

I said that, and yes I have a doctor degree, I spent more than a decade working with graduate students. In your opinion the tests are very difficult, in my opinion they are not if the students are willing to spend time in class and to study. Same thing for the dissertation work. The main difficulty of going through graduate school is with time and consistency. Everyone with an average intelligence and a lot of motivation can go through graduate school.

The probability of success in graduate school, as in professional life, is mainly based on attitude. You must be willing to sacrifice some of the other interests and probably to put in (for real) an average of 10 working hours a day six days a week. I know a lot of people that do that in their regular jobs independently of their education level.

When you interview for a large company, usually people look at your attitude more than your knowledge (behavioral interviewing). The idea is that people with good motivation can be trained in anything.

 

[MusicMan]

It’s just a thought, but perhaps you address them in the manner they wish to be addressed? If they are a priest who holds the academic title of Doctor, then you address them as either “Father” or “Doctor,” depending on their preference.

Dictating to priests how they are to be addressed is disrespectful.

 

[Andreas_Hofer]

It’s just a thought, but perhaps you address them in the manner they wish to be addressed? If they are a priest who holds the academic title of Doctor, then you address them as either “Father” or “Doctor,” depending on their preference.

Dictating to priests how they are to be addressed is disrespectful.

I suspect that logic might break down if the priest asked to be addressed as XXX Moderator Edit

The whole point of those who feel we should ignore their preference in this case is that Catholic piety tells us (at least until QUITE recently) that not recognizing a priest’s qualitatively different status as an actor in persona Christi is in itself disrespectful. So if he asks you to do something disrespectful, you ignore the request. The respect being offered in addressing him as “Father” does not go to him, but to Christ; the priest is just a man, his priesthood is Christ’s. Thus, if there is a choice between giving Christ his due or not, I will give it - and call the man “Father.”

 

[stinkcat_14]

The whole point of those who feel we should ignore their preference in this case is that Catholic piety tells us (at least until QUITE recently) that not recognizing a priest’s qualitatively different status as an actor in persona Christi is in itself disrespectful. So if he asks you to do something disrespectful, you ignore the request. The respect being offered in addressing him as “Father” does not go to him, but to Christ; the priest is just a man, his priesthood is Christ’s. Thus, if there is a choice between giving Christ his due or not, I will give it - and call the man “Father.”

How traditional is it to call priests “Father”? I certainly know that is has been done all of my life, but I am not that old. In my previous post, I told the story of Bishop Sheen when he was a young priest being referred to as “Doctor Sheen”. Certainly, I don’t think anyone can claim that he did not act in persona Christi.

I am not saying that you are wrong here, I am just trying to figure out whether the Sheen example is an exception or was more of the norm back then.

 

[mystified]

We once had a permanent Deacon who was a Medical Doctor. He said in church addressing him as Deacon was most correct, but either title was okay with him. At least I never heard him addressed as Doctor Deacon or Deacon Doctor .

 

[Andreas_Hofer]

How traditional is it to call priests “Father”? I certainly know that is has been done all of my life, but I am not that old. In my previous post, I told the story of Bishop Sheen when he was a young priest being referred to as “Doctor Sheen”. Certainly, I don’t think anyone can claim that he did not act in persona Christi.

I am not saying that you are wrong here, I am just trying to figure out whether the Sheen example is an exception or was more of the norm back then.

I’m not sure about priests being called doctor - that’s the first I’ve heard of it - but I know English bishops used to be properly referred to as doctor, at least in certain contexts. And regionally and historically, titles for the clergy have differed. The point of the whole respect for the priesthood claim, though, is that, for one, the title of Father is the *only *display we really have left to convey that respect (we no longer remove hats, kiss hands, stand until the priest has sat down, etc.) and, another thing, the modern drive away from the title of Father has been, I think we can all agree as a general rule, part of an attempt to avoid calling attention to the priesthood, making the priest more “like everyone else,” which he is not.