Oczekiwania wiernych wobec księdza w świetle współczesnych badań pastoralnych i socjologicznych

Abstract

The paper is an attempt to present the current expectations of the faithful from priests. John Paul II said that a priest should be an icon of Jesus’ Heart. A priest should be a man who proclaims God, but at the same time is close to people and their issues. A priest may not run away from the modern world and in that very world he should lead people to God. Today’s expectations from a priest are strong faith, witness to God and holiness of life, but also being “human”. He should also be a real shepherd who offers and devotes his life to others, who has time for the faithful. The sociological studies as presented comprise the years 1969–2014 and even though they are fragmental, they allow one to see trends as they occur. The oldest results of the studies stress to a greater extent general human features such as, for example: honesty, openness, communication skills and devotion to his faithful. The results of more modern research emphasize to a greater extent spiritual features of a priest such as, for example: piety, spiritual life, deep faith. Irrespective of the fact of which features are emphasized more: universal human ones or spiritual, it is certain that only an appropriate combination of the features from both of these groups will allow a priest to be mature, serve the faithful effectively and meet their expectations.