Young Adults and Baby Priests

The parish I attend is one which serves the students from the University of Florida, making it one of the bishop's favorite places to send seminarians and newly-ordained priests. At the beginning of this school year, we had one such priest arriving for his first assignment, just two months after his ordination. I was discussing the matter with a friend of mine, who is also a priest, and I told him I was excited to have a "baby" priest around.

The term "baby" priest often used to describe newly-ordained priests, as they are usually younger, bright-eyed and still learning the ins-and-outs of being a priest. However, at the use of the term, a frustrated and stern look came over my friend's face, which was made even more terrifying as he is a mountain of a man with a big burly beard. He said the use of the term "baby" priest needs to stop. There is no such thing as a "baby" priest. From the moment a man is ordained, he is fully a priest. He faces the same challenges, questions, attacks, responsibilities, etc. as any other priest. He is not a "baby" priest, he is a priest.

Everything he said was true. Especially in a time when there is a social stigma against priests and a shortage of priests in the Church, there are a lot of expectations and critiques that come with being a priest. This also got me thinking on a similar term used in the Church: "Young" adult.

The USCCB defines a young adult as

...Persons in their late teens, twenties, and thirties who represent diverse cultural, racial, ethnic, educational, vocational, social, political, and spiritual backgrounds. They are college students, workers, and professionals; they are persons in military service; they are single, married, divorced, or widowed; they are with or without children; they are newcomers in search of a better life.

Pretty. Now, let's look at what this definition means. I am a "young" adult at twenty-one years of age. So is my sister who is nineteen. But, so is my thirty-one-year-old brother. I have even heard of some churches that extend the category into the forties. I hear about "young" adult events and "young" adult socials and "young" adult this and "young" adult that. My question is Where are all the adults?

Our society suffers from a desire for perpetual adolescence. This is evident in secular society with products and procedures designed to shave off years, with movements desiring to distance actions and consequences and with the denial and abandonment of responsibility. In my last post on the Knights of Columbus (read here) I mention an entire generation which neglected social and civic duty within the Church, leading to the great age gap within the Knights. This neglect is a product of the desire for perpetual adolescence. And, I believe, terms like "baby" priests and "young" adults are born from the same desire.

Allow me to elaborate. By these terms, we are lowering expectations. We are limiting responsibility and duty by modifying how much of an adult we are. We want all the benefits of adulthood, but none of the burdens. Rather than trying and failing or accepting the consequences of our actions, we make excuses and lower the bar in order to prevent any negative outcomes for ourselves. So, instead of saying we are adults, we state "I am sort of an adult but I'm new to this and therefore do not expect much from me". This allows us to put in less effort, further delaying our "full" adulthood resulting in "young" adults in their thirties and forties.

What is my proposed solution? Let's put a stop to this childishness. At eighteen, you are an adult. You have duties and responsibilities. It is acceptable to fail. It is through failing that we learn. Accept the consequences of your actions, whether positive or negative. Accept responsibilities and don't neglect them. Let your word be your bond and a commitment be a commitment. Let's stop treating each other like "young" adults or "baby" priests, because those don't exist.