Vers une sociologie du prêtre âgé : Des hommes à part et comme les autres

Abstract

In Switzerland and France more than half of the catholic priests are over 75 years old. Yet, according to canon law at this age they usually must leave their pastoral responsibilities and may retreat from their ecclesial life. Facing the perspective of a church without priests, and enhancing a moral discourse in which human dignity and the exemplarity of the clergy entangle, the diocesan organizations have shown only recently a preoccupation about the ageing of their priests. Here, we develop an empirical framework for a sociology of ageing priests that considers the importance of their national and diocesan contexts. Our aim is to review the category of “ageing priests” through its contemporary heterogeneity. We use a grounded theory approach in qualitative sociology to examine different situations of this social category. Our considerations cross theological examples of aging priests in the Catholic Church, the statements of caregivers, and the “lived” heterogeneity of aging priests themselves. We aim to document the current adaptations and new versions of Catholicism after the Second Vatican Council in the light of current gerontological norms that apply to the clergy.