Leadership Perceptions Among Catholic Priests

The purpose of this book was to assess leadership perceptions in the Catholic Church. Although perpetuating the priesthood is the cornerstone of sustaining the leadership of the church, there is concern over the current trend in joining the priesthood. The number of individuals willing to become priests is declining. To evaluate this phenomenon, the study employed research questions that sought to compare older and younger priests. The study findings from the chi-square and ANOVA indicated that there was no significant difference in the most preferred leadership styles between young and older priests. The Facilitative method of leadership was the most desirable leadership style by both groups of priests. Also, the outcomes of the research found that the number of years spent in service does not influence a priest's choice of leadership style.