Shameless Popery #218 New Priests Are MORE ORTHODOX Than Ever, but there’s a catch… - Joe Heschmeyer
Oct 23, 2025
A significant shift toward orthodoxy among younger priests marks a remarkable change in the Catholic landscape. Despite their theological conservatism, many are experiencing burnout due to overwhelming workloads and rising loneliness. Joe discusses the decline of very liberal priests and how youthful priorities now skew toward Eucharistic devotion and traditional practices like the Latin Mass. He emphasizes the need for community support to alleviate the pressures on these young leaders, urging listeners to engage with and pray for their priests.
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Generational Shift Toward Orthodox Compassion
- Younger priests are markedly more theologically orthodox and compassionate, creating a 'bleeding heart' orthodoxy.
- This generational shift shrinks the presence of radically progressive clergy in recent ordinations.
Dramatic Political Reorientation
- Political self-identification shifted radically: older cohorts skewed liberal while those ordained since 2010 skew conservative.
- The study found almost no priests identifying as very or extremely liberal among the newer cohort.
New Priests Trend Strongly Orthodox
- Priests ordained since 2010 overwhelmingly self-identify as theologically conservative or orthodox.
- Only a small minority of new priests identify as theologically progressive or middle-of-the-road.