PRIEST AND BISHOP: Biblical Reflections

Raymond E. Brown, S.S.

Catholics have entered a somewhat acrimonious debate as to what should

be expected of their priests and bishops. What manner of life should

priests live? What type of work should they do? What authority do bishops

have? What about other Christian churches that have no bishops? For

some, the whole goal of the priesthood is summed up in the words of

Jesus at the Last Supper, “Do this in commemoration of me,” and in their

minds bishops have the same authority as the apostles to whom they are

the successors. Others, when they think of apostles, think of Paul and his

clarion call to freedom, and when they talk of priests, do so in pseudo*

Bonhoefferian terms as “a man for others.” Proponents of these diverse

views all resort to Scripture for justification, but often their arguments

betray an inadequate grasp of the biblical origins of the priesthood and

episcopate.

This book is a concise attempt to supply more accurate biblical information

that should go into the modern discussion of the “identity crisis”

of the clergy. It gives reassurance about the great expectations and estimation

that Catholics have had of the priesthood, while it faces honestly

the deep conflicts that spring from the complex history of the priesthood.

It is a book that will provoke thought—a book which, Fr. Brown states,

is sure to please neither extreme of the Catholic theological spectrum.

Conservative readers will be dismayed to discover that the traditional

ideas of the origin of the priesthood and of the episcopate are questioned

in the light of historical evidence. Liberals may be angered by the insistence

that many of the traditional ideas of the priesthood have a biblical basis

and that some of what they would like to write off as medieval happens to

stem from the demands of Jesus of Nazareth. However, the thoughtful,

concerned reader will find this book invaluable for its insights and indispensable

for an accurate picture of the true role of priests and bishops in

the Church.

PAULIST PRESS