Traditionalism among Roman Catholic priests: an exploratory study of indicators and predictors

Abstract

This project is dedicated to the Roman Catholic clergy of the Archdiocese of Wellington through whose generosity in granting interviews it was made possible. The author wishes to acknowledge the respect in which he holds all the shades of priestly opinion which are expressed in these pages, and hopes that his attempt to categorize them in typical social scientific fashion does not do them too much violence. Special thanks are due to the author's colleagues of the Department of Sociology and Social Work for their long-suffering academic and emotional support throughout the course of this research since its inception. Finally, the author wishes to express his particular gratitude to his typist, who, in the midst of the laborious work of drafting these Chapters, became his wife.