What sort of priest is needed for the third millennium? Now is the time to consider the identity, character, human reality, pastoral orientation and the spiritual life of priests. Porteous does just this in After the Heart of God, also considering new signs of hope emerging in the Church in recent times and looking at the way in which the Church itself has responded to some of the challenges that priests have faced.

What sort of priest is needed for the third millennium? The cultural and ecclesial landscape has changed so dramatically over the past fifty years. There are new and challenging forces at work influencing the direction of culture and there are many forces bearing in on the Church. The priest is at the cutting edge of the intersection of these forces as they play out in the lives of Catholics. It is timely to look again at the identity, spirituality and pastoral orientation of priests. This book is written firstly for priests and for seminarians, but can be of interest to lay people who seek...