They have lost their innocence. But it is his comments on sexuality that are garnering the most attention. Cozzens does not address the question of whether gay or heterosexual priests are honoring their vows of celibacy, but he does say that the number of gay seminarians is high enough to make some heterosexual seminarians uncomfortable. The straight seminarian, meanwhile, feels out of place and may interpret his inner destabilization as a sign that he does not have a vocation to the priesthood. In one of his most provocative sections, Cozzens takes on the issue of sexual abuse among clergy and asserts that most priests who are abusers target teenage boys as victims, unlike most other child abusers, who, he said, tend to target girls.
Few priests are ready to speak publicly about the book.
Dwyer said the company, based in Collegeville, Minn., has sold most of the 20,000 copies in print. The book has received positive reviews in Catholic periodicals. The reaction of priests and other persons familiar with the troubles and tensions in priestly life will be recognition, for better or for worse. Cardinal Bernard F. Law had no comment on the book, but Cozzens said he has heard from a handful of bishops and cardinals who are reading the book and talking about it. We need to look at what's going on, because we're having a major shortage of priest personnel.