By Stephen P. White
The Catholic Project at the Catholic University of America (where I serve as executive director) has just published the results of a new important survey of U.S. priests. The study is based on our previous research (here and here), offering a clearer picture of the priesthood in the United States as it currently stands and suggesting what the future might hold for the Church in the country.
This new survey provided the opportunity to follow up on the 2022 National Study of Catholic Priests, examining the well-being of our priests, their burnout levels, trust in their bishops or religious superiors, and other factors. Since every participant in this 2025 study also participated in the 2022 study, we can track changes longitudinally.
Our previous studies showed that, overall, our priests were flourishing. Fortunately, the new data confirm that U.S. priests are flourishing at levels well above the general population average.
This result is neither controversial nor surprising, but it should not be overlooked. Men who enter the priesthood tend to flourish. Not everything is wine and roses, of course (more on that in a minute). But whatever the concerns or challenges, they must be understood in light of this backdrop: overall, U.S. priests are thriving.
That said, there are points of real concern. Many priests (44% of diocesan priests, 31% of religious priests) show signs of burnout. And 45% of younger priests (ordained since 2000) say they are asked to do too many things that go beyond their calling as priests. The same percentage of that group shows elevated indicators of loneliness. Older groups of priests are doing significantly better on both measures.
The trust of diocesan priests in their bishops’ leadership remains low (52%), but has increased slightly (from 49% in 2022). Trust in U.S. bishops in general shows a similar trend, rising from 22% in 2022 to 27% in 2025.
Our previous study showed that a priest’s perceived alignment with his bishop on political and theological issues correlated with the degree of trust in his leadership. But the new report reveals something even more decisive:
The greatest factor predicting a priest’s trust in his bishop is whether he feels that his bishop cares about him.
The 72% of diocesan priests who said their bishops care about them trust their bishop, while among those who do not feel that way, only 10% trust him.
This finding, though predictable, underscores the deeply personal nature of relationships between bishops and priests.
A second broad objective of this study was to get a clearer idea of the real pastoral priorities of U.S. priests. What do they consider the greatest pastoral challenges facing the Church in the country?
This included the opportunity to delve deeper into what priests think about the Synod on Synodality, to what extent their parishes participated and how their ministry changed, if at all.
U.S. priests were not very enthusiastic about the Synod on Synodality. Only 39% thought it was not a waste of time (37% agreed that it was); only 28% felt fully included in the Synod, and only 25% believed it was helpful for their ministry. So that’s that.
However, when it comes to synodality in practice, U.S. priests are already committed to many of the “synodal practices” recommended by the Synod, even though they do not identify them by that name.
For example:
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85% of priests with parish assignments reported that their parish has a pastoral council or similar body that plays an important role in decision-making.
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75% said they always involve parishioners in prayer and reflection before making important decisions.
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69% offer formation or support for laypeople to participate in the Church’s mission beyond the parish.
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65% reported having changed a parish practice or decision based on lay input in the past year.
As for the main pastoral priorities, the three most cited by 94% of priests were:
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Youth and young adult ministry
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Family formation and marriage preparation
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Evangelization
Close behind were: poverty/homelessness/food insecurity (88%), pro-life issues (87%) and assistance to immigrants/refugees (81%).
The climate change, synodality and LGBTQ ministries received comparatively low ratings: 54%, 50% and 48%, respectively. Only 26% of priests said that access to the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) should be a priority (59% said no).
These priorities varied significantly between older and younger priests.
Less than half of priests ordained since 2000 consider racism, LGBTQ issues, climate change, or synodality to be pastoral priorities. Priests ordained before 1980 are more likely to see each of those issues as a higher priority than Eucharistic devotion.
It is not wise to overemphasize the importance of these differences, nor to dismiss priests based on their age or generational context. But the long-term implications of this data are significant, especially considering that less than a quarter were ordained before 1980, while those ordained since 2000 make up 42%. And that number continues to grow.
The U.S. priesthood is united in its support for the family, for youth and for evangelization. It shares a broad commitment to the poor and migrants, and a firm desire to defend life from its beginning to its natural end. None of this seems likely to change. At the same time, it seems likely that commitment to Eucharistic devotion and to a more traditional liturgy (though not necessarily traditionalist) will grow.
For my part, I find that very encouraging.
About the author
Stephen P. White is executive director of the Catholic Project at the Catholic University of America and a fellow in Catholic studies at the Ethics and Public Policy Center.