For the past eight years, Chatham University psychology professor Anthony Isacco has been part of a growing cohort of mental-health professionals nationwide who have been conducting psychological screenings of men interested in becoming Catholic priests.
So when a Pennsylvania grand jury issued a devastating report in 2018 on the history of sexual abuse in Pittsburgh’s and five other Catholic dioceses, he saw a need to respond.
For one, he wanted to tell the story of how the church had responded in recent years to scrutinize candidates for the priesthood and determine whether they had any risk factors for sexually abusing minors or for acting out in other ways.
But he also wanted improve on the work he and others were doing — finding even more rigorous and standardized ways to evaluate the men, developing a certification process for the screeners and supporting the mental well-being of those who do go on to become priests.
The result is a special edition of Spirituality in Clinical Practice, a peer-reviewed journal published by a foundation of the American Psychological Association. Co-edited by Mr. Isacco and Santa Clara University psychology professor Thomas Plante, it includes articles on ways to evaluate candidates’ psychological health, risk factors for sexual offending, and traits associated with clericalism, or clergy elitism.
The grand jury report “really just kind of rocked the world around here — the diocese, the state, clergy, Catholics, non-Catholics,” said Mr. Isacco, who has a doctorate in counseling psychology from Loyola University of Chicago.
“What I was seeing as a psychologist was just a need to have a response to that,” he said, to show what psychologists have been doing to address the crisis and what they could do better.
The writers came from throughout North America. “Not only are they involved in the research side, but almost all have boots-on-the-ground experience,” Mr. Isacco said. “They work with the church on these issues.”
Currently, nearly a quarter of applicants to the priesthood in the Diocese of Pittsburgh are screened out before admission — for any reason, including their own choice — and another quarter before ordination.
The Very Rev. Thomas Sparacino — rector and director of pre-ordination formation at the Diocese of Pittsburgh’s St. Paul Seminary in East Carnegie — noted that the psychological evaluations are not new: He underwent one in 1991 when entering training for the priesthood.
But the wide-ranging battery of tests has gotten increasingly rigorous.
“The process is pretty grueling,” Father Sparacino said.
The screenings include personality tests that look for warning signs such as social avoidance and low impulse control. They also use tests for such things as a history of adverse childhood experiences and patterns of internet sexual activity, hypersexuality or narcissism.
In addition, the candidates undergo checks on any criminal background and on the Pennsylvania child abuse registry; since 2002, U.S. Catholic Church law has barred from ministry anyone who has sexually abused a child.
The psychological exams are an additional check for any “major red flag,” Father Sparacino said.
Beyond screening out candidates, the results of the tests are used to help determine whether candidates are prepared to assume the responsibilities of priesthood, including meeting the expectation of celibacy.
And they’re used to help guide candidates in “human formation,” or becoming better, well-rounded people, and, if needed, to refer the candidate for additional counseling. A seminarian would meet with a psychologist and faculty member to see “if there are areas for opportunities for growth,” Father Sparacino said.
“Like any of us, we don’t like to hear about ourselves,” Father Sparacino said. But “it gives a great starting place to say, ‘Here’s what the data is showing who you are. Let’s talk about that and let’s start diving deeper into it.’”
Mr. Isacco agreed that the process is to “help a good guy who’s in formation, to affirm their strengths, to validate the path they’re on” while providing guidance on areas needing improvement.
There are currently 29 seminarians working toward the priesthood in the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh. Another screening takes place later in the seminary process, before ordination.
Mr. Isacco has also regularly conducted clergy-candidate screenings for two Eastern Catholic jurisdictions — the Byzantine Archeparchy of Pittsburgh and the Maronite Eparchy of St. Maron — and the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh.
The journal has multiple audiences, he said: fellow psychologists, church leaders — and Catholics overall, many of them angered and hurt by the scandal.
“We wanted to put forth a clear sign that some change is happening,” he said.
After an earlier eruption of outrage over sexual abuse by priests — ignited by the 2002 revelations of coverup in the Archdiocese of Boston — Mr. Isacco noted that many of the ensuing reforms were “environmental” in nature.
These included conducting criminal background checks on prospective church workers, training them to recognize signs of sexual abuse and setting policies to reduce opportunities for abuse, such as requiring at least two adults to be present at all times in youth activities.
“Those changes are important and needed,” he said. But he noted that a subsequent report by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice on the crisis found that the there was scant psychological screening or preparation for priests until late in the 20th century. Much of the reported sexual abuse by priests took place before 1990, though most of these older cases only came to light years later.
Mr. Isacco said there’s still room for more improvement in psychological evaluations.
Screening procedures still vary by diocese. They could be improved, he said, with agreements on a standard battery of personality tests and other techniques, and by a certification process for screeners such as himself.
Such testing can’t predict how a candidate will behave, Mr. Isacco said, but “we can speak to risk and potential and vulnerability.”
Mr. Isacco said there are useful techniques for screening. If a candidate for seminary had similar scores on his personality test to those of sex offenders in the general population, that would raise red flags.
While those being tested are likely trying to make a good impression, the psychological tests are sophisticated and have ways of raising flags even if the questions aren’t directly about sexuality, Mr. Isacco said.
Plus, in his interviews with candidates, Mr. Isacco said he also asks direct questions.
“You never know what they're going to answer,” he said. “I’ve been surprised by interesting answers to direct questions.” In “rare” cases, a candidate has admitted to sexual attraction to children.
Such inclinations, along with any “psycho-sexual disorders” and criminal history, would “contradict an authentic vocation to the priesthood,” according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ guidelines for psychological screenings.
Another of the journal’s articles focuses on “clericalism,” or a sense in which a priest might feel entitled to privileges and unquestioning obedience. Some observers have linked clericalism to the pattern of bishops and other priests covering up for an abusive colleague.
But often, “clericalism” doesn’t have a set definition. The article’s authors developed a standard criteria that can be used by colleagues and parishioners in evaluating a seminarian, and that can lead to an early intervention.
“How empowering would that be for parishioners, but what great feedback that would be for a seminarian, too,” Mr. Isacco said.
Concerns for mental health don’t end with screening, he said, but the church should foster health among priests at all stages of their careers.
“We know that there are many good, healthy priests engaged in effective ministry,” he and Mr. Plante wrote in the journal introduction. “...How can the church support those good priests and maximize their strengths?”
Peter Smith: petersmith@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1416; Twitter @PG_PeterSmith.
First Published: February 28, 2021, 11:30 a.m.
Updated: February 28, 2021, 12:45 p.m.