MILWAUKEE —Through his writings, Fr. Donald Cozzens has placed several hot-topic issues on the forefront of discussion in church circles. In “The Changing Face of the Priesthood,” he wrote in 2000 about the number of homosexuals among the clergy and, two years later, in “Sacred Silence,” he addressed the sexual abuse crisis and clericalism in the church.

He’s discouraged by these issues which are tearing apart the church, yet this soft-spoken Cleveland diocesan priest, clearly loves the church about which he writes.

In spite of its problems, Fr. Cozzens, in a talk to members of Call to Action, said he sees hope, in part because of concerned, educated laity and priests who are beginning to discuss the problems in search of solutions.

He said he is particularly hopeful because of alliances of priests being formed around the country aiming to deal with the issues. The first such alliance was formed by priests of the Milwaukee Archdiocese in September 2003 as a way to deal with their concerns in light of the priest shortage.

Following his presentation at Call to Action last Friday, Fr. Cozzens met with about 25 members of the Milwaukee Archdiocese Priest Alliance in the church hall at St. Sebastian Parish.

During their 90-minute discussion, participants raised concerns about the lack of men entering the priesthood, the ideological mindsets of today’s seminarians, the role or lack of a role the church has in the modern world, and questioned the idea of bringing foreign priests into U.S. dioceses to address the vocations shortage.

Fr. Cozzens opened the discussion by explaining his reasons for writing his books and addressing the fallout he experienced.

After completing most of his book, “The Changing Face of the Priesthood,” Fr. Cozzens realized if he was going to write “an honest portrayal of the priesthood,” he must add two chapters, a chapter on the homosexual orientation and a chapter on clergy abuse.

Once the book was published and began receiving national attention, Fr. Cozzens described the fallout as painful, “and most of the pain came from members of my own presbyterate. It seemed the further away I got from Cleveland, the more accolades I received,” he said.

He found the national praise liberating and humbling, he said, adding that the reaction from the priests of his diocese was difficult.

“I’m trying hard to be a good guy and a good priest. Isn’t there a part of all of us that tries to get everyone to like us,” he asked.

Fr. Cozzens continued as rector of St. Mary Seminary in Cleveland after his first book was published, even though some priests and laity were calling for him to be fired.

“It was like I had gone through a very messy, public, ugly divorce,” he said, of the experience. About 18 months later he said he asked his bishop, Anthony M. Pilla, to relieve him of his position at the seminary because he wanted to return to teaching. Fr. Cozzens teaches religious studies at John Carroll University. Yet, he has no regrets about his writing, and noted he has another book coming out next year.

“It’s always a good time to be a priest,” he told the members of the alliance. “but these are especially difficult times as the priesthood is experiencing a dark night of the soul.”

Two strong drives that affect everyone, including priests, noted Fr. Cozzens are sexuality and ambition.

“We all know priests whose careers mean a lot to them and I’m not here to criticize them,” he said. “We certainly want to be respected by our brother priests and we certainly want the smile of our bishop, but if we don’t preach the Gospel as we understand it, then our own integrity is being chipped away.”

During the ensuing discussion, one priest said he was frustrated by the fact “we don’t have anybody to replace us,” while another feared the church “is on a headlong march into irrelevancy.”

Fr. Cozzens closed with a similar message that he brought to the Call to Action assembly.

“In a way, we are playing a game,” he said. “We are going through rough waters now and there are those who say if we keep praying and recruiting, everything will turn around, but they don’t want to look at the system. It’s a feudal system where if you’re at the top of the system, for example just 15 years ago, if you were a bishop, you lived as a prince.”

He described the major problems facing the church as systemic, structural, but he said he hopes that by discussing them, they will be corrected.