What makes priests unhappy

Priests sometims need a thick skin to cope these days!

Fr Trigillio over at the Black Biretta has an excellent post on "Why priests are happy and sometimes not". It reflects many aspects of my own experience - of being happy and not! It's a long article but well worth reading to gain an insight into how certainly many priests of my acquaintance often feel. Here are some tasters from it:

"clerical sycophants are what discourage priests. When their bishops do not treat them as sons of the church but as lower level managers whose task is to be a company man at all times, then you get some unhappy priests on your hands."

"What deflates priests, is not celibacy or Magisterium, but subterfuge, duplicity and deceit from their own ordained brethren."

"What makes us unhappy is being treated like we’re guilty before we even know what the accusation is. "

"when priests are admonished for enforcing canon law and requiring sponsors for baptism and confirmation to be Catholics in good standing; when priests are reprimanded for exercising their legitimate liturgical options as stated in universal law; when pastors spend sleepless nights over meeting diocesan assessments; when assignments and transfers are arbitrary and haphazard rather than based on experience, history and qualifications; then zeal begins to erode and evaporate."