Meanwhile, many of the men flee to the mountains while the women and children remain with the American priest in the village.

He boasted that he was the first American priest jailed for a political crime.

The median age of American priests is 60.

Bishop Carroll had been chosen for the post by a vote of American priests earlier that year.

An American priest has disturbing visions of people familiar to him, except that they seem to be located in other ages.

In past generations, it was common for American priests to encourage young men to make lifetime commitments to the church.

In 1934, he welcomed the first African American priests into the diocese.

Look,' said the American priest, 'you can't pretend they won't be a bit hard on him.

According to church figures, the number of American priests has declined to about 56,000 today from nearly 62,000 in 1965.

Approximately 350 American priests left the Church during that two-year period.