Playboy to Priest

by Kenneth J. Roberts

This is the story of a man adventure from darkness into light. Every person in it is real, every event happened just as Father Kenneth Roberts tells it--just as he lived it during his journey from "childlish things" to his manhood in God.

Genres: Biography

297 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

Reviews

[booklady]

In the Epilogue I read how the book came to me. Back in the 1970s Fr. Roberts was assigned to my family’s parish in Missouri during the 3 years he was writing this book. He even thanks our dear pastor for allowing him the time to write while he was assigned there.

So I probably read it shortly after it was published, though I have no memory of it, nor of Fr. Ken. My sister has fond memories of him, but she also told me, he was later accused in one of the priest scandals (in the 90’s) and is not allowed to say public Masses anymore. I searched for more current information but didn’t find any.

Playboy to Priest is not sensational as the title would imply. By today's standards it is just un-PC. Kenneth Roberts was English born, and adopted into in a large loving Catholic family. In the immediate aftermath of World War II, he hitch-hiked all over Europe without fear, meeting and talking to mostly other Catholics. It was a different time; many people still believed in God.

The first time Roberts applied to seminary, his application was rejected. Then a few years later when he was accepted, he got drafted. By the time his service time was up, his faith had waned and he no longer felt called to be a priest. He got a high-paying, high-flying (pun intended) job with BOAC, which got him deep into a hedonistic lifestyle—lots of ‘partying’, late nights and drinking. He still managed not to get into the serious crime ring which was operating all around him but he brashly thought he could outsmart his interrogators and signed a confession admitting his own guilt leading to his firing from BOAC, which probably was for the good of his soul. He came to the US because he was invited by the bishop of a Texas diocese.

Having just finished a biography of Pope Paul VI, it was synchronicity hearing about a young man attending seminary in Rome during Vatican II! And then receiving personal condolences from the pontiff himself upon the death of his mother. It was a record of a lost era and a moving memoir.

I do not know what happened to Fr. Roberts after this book ended except that he was very popular on EWTN for awhile until he was accused of something. He tried to go on with his ministry when he was told to step down, which only made things worse for him. Now he has disappeared.

So wherever you are, Ken Roberts, God bless you!

[Steven H]

A ONCE-FAMOUS MEMOIR OF A NOW-DISGRACED FIGURE

Rev. Kenneth J. Roberts wrote in the Introduction to this 1971 book, “Several of my close friends, lay and religious, have made the suggestion from time to time that I write a book about my life preceding the priesthood… I never took it too seriously. It wasn’t until I began reading story after story about ex-priests and nuns, disgruntled Catholics, conservative and liberal, that I started to toy with the idea a bit. It seems one can’t pick up a periodical without finding an article written by or about an ex-priest who finally ‘found himself’ outside the ‘grip’ of the church. Most of these accounts I found most distressing… I must admit there are many men and women who have left the religious life in what they felt was ‘in good conscience,’ and are leading very rewarding lives in other fields. I will not be their judge. Unfortunately, the press exposes the public to the negative side… In the following pages I’m inviting you to go back with me to England and share the experiences of a lonely child living in uncertainty and fear of the bombs not knowing for three years if his family was alive or dead… We will live the fast life and look for kicks in all the great cities of the world… Throughout all of this, you will meet all kinds of people … places, and things that led me away from my affairs to the ultimate love affair with Christ.”

As an adolescent, “I ‘seemed to be a discipline problem.’ [Father Martin] recommended that I be sent to a boarding school under the supervision of the Irish Christian Brothers. If anyone could straighten them out, they could… he was certainly correct. By December, when I returned home for the holidays, the change was so obvious that… they enrolled me in Southampton’s most elite school run by the French Christian Brothers of Instruction.” (Pg. 24-25)

After service in the Navy, he considered entering the seminary, and wrote a letter: “I sat down and composed my letter to Father Tigar … I wanted to bare my soul to him so that he would realize my spiritual level. I hid nothing from him when describing the temptations and frustrations of the past year… [Fr. Tigar’s reply stated] ‘Dear Kenneth: Forget all idea of the priesthood. Serve God as an apostolic layman.’ … The shock and disappointment were too much for me. I threw the letter on the table and ran upstairs to my room… I knelt down and sobbed. God, no! Not another failure---LORD, I AM NOT WORTHY!” (Pg. 67-68) Later, he muses, “I was confused and perhaps, a little bitter. Over two years of prayer a preparation for the seminary---This urgent desire to be a priest---Had all this happened for nothing?” (Pg. 116)

He qualified as an air steward, and after graduation, “I was on my way to a swanky party that… a fellow crew member and somewhat of a playboy, had planned for us. I know this is the happiest I have ever been in my whole life---I feel alive! Exhilarated! … It’s love! … I’m in love with people---I want to throw out my arms and scream from the top of my lungs, ‘WORLD, YOU ARE MY PLAYPEN!’” (Pg 139) But after being reprimanded at work, he thought, “Mum was right---‘What does it profit a man if…’” (Pg. 163)

He recounts a time, “The drinking and laughing continued through the early hours of morning. The last thing I remember was … I became so dizzy I couldn’t stand… There were two figures sprawled out on the floor, the others were sleeping in chairs… Glasses and bottles were strewn about on their sides… My mouth felt like cotton… I thought my head would surely explode… I saw Mother standing at the front door… ‘I’ll pray for you, son.’ … I felt sick all over again, more than that I felt ashamed. I had picked up something in Mum’s eyes I had never seen before, disgust. I felt so humiliated—If only she would … lose her temper---or something. It’s hell, living with a saint!” (Pg. 173-174)

He planned to marry a young woman named June, but reflected, “I can’t be married and be a priest too---Even if I wanted to be a priest, which I don’t what about June. I guess all grooms go through this time of indecision. I thought trying to console my anxiety. I genuflected before the altar and left the church,” (Pg. 184) She returned his engagement ring. (PG> 185)

Ultimately, “The bishop’s words came back again loud and clear, ‘If you decide you would like to be a priest, I will accept you for my diocese!’ … Well, I’ve thought about it and this time, I know it’s for real---I know it… I can look up and say, ‘I’m ready, Lord, and You’re my ‘first choice’!” (Pg. 206)

He told his mother of his decision, and “She was crying, but smiling. ‘What can I say, but “thank you”? Thank you God, for answering my prayers, and ‘thank you’ Kenny, for making me very happy.” (Pg. 210)

He recalls, “I was glad to return to the community life and the Christian brotherhood that I had come to love. During my second year, Father Tigar appointed me to positions of responsibility and I continued to progress under his saintly guidance, both spiritually and academically. By the end of the year, I was a different person.” (Pg. 228)

The day before his ordination, he thought, “Tonight is my last night before I take the vow of celibacy… There will be no woman to hold closely and share my burden with---No one to offer me consolation when I am lonely or troubled… Tomorrow, I will be giving myself completely to God, my total manhood… But at ordination, God is giving Himself totally to me: He is the victim---a feeling of joy overwhelmed me… I’m making the choice, Lord. You are my first choice, now help me share in Your Priesthood with my whole being.” (Pg. 262)

He adds in the Epilog: “The reader will no doubt be wondering what has happened to me since my ordination and if I have found fulfillment in my vocation as a priest. I assure you I have… I hope the reader will see the priesthood in anew light after reading this book. I hope that the young may be inspired to find love and peace in the same Christ who died for all men…” (Pg. 288, 290)

IMPORTANT NOTE: Given ‘credible charges of misconduct with minors,’ in 1995 he had been directed to avoid ministerial contacts with youth and men thirty years of age or younger, and was suspended from ministry in 1998. ‘He disappeared into retirement, stripped of all the trappings of priesthood, even the title, FATHER.’

[Andrea]

I enjoyed this book and thought it was a very good read. I think the strength of this book isn't necessarily the story of the author, but the story of his mother. Definitely shows what all Catholic mothers should aspire to be. For some it may be a bit outdated as it was set mostly in the 50's

[Pam]

His mother and her faith and trust in God and her powerful prayer life make this book. When her son Roy and his baby son die in a car crash prior to Ken's entry into the seminary, she says, "Our blessed Mother sacrificed her son so that heaven would be open to us. Now I have been asked to give one son back to Him so that another could help people find it."

[Angie]

I need to preface this review that simply, I saw this book at an estate sale for 50 cents and bought it because I love reading biographies/autobiographies. I am Catholic and figured that this book would tell the story of a man's spiritual journey to become a priest. First of all, he really was never what I consider "a playboy." He spent his late teens and all of his twenties working on cruise liners (a waiter type), airplanes (as a steward of sorts), in the English military (military intelligence), worked at clubs and bars, and even manual labor. He spent most of his youth going to Mass, but also causing much trouble in school. He was even engaged at one point. But at no point, did he ever display the characteristics of a dictionary-definition playboy. The book is almost 300 pages long, and he spoke of dating maybe 3 women for a short amount of time. He did drink from time to time. But for me, the title was really false advertising.
Once I figured that out (as I read I'm like, where is his playboy behavior- he prays a lot, attends a lot of Mass, loves his family eternally), I started really enjoying the book. He struggles, as most priests I am sure do, with the questions of "Is this vocation meant for me?" "Do I envy others for having children?" "Is this my path?" "Should I get married?" Even lay people can agree- we all at one point in our lives ask some very important questions- to ourselves, others, and/or God. The ending is beautiful. Now I wanted to know more about the author. Well....................................huge problem here. I googled his name to see what he is up to now, whether he is alive or now, etc. What I ascertained is that he was as campus priest in Dallas, TX in the 1960s, moved to St. Louis to work for various churches in our Archdiocese, as well as Belleville in the 1970s- Belleville being the place where he has allegedly abused some teenagers in his parish. The allegations are exactly that- he has not been convicted yet. He has not been a practicing priest since the mid- 1990s per various web pages for "health reasons." I am highly disappointed- in me wasting my time reading this book about "a possible horrific man" or that I should have checked him out first online before wasting my time reading his drivel. Either way, I am bummed out. I am grossed out right now and saddened.

[John Lucy]

The idea that a person's journey through life is not a straight line is a good one, especially when applied to clergy. People often think that clergy-persons have either always been holy or always on a direct trajectory to the ministerial office. That's blatantly untrue. However, to say that Rev. Roberts went from playboy to priest also, based on this book, seems untrue. Roberts spends about twenty pages as a playboy. The whole rest of the book he is either considering being a priest or working towards it, including his early life. From the start of the book to the middle of the book Roberts is thinking about being a priest or trying to be one. Then he meanders off course because he was denied. He's still an upright gentleman, though, most of the time. Indeed, his "playboy" days aren't really all that playboyish. The premise of the book, then, is untrue.

On top of that, much of the book is plain boring. Roberts's mother repeats the same words over and over again throughout the book like a broken record. Granted, that's probably how it came about, but when you're reading you don't want to read through a ton of pages of the same thing again and again. All the characters are like that. They're real people, of course, with real personalities, and when it comes to wanting Roberts to be a priest or not they probably said the same thing. That brings up an issue, though: this book isn't really a story of Roberts's life, it's a story with everything stripped except those events and conversations related to his being a priest, guaranteeing its repetitiveness.

Repetitiveness without interest is a disappointing combination.

[Gaile]

The story of a boy growing into manhood and along the way receiving the call for the Catholic priesthood.