DAPHNE, Ala.—Today, when science and technology have such an impact on our lives, and when the Internet and wireless communications simultaneously bring us together, yet—some argue—keep us disconnected, the Rev. Monsignor Timothy Deasy feels that having faith is more important than ever.

“To me it’s the most important thing,” said Deasy, pastor of Christ the King Catholic Church, who last week celebrated 50 years as a priest.

Deasy believes that having faith keeps people in touch with a spirituality that includes a supreme being: God.

“We are all creatures of body and soul,” he said.

We all, also, have our own opinions, and public perception of several issues seems to have changed quite a bit in Deasy’s 50 years as a priest.

The changes

The biggest change was school integration, he said. “When I came 50 years ago, Alabama was totally segregated.” 1954’s Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, however, declared that the system of “separate but equal” schools in the U.S. was unconstitutional. The measure overturned  rulings such as Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, declaring that dividing black and white students into different public schools denied  equal educational opportunities.

The Second Vatican Council—from 1962 to 1965—provided a considerable change within the Roman Catholic Church, speaking to issues the church never had publicly tackled. The council had been called in response to sweeping changes of social norms, in particular, the introduction of contraception into mainstream society. The church had ruled, for instance, against acceptance of the birth control pill.

Also addressed during the Second Council was mass communication’s impact on religion. By the early 1960s, television had become a fixture in Americans culture and affected how religion was viewed and practiced, especially with the advent of televangelism.

The 1970s saw the Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v. Wade decision in 1973—which provided federal protection for aborting human fetuses to the point of viability, a measure the Catholic Church has hotly contested ever since.

The ’70s also brought genesis of the electronic church—a “worship by tube” movement heavily involved with TV preaching—and its billion-dollar industry, according to Dr. William F. Fore, minister of the United Methodist Church, as quoted in “Television and Religion: The Shaping of Faith, Values and Culture,” at www.religion-online.org.

The Eternal Word Television Network—an international cable and satellite channel with exclusively Catholic programming, headed by Mother M. Angelica, a Poor Clare nun—did its part to connect with believers 27 years ago, according to its Web site. Also, several Catholic churches across the country cater to shut-ins through televised services of Sunday Mass.

The challenges

One of the biggest challenges facing the Catholic Church today is keeping young people involved, according to Deasy. “That‘s the No. 1 challenge. Also, a good adult religious education.”

Another challenge is scandal from claims of widespread child abuse within the church. Since 1950, the U.S. Catholic Church has paid out around $2 billion—to nearly 10,000 church members, mostly male— claiming to have been sexually abused, according to the Associated Press.

“I firmly believe that we have to do everything possible to protect our young people,” Deasy said. “In all our churches now, all the priests and teachers have to be trained in child protective custody.”

While troubled by the scandal’s impact—which has touched several victims’ lives and has caused many (3-1, according to ABC News) to question the church’s response to the problem —Deasy, whose church has not been touched by similar allegations, said he has always been happy as a priest. He cites his connection with the Lord as one cause of inner peace; he also owes it to relationships, he said. “I’ve always been around good people.”

Born in County Cork, Ireland, where he graduated from Mungret Jesuit College in Limerick, he studied theology at St. Patrick’s Seminary in Carlow and was ordained a priest on June 7, 1958.

His first clerical position in America was at the City of St. Jude Church in Montgomery, where he was a priest from 1958 to 1971.

Deasy had a bit of culture shock with his first assignment; prior to presiding at the church—whose parishioners were predominantly black—he had never seen a person of different skin color, growing up in Ireland.

Deasy said he experienced the civil rights movement firsthand, having met Dr. Martin Luther King and his three children while working with the church’s hospital. Deasy recalled thinking, upon meeting the civil rights leader, what prominent role he would play in United States history.

“He had led the bus boycott in Montgomery the last two years,” Deasy said, adding he was impressed by King’s stature and influence. “That’s just the kind of man he was.”

In 1971, Deasy moved to Atmore, where he was a prison chaplain; he later spent 12 years at Little Flower Catholic Church in Mobile. In 1995, he began his tenure at Christ the King Catholic Church.

“Alabama has been very good to me,” Deasy said. “I’ve been here for 50 years and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time in south Alabama.” He returns to his native Ireland a few weeks each summer to visit family and friends. Though he misses Ireland, he calls America home and plans to retire here.

That seems fitting, since the priest believes his ministry has led him here for a reason.

Deasy believes his wasn’t just a career choice; it was a path whose journey brings serenity and fulfillment. In a world that has changed so much in 50 years, one thing, he said, is constant: his faith.

“It’s a way of life.”