during the pontificate of john paul 2 the title of father for secular priests became more common .
some older secular priests feel that the widening of usage of father for them leads to the covering over of the closer identification that the secular clergy have historically had with the laity . the secular priest is usually more connected to a certain locale and used to seek a different spirituality from that of the religious. the secular priests needs to learn to be holy in a different way from a vowed person. he often lives and works in an area from which he comes and maintains family connections and has family responsibilities. 

his identity is connected to his bishop and his fellows in the prebyterate as well as his family and neighbors. 

unfortunately some younger clergy find the term secular priests degrading.