WHY DIDN'T THE SEMINARY KNOW?

I assume you are up on the goings on in the Diocese of Cleveland.  I was rather surprised by a priest friend visiting from PA that he hadn’t heard about it.  I would have assumed that it was national news - and maybe it was but it didn’t hit his radar screen.

A relatively recently ordained priest in the Diocese of Cleveland was arrested by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force for dealings with child porn the exact nature of which is not yet clear (to me).  People ask, “Why couldn’t he have been weeded out earlier?”

In our day, there is a tremendous amount of time and resources invested in vetting a man who is going to potentially serve as a priest in the Catholic Church.  Over the course of six to nine years, a man is constantly under observation, formation and review as he moves toward ordination.  Not an hour or so a week but constantly - daily.  On a regular basis, he is interviewed by, works with and is formed and evaluated by clergy and religious, lay men and women of all ages, Catholics and non-Catholics, psychologists, various professionals and non-professionals and taking numerous and on different occasions as they pass through the years psychological and other tests and evaluations.

So, how could the seminary not know that this man might be unfit for orders?

There are two (perhaps among others) answers to that question.  The first involves marriage.  Ask any priest of some seasoned years about marriages that have broken up after 10, 15, 20 years because all of a sudden the spouse discovered something about the other that that person had kept successfully hidden for decades.  How could this person you are “one” with, shared a bed, parented and went to Church with not know this secret?  Yet it happens.

The other for this article is this: Psychological tests and such are great for detecting psychological problems, but they often fall short of being able to detect evil.  Evil is not their purview necessarily.  But evil always makes itself know - at least eventually.  That is when it is important to be community - to be Church - and to deal with it and remove the evil from our midst (which is why accountability by all is so important especially when it comes to the most vulnerable among us.)  

It may take a community to raise a child, but it also takes a community to protect them.

BUM PASTORS YOU WANT OUT VS GREAT PASTORS YOU DON'T WANT TO LOSE

About ten years ago the Diocese of Cleveland changed from permanent pastorates to term limits.  I was on the committee to assist the then bishop in deciding.  I was less than enthused with the prospect.  As with most new new things (please, can we never have yet another new miracle method for teaching in schools that will be all the rage for three years and then never be heard from again) it sounded like a cure that would solve all of our problems.  The caution that I had at the time was that we were simply exchanging one set of advantages/difficulties for another set of challenges/difficulties and were we sure that we wanted this exchange.

Apparently we did.

The argument for pastor term limits are quite good.  If there is a problem priest, there is a date at which canonically he may be removed.  (Despite what many people think, the bishop does not have the power, except in limited circumstances, simply to move a pastor at will.)  It also provides a chance for a priest who thinks that it is time to move to have a convenient way and date to do so.  So there is a lot more flexibility and ability to change things up.  It gives a bishop a lot more power to help a parish that is failing under a particular priest and in some ways it gives the people more power.  If they don’t like the guy that is their pastor, when the time comes for the priest to renew his pastorate, it is the opportunity for the bishop to say, “Maybe not.  Your people are revolting.”

So why would there have been permanent pastorates in the first place?  (Chesterton warned against tearing down a fence unless you first know why it was there.)  The argument for permanent pastorates is quite good.  In an article in a recent First Things, the author listed some of the advantages to permanent pastorates.  The first is a certain amount of protection from punitive acts of a bishop.  It brings more power locally for a priest (and congregation) to say, “We will not do that here.”  (With term limits, there may be some fear that soon you will be moved to a difficult assignment for sparing with the bishop.)  There is more of a chance to develop long term relationships instead of the “father” of the parish changing every six years (making it a bit scary for staffs also.)  

A lot depends on the people involved.  Will a term limit cause a man not to do some difficult work such a replacing an expensive roof or firing a popular figure who is working against the goals of the parish?  Will he tempted to say, “Let the next guy handle it.”  Or would permanent pastorates cause another man to say, “Nobody can touch me, I’ll spend my days watching T. V.?”  

Is more episcopal oversight better than greater subsidiarity?  It is difficult to say.  A lot depends.  If you have a crummy pastor you are probably glad for term limits, if you have a crummy bishop, you probably wish for permanent pastorates.  

We seem to have stuck a balance in the Diocese of Cleveland (and a lot depends on the solicitude of the bishop who is sitting in the cathedra.)  We have six year term limits that are indefinitely renewable in theory.  So a problem pastor or a pastor who thinks he has run his course can be moved or move on.  Or, in theory, he could stay there for years if good still seems to be happening.

Which is best?  The answer is bears, beets, Battlestar Galactica. 

HAVE YOU HEARD THE NEWS?

I wish that the Church was as tight knit and conspiratorial as movie makers and those in the media at times make it appear.  I don’t even know what is happening at the next parish over let alone in Cleveland.  I love having priest friends over and asking them, “What’s going on up north of 303?  I haven’t heard any rumors lately.”

We occasionally get an Email from “downtown” informing us of important events.  There is a thing called the “Diocesan Memorandum” that anybody who wants can sign up for.  We have district meetings at which some information is disseminated with varying degrees of success.  When something really big happens we might be Emailed a letter to be read at all Masses (and hopefully the pastor complies.)  But really, your typical priest is going to find out about goings on in the Church the same way you do . . . when he reads it in the paper or internet.

It may be true that newspapers are slowly becoming the buggy whips of the news industry but I miss our diocesan newspaper (which had the coolest name EVER: The Catholic Universe Bulletin.  If anything was going on and news needed to get out, there was the paper.  “The Bishop says right here on page four . . .”  Certainly not everybody read it, but enough did to get a message out.  (And really, our paper was not well used in a manner that made it overly relevant but that is another story.)

Every now and then we have a magazine that comes out now that is more catechetical in nature.  And that is great for catechetics.  We also have a (completely non-navigable)  diocesan website that, if you want to see what is on the Bishops mind, you can waste an afternoon trying to find his words.  (They are working on it thank goodness.)  But we don’t really have anything that is pro-active.  (I hate that phrase.)  Just because we issue a statement does not mean that anyone will print it or your average Catholic will bother to go online to try to search out the diocesan reaction to any particular story out there.

Maybe this is a clever tactic: better to let things fade away rather than putting fuel on the fire by making statements to which others might react.  If the Bishop had a mechanism by which he could control all of the bulletins in the diocese to issue a state such as, “You heard about recent events concerning Cardinal Whosit in Rome, I would like to assure you that . . . and here’s some things we can do . . . “  who knows what delicious trouble that could get us in.  I could imagine the Bishop printing something in the bulletins and a pastor countering him in a merry war.  Hmmm.  Maybe it is better to keep our heads low.

In the meantime I’ll continue to invite my priest friends from Cleveland down to play cards on Wednesday nights and pump them for all the Church news from up north I can get.  Maybe the Medieval ways really are the best.

HAPPY CATHOLIC ANNIVERSARY AKRON

While doing some research for a project concerning the upcoming 90th anniversary of St. Sebastian Parish, I came across this bit of information:  The first known Mass ever celebrated in the city of Akron was in a log cabin owned by James McAllister who was a contractor in the early years of the city.  The priest who celebrated the Mass was named the Rev. John Martin Henni.  He was born in Switzerland but was ordained a priest in the Diocese of Cincinnati of which this area was a part.  It would be a number of years yet before the Diocese of Cleveland would be established.  

One of his passions was to take care of the scattered Catholics in this part of the diocese which consisted largely of Germans and Irish.  It was in the year of 1833 that there is a record of him saying that first known Mass in that log cabin, four years before the mission church of St. Vincent was founded.  That makes this year the 185th anniversary of that Mass.

The pastors in this area are going to do something (yet to be determined) to mark this event.  It probably won’t be huge (the number 185, while significant, is not a number like 200) but in making it, hopefully we will be able to remember more significant anniversaries in the future.  If you have an idea on how to celebrate this event, please let me know (soon.)   

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: PARISH HISTORY: FIRST FOR SEBASTIAN - SECOND FOR AKRON

1949

This year, the 20th anniversary of the parish coincides with the 100th anniversary of the Diocese of Cleveland.

1950

There had already been three vocations to the priesthood from the parish.  The fourth however was an ordination that took place at St. Sebastian Parish.  According to a full page article into Sunday, June 4th Akron Beacon Journal, the Rev. J. Lawrence Dannemiller became the second priest ever ordained within the city limits.  Normally, priests are ordained at the cathedral in Cleveland.  The other priest so ordained was in 1847, just a little more than a century earlier.  

The paper ran many pictures of the day including one of the procession to the church in which it stated, “The procession preceding the ceremony wends through the picturesque grounds of St. Sebastian.”  More than 600 person were reported to be in attendance.

Fr. Dannemiller was the first son of the parish to be ordained whose entire elementary school education was at St. Sebastian Parish School.  He was ordained into the Sulpician order which is perhaps why the ordination was in Akron and only for him.  He most likely served teaching in a seminary, the training of priests being a charism of the Sulpician charism.

A TALE OF TWO DIOCESES

I always thought it interesting in other countries how even the language could change dramatically even from one village to the next.  What has made me sad about computers, mass media, and chain stores and restaurants is that they seem to be homogenizing our American society.  Like a modern glass skyscraper it is the same from top to bottom, from left to right.  There is no wondering what it might be like “in that interesting part of the building,” save for maybe how high the top floor is.

But local flavor is not completely dead.  Even within the Diocese of Cleveland there are defiantly differences between north of Rte 303 and south of it.  (It is often joked that one needs  passport to cross the imaginary boarder.

There are some obvious differences.  Only up here in Akron (see how I did that?  Akros Greek for top most) is SUMMIT county, we refer to the strip of grass between the sidewalk and the street the devil strip.  Now so down north.  When we say “downtown” we mean the district area of the city we are in; Akron, Barberton, Cuyahoga Falls, etc.  Down north they mean Cleveland.

A priest, when someone wants to show great respect, is often referred to as “sir” south of the 303 as in, “Good morning sir!”  North of 303 you might (and I have seen it) get you a cold stare and a lecture about, “I am Father, NOT sir.”

The Slovenians in the north sang a slightly different tune to my favorite Slovenian song, “Maria Pomagaj” than we did in the south.  We didn’t like their tune and they didn’t like ours.

It seems to me, and this is very general, that in communal penance, in the north priests are more likely to wear albs.  In the south it is not as common an occurrence.

If you want White Russian dressing on your salad, you will have to visit a ma and pa restaurant south of 303.

These are just a few of the things that I could think of.  Can you think of any more?  I would love to hear it.

WHEN GOOD ENOUGH ISN'T

It may be that many Parishes are struggling in the Catholic triangle, the three points roughly being Chicago, Boston, and New York where, at one time, 50% of American Catholics once lived.  As the Catholic population evens out across the map, the triangle looks as if the Catholic Church is failing while in other parts of the nation they cannot build churches and parking lots quickly enough.  Is there anything good to come from this for triangle Catholics?

There is at least this: survival of the fittest.  “If you don’t like it here, go to the next parish over,” is no longer a safe attitude to have because people can and will do just that - and possibly they will not stay within the Catholic family of churches!  It is not enough to open our doors anymore and say, “Okay Catholics, come on in!”  The ethnic fellowship, community pressure, our collective conscience will not get us into a pew.  You better have your Church act together.

That does not mean we should give in to the customer service mentality that plagues the American Church experience and mindset.  But it is similarly unconscionable to do things just adequately or minimally either.  If we want serious Catholics, we need to be a Church serious about being Catholic.

The same goes for our schools.  There is a misconception out there that when we were in the days of the nuns, everything was perfect.  They weren’t.  (Don’t get me wrong, I would jump on the bandwagon in a moment of orders reignited in our diocese and started staffing our schools.)  Ask a priest who had gone through the golden era of packed schools with our valiant nuns making up all or most of the faculty.  There were still terrible teachers and difficult principals.  The difference was that people were much more likely to be desperate to have their kid in a Catholic school.  If you kid didn’t make the cut, there were only so many seats and if you were lucky you MIGHT get in to the next parish over.  The balance of power was much more in the hands of the school.

Not so today.  Our schools now compete against each other for a smaller group of students.  It is interesting the people call our school now and ask, “If I send my kid to your school, what will you give us?”  We get LOTS of those.  (We do not do that type of funding for the general public.)

This means being a typical Catholic school in the Catholic Triangle is not enough.  Being a good Catholic school is not enough.  In some places, being a great Catholic school is not enough.  So in this and in all things that we do (evangelization for example) we must keep waking up and realizing, “Today, we must be better.”

SERENTY PRAYER

As a presbyterate we are about to embark on a planning session to decide what we are going to do about the number of parishes we have vs the number of priest we will have in the future.  There will be those who stand up and give an imploring speech that we should have married priests, female priests, and so forth.  Whether I agree or not, these things are not going to change within the next couple of years and we need to start taking control over those areas in which we can have some immediate effect.  

Another topic that will come up (again) is that priests should be relieved of all “business” responsibilities.  They should be able just to focus on sacraments (and the accompanying paperwork) and leave everything else to lay people.  That way the priests are freed up to do more of what priests are ordained to do and lay folks can take a stronger leadership role in the Church.

The only problem with this model is that it is not what Vatican II envisioned.  It would require more than changing the policies of a diocese, it would involve reworking international canon law, Church teaching, and the documents of Vatican II.  When a Catholic is baptized, he is also anointed priest, prophet, and king.  When a priest is ordained, it is understood that he too will fulfill all of these roles.  Administration is not just an extra tacked on to being a priest, it is a part of who he is called to be.  As “Father” and “pastor,” he is called to this role as much as is a father of a household is called to help manage the affairs of the family.  

A dad, ideally, not only supports his family, but offers himself in love, teaches, leads, and brings to Christ.  When one of these are not present we usually see a path to divorce or the result of divorce.  So it is with the Father of a parish.  These are his roles and so our focus on solving our problems will have to lie elsewhere.  

GUEST BLOGGER: INTO THE VALLEY OF DEATH

I remember when Y2K (was supposed to) happen.  At the stroke of midnight on January 1st, windows still glowed with the blue of T.V. sets, planes stayed in the sky, and the lights didn't even flicker.  I turned to my cousin and said, "Well THAT was anticlimactic."  I felt the same about the RNC in Cleveland.  For MONTHS we had been told to stay away and that the city was going to go down in flames.  Again, the whole event, by the standard that cataclysmic events are measured, was more tame the the Cav's victory reception.

But a week ago, we were preparing for armageddon.  (I am NOT joking.)  During that maelstrom, one of the seminarians living at the rectory was invited to attend the Pro Life rally at the Brown's stadium.  I asked him to blog about his experience.  Please note that this article is not an endorsement about any person or political party but a description of his adventure that happened to be at the RNC, which just happened to be on our doorstep. 

So, without further ado, here is David Stavarz's article entitled, 

"Are You a Lion or a Sheep?"

Last week, during the RNC in Cleveland, another seminarian and myself were blessed to be invited to the Browns Stadium for a Pro-life Luncheon hosted by the Republican National Coalition for Life. Talk about a once-in-a-lifetime experience! As a seminarian, it is really often amazing where, at times, one finds oneself. My life is certainly blessed. 

Being the second full day of the convention, Josh and I were not sure about how exactly we were going to make it all the way to First Energy Stadium considering all the hype that surrounded this RNC. However, as God's providence outdoes all human attempts to worry about everything, we were able to catch the RTA into the city and walk a few blocks to our destination without any trouble.

Once we arrived at the stadium, despite walking a good distance in our suits in the Cleveland heat, there was not much time for relaxation. For the representatives and delegates especially, there was much important work to be done for the Pro-Life cause on the Republican platform. There were some protesters outside, but otherwise it was a peaceful and uncontested event.

At the beginning of the program, our own Bishop Roger Gries, OSB was asked to give the opening remarks and prayers. Frankly, and not to the detriment of the subsequent speakers, with his short talk, I think the bishop hit the nail right on the head. Bishop Gries challenged those in the room not if they were a true Republican elephant, but if they were a sheep or a lion. He explained that many times in our modern society, especially when it comes to life issues, religious people are seen as sheep. People of faith, like sheep, are seen as unintelligent, passive, and, hence, easily dismissed. We simply aren't taken seriously. 

Granted we live in a turbulent culture that is increasingly anti-religious and even somewhat hostile to religion, but in my view as religious people, as people who follow Jesus Christ, we have two options: apathy or chivalry. And I don't think that it is the apathetic people who Jesus wants to find when He comes again. Before the prayer, the bishop called for us not to cower like lambs when it comes to life issues, but roar like lions so that our voice is heard and it is not one that is easily unheard. Bishop Gries added that as Christians we need to be in the center of the culture, not out on the fringes, never to be heard.

The event itself was hosted, as it had been for many years, by Mrs. Phyllis Schlafly, founder of Eagle Forum Education and Legal Defense Fund and the RNC/Life, constitutional lawyer, author of twenty-six books, and female activist who has had an instrumental contribution to the Pro-Life cause in the Republican Party. Over the years, Schlafly has been a lion who has unabashedly promoted life and the dignity of the human person both as a politician and as a mother of 6 children. I could tell the room was filled with respect for Mrs. Schlafly as she was greeted with a profound applause. Before the meal, videos of her speaking before Congress cycled on screens around the room. She was certainly not a woman who sheepishly let the culture change around her. She believed in Christ through her Roman Catholic faith, stood up for what she believed, and addressed the cultural changes with a roar.

Next, Mr. Lou Holtz, legendary college football coach (most notably from Notre Dame), gave the keynote presentation. His talk was inspiring, moving, challenging, and was really what everyone - Democrat or Republican - needed to hear. Holtz drew from much of his personal experience as a coach and as a father in our culture to highlight the various challenges to life issues in our country. Granted, Coach Holtz has more resources and means than your average joe on the street, but he has not been a sheep, but he has chosen to be a lion in the pro-life cause. 

Reading some of the coverage of his talk at the event, Holtz has even received flack from the media for this talk at that very event. One quote that I guestfound memorable was, "We can tell people how to make a living, but we can't tell them how to make a life." In other words, the precious nature of a human life needs to be protected before the frail nature of what goes into our pockets. Human lives are and will always be more important that anything else in this world.

All in all it was a great experience going to the luncheon, meeting people who were highly involved and passionate. It was an honor to represent seminarians in a Church who is, at times, greatly persecuted, yet greatly cares about the Pro-Life issues, the dignity of the human person, and the future of our country. In the years to come we should take to heart the bishops words truly becoming lions and not sheep, undeniably fighting for our faith and what we believe in.

YOU THINK THIS POST IS LONG? TRY ATTENDING THE ACTUAL MEETING!

THE EXCUSE

So, here’s the reason (yet another excuse) that there was no post yesterday.  We had a Presbyteral Convocation, aka a murder of crows, aka a meeting of the priests of the Diocese of Cleveland, which took place at our seminary.  Before taking off, I had to do my morning chores including feeding and airing out the dog and go to a Finance Council Meeting.  My car was pulled out and parked in a strategic direction for quick escape.

After, there was just enough time to make it home, eat, and then it was time to hear confessions, have benediction, and finally, bless our new pipe organ.  (No, not that one.  Another one.  I think I’ll tell you about it tomorrow.)  After all of that I was of little use save as a throw rug or door stop.

THE MEETING

The meeting concerned the future of ministry in the Diocese of Cleveland.  “The sky is falling,” so what are we going to do?  What follows is a brief overview of the first couple hours of the meeting - largely consisting of statistics.  (Two hours in I leaned over to my table partner and said, “information overload.”)

In the 1960s, 50% of all Catholics in the United States lived in a triangle whose points are roughly Chicago, Washington D. C., and Boston.  So this is where all of the churches, schools, religious mothers houses and the like are concentrated.  Today, only 25% of all Catholics live in this triangle.  We moved with the Social Security set hitting such places as Florida and those searching for their first jobs heading to such places as North Carolina (like my nephew.  I mean, come on!  Who lives in N. C.?  I hate driving to Cleveland to see people - so N. C.?)

Anyway, this means that in parts of the country, they cannot establish parishes quickly enough.  Church and school buildings are appearing as quickly as Christmas decorations at the mall the day after Thanksgiving.  Meanwhile, in the magic triangle, we have a lot of giant buildings that are as empty as the Rubber Bowl on a Saturday night.

Cleveland is not doing too poorly YET.  But we are going to retiring huge classes of priests in the near future.  Right now we have 256 priests.  By 2040, unless we really do something, it is predicted that there will only be 140.  In 1970, that means there was one priest for every 1,694 Catholics.  In 2040 it is predicted that it will go to one priest for every 3,251.  (Double!  But that is approximately the year I supposedly retire.)

COMPARING CLEVELAND TO THE U. S.

In the United States we have OUTSTANDING service to our Catholics as far as parish and priest availability per Catholic is concerned compared to most of there best of the world.  I often wondered why the older generation of the Valencheck family did not go to Mass very often.  It was because in Slovenia, there was not a priest who could make it to the village very often so they only went a few times a year.  This is not terribly unusual around the world.  No priests = no Mass.

In the U. S. we have a ration of priests to parishes 1 : 1.  In the Diocese of Cleveland it is 1.4 : 1.  If we close no parishes by 2040 it will be .8 : 1.  Ouch. 

The average amount of weekend Masses at a parish in the U.S. is 3.6.  In Cleveland it is 3.8.  Seating capacity at your typical Catholic Church in the U. S. is 523.  In Cleveland it is 663.  The average weekend attendance nationally is 1,004.  In Cleveland it is just a bit over 900.  The average number of registered households in Cleveland is 1,439.  St. Sebastian seats 800, has a little over 1,700 households, and has a slightly higher weekend attendance rate than the national rate.

702 weekend Masses are offered here with 159,000 Catholics (or 23% of all Catholics here) attending.  1,090 day Masses are offered every week.

The Diocese is over represented in both white and African American populations.  Nationally the Church is 61% white and 13% black.  In Cleveland, we are 73% white and 18% black.

SUMMIT COUNTY

This is the county in which St. Sebastian is located.  We are about 20% Catholic having had a 7% growth in the number of Catholics since 1971 with the over all change in population of this county holding at 0%.  The confirmation rate of those baptized Catholic is the highest in the diocese.  

WHAT CAN BE DONE?

Don’t panic.  Trust in God and pray.  This is the continuous story of the Catholic Church for 2,000 years.  First we are here, and then we are over there.  We adapt and cope.  

Next, promote vocations.  No way around this one.  We have 80 men studying for the priesthood for the Diocese of Cleveland right now.  That is nice, (even great compared to MANY dioceses) but it’s nowhere close to replacement levels.  

Evangelize, evangelize, evangelize.  Although the overall population of northeast Ohio is dropping, the Catholic population is leaving at a greater rate!  When was the last time you invited a neighbor to Mass or parish event?  When was the last time you spoke to someone about your faith?  We are horrible at this in general but we need to get over it.

Expect non-clergy and religious Catholics to take on a MUCH larger role in the life of the parish and the diocese.  And we must make a serious evaluation of all of our venues and services.  Do we need to have them all?  What is our core mission?  What can/should we give up?

Bring jobs to northeast Ohio.  What I hear over and over again is how much millennials love Akron/Cleveland.  There is so much here.  So much to see and do.  But we don’t have the jobs on which to raise a family.

CONCLUSION:

There is hope.  There is also a lot to do RIGHT NOW so that we do not panic later.  It is not (as it appears here) that there are less Catholics.  The Catholic population in the U. S. is exploding.  It is just in the magic triangle where the concentration is spreading out to the rest of the country.  The dam has broken.  There is not less water, there is just less water behind the dam.  The water is spreading out across the valley with more on the way.  How do we adapt to this new reality?

ADDENDUM:

I just thought to add that in spite of what you read up above, Catholic priests have the among the highest "job" satisfaction rates in the country.  We might be tired, but we are (generally) fulfilled and most of us would not trade it for the world.

NASVIDENJE

A text appeared on my phone earlier this week stating that The Most Reverend A. Edward Pevec, DD, PhD, Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of Cleveland had passed away.  You may read more about his official time as a bishop as well as all of the funeral arrangements HERE. 

 

Bishop Pevec was of Slovenian descent as was I.  When I was in the seminary I used to sneak into the chapel late at night and play Slovenian hymns on the organ.  On a number of occasions I would be leaving and find that the bishop had been sitting there listening.  He would have tears in his eyes and he would shake my hand and say, “Thank you John.”  I have rarely, in my life,  ever gone by the name John but I didn’t mind him calling me that.

 

When I was named pastor of St. Sebastian, our ordinary was unable to have the installation ceremony due to his heavy schedule.  The Installation Mass is ceremonial and unnecessary, but then again so is a birthday cake and presents.  But such is life.

 

As I was leaving his office I was handed the list of auxiliary bishops of the diocese with their phone numbers.  “I heard that the bishop was going to be unable to install you as pastor so I took the liberty of putting these names together for you,” the person said.  At the top of list was Bishop Pevec.  So I called, somewhat embarrassed, “Hi, This is John.  Could you come and install me as pastor?”  It sounded pretty pathetic like “Would you throw me a birthday party?”  Anyway he jumped right on it.  “Of course I will.  When do you want it?”  He sounded rather enthused about though his schedule was probably packed too but he put me greatly at ease.

 

We had settled on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception which thrilled me.  It was a great crowd, which meant that more people than usual showed up on a holy day of obligation!  It was a wonderful night thanks to his generous spirit.

 

Rest in peace bishop.

SPEAK UP I CAN'T HEAR YOU

Why isn’t the Church/pope/bishop speaking out on “X?”  Why do they seem so obsessed with sex when there is so much going on???

 

Funny how that seems isn’t it?  The fact is that the Church/pope/bishop IS speaking out on many of the hot button issues that are near and dear to your heart.  The problem is: How do they get the message to YOU? 

 

Firstly, the media has to be willing to print/report/post what was said.  You can send out a million press releases and hold ten thousand press conferences, but if someone doesn’t think it will sell or, and let’s be honest, if they are opposed to the Church, it will not make its way to your senses. 

 

That is the supposed purpose of the diocesan newspaper.  It is to be the voice of the bishop and the diocese.  Sadly that is not always the case.  Further, print is just going the way of the buggy whip.  It was announced this past week that the Diocese of Cleveland’s newspaper the Catholic Universe Bulletin (coolest name ever) is going out of print.

 

For years I have been hoping to find someone to write an article for the parish bulletin (I may have finally found somebody) who would scour the internet, Vatican, diocesan, NCCB, etc . . . and give the briefest of summaries on what is going on and being said in the Church and giving links so people CAN read and catch up.

 

The other problem is that the Church seems so obsessed with SEX.  But it comes back to how a story is reported.  It is fun (but sad) to read an article in the paper about something the pope said concerning the mating habits of humans which makes the headlines and absorbs 90% of the article only to find out that it was a passing comment within a much broader and far more important talk.

 

How do we get our voice back?  I know our diocese is looking for alternatives and not only online.  My hope is that not only will the form of the news reach each person but that the content will be worthwhile.  We don’t need any more fluff.  In the meantime we must be pro-active.  Do not take the T.V. or the local newspaper or internet story as the complete Gospel on Church reporting.  If something catches you, look it up on line.  Be careful of which sources you choose.  Scour the Vatican, USCCB, and diocesan websites.  Find original materials.  It’s work, but for now, if you want it, you have to look for it.

NOTHING NEW?

Perhaps you have heard the brouhaha over the new teacher’s contracts in the Diocese of Cleveland.  I do understand the angst about them.  Essentially there is nothing different about them per se, but on the other hand there is something very different about them.

 

What is not different about them is that there is no new information in them.  What was implied before is now spelled out.  A public life lived in accord with the faith was expected before and is expected now.

 

What is different is now it is spelled out on more controversial topics.  Living in invalid marriages, publically supporting abortion rights, and a host of other points have been spelled out more explicitly.  This is partly in response to the new healthcare mandates, partly to help stave off litigation, and partly to reestablish a stronger Catholic identity in our schools.

 

Is it a good idea?  Not being a lawyer or a politician I am not sold either way.  But there is an aspect of this whole dust storm that is coming to light that illuminates a profound misunderstanding about what we are (supposed to be) doing as Catholic schools.  A reading of some Letters to the Editor as of late give example.

 

One of these letters read something like this: “It is a shame that the Catholic Church is forcing the issue on what constitutes a good Catholic.  By limiting the pool of teachers, we will be missing out on great educators, which can only harm our schools and our students.  We want our kids to have the best teachers.”

 

Such a statement betrays a deep confusion of the nature of Catholic schools.  A Catholic school is not a public school, it is not even a private school, it is a parochial school.  Unlike public schools which are becoming more and more limited in passing on culture, discipline, ideas of right and wrong, good and evil, or even God, and unlike private schools who are there to simply provide a superior education (hopefully), a Catholic school is also about the formation of the human person, imbuing ideas of the good with very clear ideas of what that is.  She passes on truth, concepts of what is holy, beautiful, and how one should live embracing the respect of life, family, the dignity of the human person, and all that entails with the 2,000 year understanding of the revealed truths of the faith.

 

It is culture that we are passing on, not simply knowledge.  If it were not for the faith and the culture we would close our schools or make them profitable private schools as has happened to so many of our colleges and high schools. 

 

So let’s say there is a police officer that comes to your child’s school to teach about staying off of drugs.  He is very effective.  The kids love him.  He is popular with the parents.  But he also has a website promoting illegal drug use and the kids know it.  He admitted to the kids that he regularly uses drugs though they should stay off of them.  He was quoted in the newspaper as saying that drugs should be made legal and available.  No matter how good he is in the classroom and while in the school building, do you really want him teaching your kids about drugs?

 

Our faith is a culture, not a set of facts in a book.  It cannot be taught like math.  It is caught, not taught.  No one can “teach Catholicism” while living a life contrary to it for then it becomes a dead message.