Posted on 09/24/2003 12:57:43 PM PDT by american colleen
It's been nearly two years since the sexual abuse scandal in the American Catholic Church first began, and one month since Father John Geoghan - the man whose conviction started it all - was murdered by a fellow inmate at a Massachusetts prison. By this point, calls for reform and accountability within the Church hierarchy have become commonplace. But until now, these calls have been coming primarily from the laity. That's changing, as VOA's Maura Farrelly reports. They call themselves "Voice of the Ordained." They're a small but vocal group of 150 priests and 52 former priests from three dioceses in and around New York City.
"Really the organization came together so that there would be a voice for priests in looking at the whole situation with the Church at this time," explained founding member Monsignor John Powis, who has been working with low-income Catholics in New York's borough of Brooklyn since he became a priest in the early 1960s. "How a pope is named, how bishops are selected, how priests are selected, should there be a married clergy? All the questions that are going to come up and have to come up."
Father Powis said the Catholic laity aren't the only ones who've been feeling alienated from the Church hierarchy. He said many of the men who became parish priests in the 1960s, when the Catholic Church was undergoing some radical reforms known as Vatican II, are disappointed in the bishops and cardinals who are their supervisors. He said parish priests like himself feel the hierarchy has abandoned some of the key elements of Vatican Two by distancing itself and its parish priests from the laity.
"There were a lot of things going on after Vatican II which were exciting, said Father Powis. "For instance, I was part of something in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, and we were doing things that were unheard of, say, 15 or 20 years before Vatican II. We had groups of priests who were living in apartments, working very closely with the communities, particularly with very poor people. We had a bishop who many times said to me, "I don't understand what you're doing, but I'll always support you." Now that's not the type of bishop that's been named since this present pope is pope."
Monsignor Powis said the sexual abuse scandal and the cover-up that went on for years are symptomatic of a greater problem in the Catholic Church - namely, the refusal of bishops and cardinals to recognize that the world today is far more complex than it used to be.
"We're getting documents now coming from Rome that really… aren't that pertinent to the days in which we live," he said.
John Powis says the fact that 52 members of Voice of the Ordained are former priests is a classic example of how out of touch with the world the Church hierarchy has become. These men left the priesthood because they wanted to get married, and the Catholic Church requires its priests to be celibate.
Church officials say celibacy isn't about being "out of touch". It's about ensuring that priests have the freedom to devote themselves full-time to their parishes. Celibate clergymen, after all, won't be distracted by their own families. But if recent statistics are any indication, more than half the American men ordained as priests this year will end up leaving the priesthood before the 25th anniversary of their ordination, and many will do so because they want to have families. This has created a tremendous priest shortage in the United States and around the world. And so Voice of the Ordained is calling on bishops everywhere to consider opening the priesthood up to married men.
"When I became a priest" recalls Father Powis, "it was a different world. In our class, we ordained 41 people. Last year in Brooklyn and Queens, with 217 parishes, we ordained two men. I've tried all my years to interest young men, and many of them have said they'd like to be priests, except that they would finally get to be 17 or 18 [years old] and say that they want to form a family. And that's part of the culture and the way that we live these days. It's a part of television, it's a part of the media, it's a part of everything."
Voice of the Ordained isn't the only group of Catholic clergymen calling for a re-evaluation of celibacy. Last month, 160 priests in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, sent a letter to their bishop, blaming celibacy for the priest shortage afflicting their diocese. That letter was quickly condemned by the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy, a group of more than 600 conservative priests in the United States and Canada. Nevertheless, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a group of priests is working to gather 5,000 signatures, calling upon the Church to make clerical celibacy optional. And according to the National Federation of Priests Councils, Catholic clergy in Boston, Chicago, and Charleston, South Carolina, may soon be doing the same.
Ah, episcopal carte-blanche -- what a great idea NOT!
I agree with you and in fact I think about that a lot when trying to flesh out my feelings on ordaining homosexual priests. What really, do they give up? Not children and a wife as a heterosexual man does. It's much more of a sacrifice for a heterosexual... it goes way beyond giving up sexual relations.
I'm in awe that you've considered and obviously prayed about a calling to the priesthood...
But these priests aren't about celibacy, really. Look who they've hooked up with - as have most of the national "priest unions" - the following is from the Voice of the Faithful website:
VOTF New Hyde Park, NY
Reported by Joan Georgaides
A group of parishioners met with their pastor, Msgr. John Martin, to discuss concerns related to the present crises in the Church. The pastor assured the group that a Pastoral Council will be established in the near future. This gathering resulted from a direct approach to the pastor. The experience might serve as a model for other VOTF members vis-à-vis their pastors. A presentation, "Structural Change in the Church," was given by Father Andrew Connolly, S.J. Fr. Connolly is from Queen of the Most Holy Rosary parish in Roosevelt. He was introduced by Jim Howard, Co-Moderator. "Andy" is a member of the steering committee of Voice of the Ordained, an organization of priests and deacons, married and unmarried, in the Dioceses of Brooklyn, Rockville Centre and New York.
Fr. Connolly addressed the need for structural change and said we must examine the basis for the present structure and the basis for a new structure. We need to bring to our analysis the tools of theology, philosophy, sociology and history. A useful resource is a book titled Imagining the Catholic Church: Structured Communion in the Spirit****** (excerpts were distributed at the meeting).
His major points were that we need to understand our rights and relationships within the structure of the church, structure of authority and structure of responsibility. Who is accountable for what and to whom? He talked about finances, policies, strategies. We need to make sure we know what we want to change. At present, it's a one-way street, top-down. At the diocesan level unlimited power is in the hands of the local bishop. We need to move to a horizontal structure with wide ranging lay involvement. Openness in the area of finances is a practical place to begin.
An obvious enormous obstacle: Those with the power have to be the ones to make the changes, i.e., the bishops. Vital to change is a massive organization of laity and priests; if the priests don't sign on, Fr. Connolly feels we must move along without them. Focus on the organization and, concretely, what you want to change.
Fr. Connolly offered some practical suggestions: Begin where you are, i.e., in your parish. Then:
Campaign for the establishment of Pastoral Councils, which, where they exist, are merely advisory at present. These need to move from a consultative to a collaborative function. Finance Committees should hold decision-making power, laity being responsible for budget preparation. Transparency and communication are the keynotes here. Introduce the practice of evaluating priests' and deacons' homilies.
Consider the election of pastors by the parishioners. Consider, too, the election of bishops, using as a model the election of religious superiors.
Fr. Connolly stated that in this moment of change the overriding attitude should be trusting the Spirit that dwells in each of us. A lively discussion followed. It was noted that Andy opened up new areas for further study and reflection.
Financial Report: Joe Hassan, Treasurer, read the current figures. He noted that since the Affiliate operates on the principle of complete financial openness, he will present a more detailed report in March. Note: Bishop Murphy has announced that the March 6 issue of the Long Island Catholic will carry a report on diocesan finances. Joe mentioned that the diocese taxes each parish 8% of their weekly collection. He also cited some of the charities sponsored by the Voice of Compassion fund, offered as an alternative to the Bishop's Appeal.
Pastoral Councils: Joe Bongiorno reported that St. Joseph's in Garden City, like most parishes in our area, has not had a council meeting in a number of years. On a positive note, St. Aidan's has reinstated its Stewardship Council.
Legislation: Joe has been tracking Bill A1516 in the New York State Assembly, which would require mandatory reporting of clergy sexual abuse with the exception of the confidentiality of the confessional. Assemblyman McEneny, who introduced the bill, would welcome the support of VOTF-LI. This bill closes a loophole in the final version of the US Bishop's Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, which did not have a mandatory reporting requirement.
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Sounds like a good corporate plan! You'd never know these guys are the channel for the Sacraments and they are the shepherds of a flock trying to find their master, would you?
***** "Imagining the Catholic Church: Structured Communion in the Spirit" - by none other than REMBERT WEAKLAND!!!
I'm wondering how many priests Father Groeschel's order ordained last year... and those guys take a serious vow of poverty.
Indeed it does -- and just as repellent! I'm surprised he doesn't suggest bringing in corporate facilitators.
| Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them. Matthew 7:15-16 |
One thing you might want to consider is changing rites. Married men may be ordained in the Byzantine rite Catholic churches. I'm not sure about the Coptic, Syriac, Armenian, Chaldean, or Maronite rites. Fr. Eddie Doherty, author of Splendor of Sorrow, was married when he took Holy Orders in the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, for example.
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