Tag Archives: priests

November 11, 2011 · 12:18 pm

roman style

There`s no denying that Romans have style. Women, men, young and old have an air of confidence in their appearance. Their clothing choices lean towards black; a fashion tip that I embraced many years ago. Black is easy to mix and match. It moves gracefully from casual to dress-up. And, it is impervious to the ever-present street grime of this ancient city. (Travel tip – leave your white pants at home!)

I am in awe of Italian women. They navigate cobble-stone streets in stiletto heels and maneuver motor-cycles and scooters through the crazy maze of narrow streets that is Rome. And, they are gorgeous. Not in the American, blonde Barbie kind of way. Few have perky little button noses. Having been blessed rather generously in the proboscis department, I`m heartened to see women who are not only comfortable in their natural looks, but who allow their beauty to glow. Three cheers for the Roman nose!

Style is apparently important in ecclesiastical circles, also. Window shopping in the vicinity of St. Peter`s provides an interesting diversity of wares. Souvenir shops filled with plastic Pietàs and glow in the dark rosaries share street space with high-end clerical fashion stores. There seems to be a market for these duds. Young priests and seminarians decked out in cassocks and impeccably tailored black suits abound. Hollywood casting directors wouldn`t have to look far for Bing Crosby or Spencer Tracey look-a-likes.

Also spotted were young women in full religious habits. These were no shrinking violets of humility. They, too, had an air of confidence. Their veiled heads held high and long skirts swooshed with their brisk steps. It made me wonder about the upcoming generation of religious sisters and priests. I also wondered where the high-end nun shops were. ;-)

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July 20, 2011 · 6:00 am

Set-decorator Catholicism: The common traits of set-decorators | National Catholic Reporter

The first common characteristic of set-decorators is their affinity for surfaces. Professing commitment to the depths of the faith, they are obsessed with rustling cassocks, billowing capes, sounding bells and bows, the stuff, in short, with which they can redecorate the set of hierarchical Catholicism. If they build it, these clerics believe, the people will come.

via Set-decorator Catholicism: The common traits of set-decorators | National Catholic Reporter.

Have you ever read a piece of writing that had your head-a-bobbing in agreement? Have you ever been drawn into a metaphor so strongly that you are torn between lingering on each image and speed-reading to see what happens next? The above article is part two of a lengthy essay written by Eugene Cullen Kennedy. I read the first part  while on holidays and was itching to share it on this blog.

Kennedy uses the term `set-decorators`for those clerics who embrace the pre-Vatican II liturgical style of ritual, pomp and finery. The focus on fine fabrics and lace is only one aspect of this clerical culture. It also promotes an old-school style of authoritarianism that views the laity as disobedient children, and a style of leadership that allows no questioning or dialogue. The young seminarians who embrace this style of priesthood have one eye always open on future promotions in the Church. And there is more…

As always, the discussion board is a mixed bag of reactions. Readers love it or hate it. What do you think?

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June 27, 2011 · 10:19 am

corpus christi

image via Microsoft

Yesterday was Corpus Christi, or the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ. The Eucharist, or Holy Communion, is central to our Catholic identity. It is the `source and summit` of our faith life and liturgical worship. Sadly, the theology surrounding this sacrament separates us from other Christian denominations. Ironically, it also divides us within our own Church.

When we receive Holy Communion under the appearance of bread and wine, we believe that it is really and truly the body and blood of Jesus and not just a sign or symbol of remembrance. We use dense words such as transubstantiation to try and explain the unexplainable. As with most mysteries, there are many layers and meanings beyond this core belief. Our theological or ideological leanings often determine which aspect is highlighted in our worship style. At the risk of over-simplifying or generalizing, traditionalists focus more on the real presence of Jesus in the consecrated bread and wine. Liberals or progressives focus more on the communal banquet table that feeds and unites us.

A focus on the real presence tends to place great importance on devotional practises and liturgical rites such as Eucharistic Adoration, Benedictions, and Corpus Christi processions. Individual piety and acts of devotion center on the Tabernacle and the consecrated host itself. It can be more exclusive, with high standards of who can and who cannot receive.

A focus on the communal aspect of Eucharist focuses on gathering in fellowship around the table of the Lord. The worship style is less formal and more communal, less focused on the person of the priest and more focused on the community. It tends towards inclusivity, with a desire to welcome all who come to the table.

A previous pastor used to focus on the real presence. His strong devotion was apparent in both his worship style and homilies. He often wore a Cope, a liturgical cape, changing vestments mid-way in the mass. After Communion, he dramatically kneeled in long prayer in front of the Tabernacle while we watched from the pews. Lengthy rules concerning reception of the Eucharist were repeatedly read in homilies and printed in bulletins. We had to bow – and he kept correcting how we bowed.

He preached that the most important place in the world was inside the four walls of the Church. Missing Mass was a grave sin. One First Communion Sunday, when pews were filled with non-Catholic family and friends unsure of when to sit and stand, he preached about Eucharistic miracles – hosts purportedly turning to real flesh and blood. I squirmed in the pew wondering what our visitors were thinking. What were the young boys and girls thinking? At the heart of his efforts was a deep devotion. But his methods were turning people away rather than drawing them in.

As with many aspects of our faith, the truth can be found in the middle of two extremes. If we truly believe in the sacramental presence of Jesus in the Eucharist then yes, we must receive with respect and devotion, ensuring that certain standards are in place. If we truly believe that it is a sacrament of love and unity, then we must also reflect this in how we welcome our sisters and brothers to the table.

 

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June 3, 2011 · 6:00 am

the clericalism of the laity

Jamie L. Manson has written another thought-provoking blog on the National Catholic Reporter web-site. In Priest`s pornography case reveals clericalism of the laity , she challenges the laity for remaining silent in the midst of the abuse scandals. She claims that even progressive voices are hesitant to openly challenge and report priests, and blames it on the “internalized clericalism of the laity.” Even when the evidence is staring us in the face, we are as guilty as clerics in giving the offending priest a “pass.”

Is this true? We have heard of the stories of days gone by, when a child’s word was seldom believed. Even when it was believed, a family was too ashamed or afraid to openly accuse the priest. But have we not moved beyond the old protectiveness of our clergy?

In my own parish life, I have never had to experience the unique betrayal of a sexually abusing priest. But I have experienced the effects of authoritarianism and abuse of power. I have seen some past priests treat a parish as their own fiefdom, bullying others to do their will. Parish councils and finance and liturgy committees were mere pawns, ensuring that all Father’s plans and wishes would be fulfilled.

I have also seen the diocesan-wide effects of a now long-gone bishop who was absolutely crazed with control. In his last years he had heads rolling among clergy and laity alike.

These priests and bishop were also abusers, though not sexually. And what did we do? Well, those of us who spoke out quickly found ourselves on the margins. Friends shared our feelings of anger and injustice, but felt they could do nothing beyond offering a shoulder to cry on. Priest friends, while sympathetic, distanced themselves from the situation out of fear for their own positions.

Since then, I have sat back and observed how a parish reacts to a pastor who abuses their power. The one constant seems to be that most of the faithful inner circle remains faithful. Oh, they will grumble mightily about how difficult Father is to work with. But they will continue to do his bidding. On Sunday morning, he is still surrounded by his minions. During the busy liturgical seasons, he still obsessively controls every detail despite the extra time and energy required of already over-worked volunteers.

And then it came to me. It`s so simple. The reason that priests can behave badly and get away with it, is because we enable them! And when we do, are we any better than the priests and bishops who cover up the abuses of their fellow clergy? My wise husband is fond of saying that a person can only have power if you give it to them. When will we learn to just say no?!

Manson concludes her article with the following,

As the tales of the institutional church’s deception and negligence continue to mount, lay Catholics must stop making themselves subservient to their imagined notions of the power of the hierarchy, and must instead allow themselves to be channels of the power of God that is made manifest through sacrifice, courage, and truthfulness.

They must recognize how their internalized clericalism may be impeding their prophetic participation in the Spirit’s unfolding work in our church.

Amen!

 

 

 

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May 15, 2011 · 4:37 pm

World Day of Prayer for Vocations

Pope Paul VI instituted the first World Day of Prayer for Vocations, on the Fourth Sunday of Easter, in 1964. The inclusivity of the term vocations varies. Most Catholics were raised to think of vocations in terms of the ministerial priesthood or consecrated (vowed religious) life. Benedict XVI`s letter for the 48th World Day of Prayer for Vocations reflects this definition. Others use the term more broadly to include the laity and our life commitments.  All are vocations and all need our prayers.

As I get older I have a new appreciation of the word, vocation. I`m at the age where peers and friends are firmly established in their professions and careers, or contemplating retirement. My own children are at the other end of the spectrum – still discerning life choices or in the early years of their careers. Discernment in the midst of uncertainty is difficult work and often a long, winding journey before all the pieces fall into place.

Because of our stage in life, we have had many discussions with friends and family about the difference between a job and a vocation. A job is an obligation and responsibility. We drag ourselves out of bed in the morning to face the daily grind of family tasks and paid work. Children must be looked after. Wages must be earned. There is little incentive to do more than the minimum requirement to fulfill our obligation.

A vocation is a calling. It identifies our gifts, talents, and passions, summoning us to use them for the greater good of others. In doing so, we find our own lives fulfilled. Do you know a doctor, nurse, or other health care provider who practises medicine as a vocation as opposed to a job? What about a teacher or professor? What about an emergency responder, fire-fighter, or police officer? What about the server, clerk or cashier who makes your day brighter by their professionalism and pleasant manner? What about the parents or grand-parents who selflessly care for and nurture young ones to their fullest potential? Our world is made better by those who live their daily lives as a vocation, and not just a job.

Our Church is made better by women and men who live faithful lives that honour commitments made to themselves, others, and to God. In a time of soaring divorce rates, women and men continue to pledge their life-long love to each other. And many celebrate silver, golden, and even diamond anniversaries.

With scandals making head-lines around the world, it is a difficult time for young people to contemplate vowed religious life or ordination. Yet contemplate it they do, and with amazing courage they answer the call to a religious vocation. They have as their mentors and models women and men who have joyfully celebrated silver, golden and even diamond jubilees in religious and ordained life.

On this World Day of Prayer, we pray for all young people that they may be open to God`s Spirit calling them to the fullness of life – in whatever vocation they are summoned to. We pray in thanksgiving for all the women and men we know who live their vocations with integrity, commitment and passion. They are our models and our mentors. And we pray that we, too, may be faithful in our own vocations that we may be models and mentors to others.

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April 21, 2011 · 6:00 am

holy thursday foot washing

The Holy Thursday liturgy is rich with symbols and rituals. We commemorate the Passover meal, which was to be the last supper before Jesus`s death. Several themes are present: the institution of the Eucharist, the institution of the ordained priesthood, and the call to humble service. Which theme is highlighted and how the liturgy is celebrated can tell a lot about the theological leanings of the pastor and parish.

Here is one view from the pew…

Let us celebrate the Eucharist as the great sacrament of unity – a unity that transcends place and time. Holy Communion is healing food for us sinners. It is a source of energy on our spiritual journey. It should not be used as a tool of power or division.

In this scandal-ridden time of sadness and confusion, many of us are struggling with the exclusive and hierarchical nature of ordination. If Holy Thursday is a time to commemorate the institution of the priesthood, then we need to prayerfully ponder the meaning of priesthood for today.

The symbolic ritual of foot washing is too often a well-orchestrated spectacle. Many of us in the pews are immersed in the reality and messiness of service. We wash and care for our loved ones, from the wee babes to our elders. We teach and nurse. We serve and protect. We save and heal. We do this daily, without solemn processions and choirs singing. And, when we do, we aren`t surrounded by ministers and assistants carrying beautiful jugs, basins and fluffy white towels.

Rituals only have meaning if they are a sign of a deeper reality. Our church and our world are in need of true servant leaders. We are in need of men and women willing, like Jesus, to humbly bend before the feet of those they are called to serve.

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April 11, 2011 · 6:00 am

a feminist priest

Bourgeois tells Maryknoll: ‘I cannot lie, I cannot recant’ | National Catholic Reporter.

Can a man be a feminist? This question usually starts a lively discussion in any women`s studies class. Sure, there are pro-feminist men who believe in equal rights and opportunities for women. But who should be leading the struggle to ensure that these equal rights and opportunities become a reality in our homes, our church, and our world?

During the first wave of feminism (late 19th and early 20th centuries) and the second wave (1960`s and 1970`s), women`s issues were seen as just that. Women`s issues. Many unfair generalizations about feminists from this era continue to haunt women`s rights movements to this day – feminists are militant, anti-family, male-bashers. (Note to self – the term `feminist` is not welcomed in Vatican circles, unless it refers to the `new feminism` promoted by John Paul II.)

It is as impossible to categorize all feminists as it is to categorize all women. At its simplest, a feminist believes that women deserve all the equal rights and opportunities that are accorded to men. Yes, I believe that men can be feminists. I know many, and happened to marry one. Even priests can be feminists…

Fr. Roy Bourgeois has publicly stated that he will not recant his belief that God can, and does, offer a priestly vocation to both men and women. Therefore, the ordination of women priests should be allowed. For this public disobedience to his superiors and the official teachings of the Church, he faces probable dismissal from the congregation of Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers and laicization from the Vatican.

I have the deepest respect for the courage and conviction of this man. Upholding the teaching of a male-only priesthood is a litmus test of obedience for priests and bishops. There are many who quietly believe that women should be priests. But, how many ordained men are willing to stand publicly beside women in their struggle for the priesthood? How many would sacrifice their financial, professional, spiritual and emotional security in order to be true to their own conscience?

Only a woman can speak from a woman`s experience. And we need to have our voice heard, for others have spoken for us for too long. But, we need to work side by side with like-minded men to break into the glass ceilings of the corporate and political world. And, we need to work side by side with like-minded men in our Church to break through the marble ceiling that has kept us from having a voice in decision-making and leadership. We need men like Fr. Roy Bourgeois.

According to the NCR article, 6,000 persons signed a petition of support for Bourgeois. I wonder how many, if any, priests signed this petition. We all know that petitions signed by lay women and men hold little clout in official circles. What would happen if hundreds of priests stood up and publically stated their support for women`s ordination? In this time of priest shortages, would they all be threatened with laicization? Or would they finally force open the doors for discussion?

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April 4, 2011 · 6:00 am

silencing the dialogue

Is it ever right to silence dialogue? John Paul II attempted to do so around the question of women`s ordination with Ordinatio Sacerdotalis in 1994. The document was meant to quash the rumblings among Catholics as we watched the Anglican Church grow in acceptance of women priests. The boys in the Vatican wanted to make sure that we in the pews `got it`. The Catholic Church does not ordain women and never will. What they don`t get, is that many of us still don’t get it!

What I love about Catholicism is its deep commitment to faith seeking understanding. We revere the great intellectual giants in our history that spent their lives trying to prove the reasonableness of our faith. We are the Church of Augustine and Aquinas, Teresa of Ávila and Catherine of Siena. We look to biblical scholars to study languages and use historical-critical methods to ensure accuracy in interpretations. We have rich apologetic resources at our disposal to explain the basis of our beliefs to others.

Some beliefs cannot be explained, and must be relegated to the realm of mystery. And some beliefs are given explanations that just leave us scratching our heads. For many of us, the rationale behind a male-only priesthood falls into this last category.

During a Vatican-sponsored women’s congress, a brave soul stood up to share her difficulty in accepting this teaching of the church. (No, I wasn’t that brave!) There was immediate heckling from the faithful. Another woman quickly stood up to state that she did not attend this congress to listen to others question her faith and her church. It was a tense moment.

To my surprise, a man stood up and gently shared his own difficulties as a Bishop. He stated that many young people could not understand or accept a male-only priesthood regardless of how carefully he presented the teachings of the Church. He wondered…if the reasoning is so difficult to accept, perhaps we need to relook at the way it is being presented? Perhaps, we need to rethink the logic being used.

I couldn’t help but wonder if this was a gentle prod to rethink the whole teaching. By the way, the Bishop was a seventy-five year old Canadian. Oh Canada!

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March 31, 2011 · 9:50 pm

Roy Bourgeois’ priesthood can never truly end | National Catholic Reporter

I`m back! After a week`s absence, from home and this blog, I`m ready to jump back into pondering about our Catholic church. In all honesty, I was running out of steam, and running out of inspiration. Then I clicked on to the latest news from National Catholic Reporter. Oh my…

Roy Bourgeois’ priesthood can never truly end | National Catholic Reporter.

I encourage all to read the news about Maryknoll priest, Roy Bourgeois, founder of the School of the Americas Watch and a life-long social justice activist. (Jamie L. Manson, as usual, does a superb job of showing the deeper meaning behind the story.)  He is also a supporter of women`s ordination, and this has landed him in hot water with both the Vatican and his religious order. The Maryknolls are asking him to recant his support for women`s ordination or face expulsion and laicization. He is refusing to do so.

I’ve built a comfy spot on the fence with the issue of women`s ordination in the church. I`ve tried to explain my middle-of-the-road approach in a previous blog post . Fr. Roy`s predicament illustrates the consequences that befall those who challenge the teachings in our Church. Fr. Roy also personifies the courage of the prophet who is not afraid to seek the truth in careful theological study and prayerful pondering. And prophets learn to rise above the fear in order to speak the truth.

Suddenly that spot on the fence has lost its comfort. My carefully rationalized moderation feels an awful lot like apathy – not the kind that comes from indifference, but the kind that comes from fear.

Roy Bourgeois is taking the fall for a belief that is quietly shared by many Catholic women and men today – lay, vowed religious and ordained. It is the belief in the holey-ness of the logic used in upholding a male-only priesthood. It is the belief that Jesus Christ preached a new and radical gospel of inclusiveness with equality and dignity for all.

If it was an earlier time in our history, the fires would be stoked for yet another human barbecue in the town square. Happily, we no longer torture and kill those who question the teachings of the church. But those who speak out what many of us believe in the quiet of our hearts, continue to suffer the consequences.

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February 28, 2011 · 6:00 am

freedom 55…not for all!

Here in Canada, fifty-five is becoming the retirement age for the lucky few who have secure pension plans. Meanwhile, some unions are fighting against mandatory retirement at sixty or even sixty-five, much to the frustration of younger workers seeking employment or an opportunity to move up in their careers. For those who are self-employed, the age of retirement is not so clear cut. And in professions that are experiencing a shortage (such as health-care), there is pressure to work for as long as one is able to.

In our local church, our diocesan priests can ask to retire at sixty-five. With the current shortage, many continue full parish and administrative duties past this age. Bishops can look forward to `freedom 75`, the canonical age at which they must retire. Cardinals have voting rights within a papal conclave until the age of eighty.

I have friends who are religious sisters, brothers and priests who continue to serve their congregations in leadership roles well into their sixties and seventies. Their work requires extensive travel to oversee mission projects and visit foundations in all corners of the developing world. It exhausts me just to think of the fatigue and jet lag. Many vowed religious `retire` from professional careers only to give their time and energy to social justice work.

My own parents retired early, but never stopped being active. My father is an inspector of home-built aircraft. He mentors other home-builders while working on his own plane. My mother turned to art in her fifties, and is now an accomplished artist. They are both voracious readers and love a good discussion. They are my model and inspiration, showing me how to nurture and support our creative potential throughout life.

Retirement can be a misnomer. How many retired friends do you have that say they`re busier than ever? My husband is turning fifty-five next week. No, there is no retirement in our near future. Our game plan is to continue working as long as we can provide a service to our community. But we are learning to slow down and enjoy more holy leisure along the way!

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