So I wonder if he is pointing to any of our current bishops in the Archdiocese with his article. Seems he does not have much resepect for them.
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The problem as I see it: the way bishops are groomed and chosen. Our bishops are chosen more for their connections than for their simplicity. They are often much more ecclesiastical careerists than they are pastors. In fact, very few of them have much (if any) actual parish experience.
Most of our bishops have been chancery office officials, seminary rectors, diplomats, professors, superiors of religious orders, and agency directors. They have worked in Vatican offices or in embassies, but they have not often been in parishes before they have been appointed bishop.
I have had three bishops in my time as a priest. Together, they had more than 150 years of service to the church following their ordinations. But together, they had only about three years combined of actual service in ordinary parish ministry. In other words, they had very little of the "smell of the sheep." They had been seminary rectors, priest secretaries to bishops and cardinals, fundraisers, and auxiliary bishops. Just no parish priests.
This does not mean that they were not pastoral men or didn't understand pastoral problems, at least in the abstract. After all, Pope Francis, as Fr. Jorge Bergoglio, did not have much pastoral experience. He was the rector of the Jesuits in Argentina. It was only when he became auxiliary bishop that he began to get immersed in ordinary parish life.
The problem is that our bishops do not know firsthand much of the ordinary things of parish life: baptizing babies; burying the dead; anointing the sick; teaching catechism; instructing converts; talking to troubled people; dealing with addicts, alcoholics, abusive spouses and failing marriages. They have not had to do the humdrum of parish life. I always say that everyone on our parish staff "cleans toilets," including me. They have not celebrated Mass every day in a community that knows your faults very well and is unimpressed with your office.
http://ncronline.org/blogs/parish-diary/four-easy-steps-take-become-bishop
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The problem as I see it: the way bishops are groomed and chosen. Our bishops are chosen more for their connections than for their simplicity. They are often much more ecclesiastical careerists than they are pastors. In fact, very few of them have much (if any) actual parish experience.
Most of our bishops have been chancery office officials, seminary rectors, diplomats, professors, superiors of religious orders, and agency directors. They have worked in Vatican offices or in embassies, but they have not often been in parishes before they have been appointed bishop.
I have had three bishops in my time as a priest. Together, they had more than 150 years of service to the church following their ordinations. But together, they had only about three years combined of actual service in ordinary parish ministry. In other words, they had very little of the "smell of the sheep." They had been seminary rectors, priest secretaries to bishops and cardinals, fundraisers, and auxiliary bishops. Just no parish priests.
This does not mean that they were not pastoral men or didn't understand pastoral problems, at least in the abstract. After all, Pope Francis, as Fr. Jorge Bergoglio, did not have much pastoral experience. He was the rector of the Jesuits in Argentina. It was only when he became auxiliary bishop that he began to get immersed in ordinary parish life.
The problem is that our bishops do not know firsthand much of the ordinary things of parish life: baptizing babies; burying the dead; anointing the sick; teaching catechism; instructing converts; talking to troubled people; dealing with addicts, alcoholics, abusive spouses and failing marriages. They have not had to do the humdrum of parish life. I always say that everyone on our parish staff "cleans toilets," including me. They have not celebrated Mass every day in a community that knows your faults very well and is unimpressed with your office.
http://ncronline.org/blogs/parish-diary/four-easy-steps-take-become-bishop
2 comments:
i would suggest you read the rest of frs columns
Oh, I have. And have commented upon them.
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