Post-Clerical Catholics
I have lived in a number of parishes around the country and often have found that that secular priests live in a world of their own. This world does not require in-depth knowledge of contemporary issues, even the ones that are in conflict with our beliefs. Frankly, it seemed to me many times that in-depth knowledge of Catholicism was not required. This is not to forget that there are many secular priests who labor heroically. Nevertheless. in my experience, I have come across too many priests who lack a sense of spirituality and seem to think they are special people who have made their mark by continuing to breathe. Judging from what I have heard from the pulpit, with some exceptions, secular seminary education seems to be post-high school study. The secular-priest system lacks internal review mechanisms designed to find were improvement is needed and to take measures to insure improvement. This would go against the implicit and explicit values of a system that has its roots in the early Middle Ages, when the feudal society incorporated the Church hierarchy into its system. The values of Lordship Clericalism live on, perhaps now under some review, in today's Church. However, there is much hope, as always. We will always have the Christian Message, no matter how we, or others, fail to carry it.
Basic seminary training seems deficient in the pastoral skills needed by today's priests. Our experience with seminarians in their pastoral year indicates a woeful lack of even basic understanding of liturgy, homiletics, processes, and stewardship. And we are making pastors out of these recently ordained too soon, before they have been able to find a good grounding under several older pastors and laity. Then to complicate things, we are importing foreign clergy whose only response to their impenetrable accents and lack of understanding of American culture is to preach longer and louder. If priest shopping wasn't rampant before, it sure is now. Unfortunately those in the hinterlands will be stuck with whomever their bishop sends them.
Bill McGarvey | 12/30/2013 - 2:21pm
Michael Barberi | 12/29/2013 - 7:34pm
Good points, Mike. But to be fair regarding seminary training, my sense is that the disposition of the men they are attracting also has something to do with it. I spoke to a sociologist friend a few years back who does a lot of work on issues of Catholicism in America and she made a comment that has stuck with me. Essentially she said that we are living through a unique moment in the US where--unlike in the past--the men in priestly formation are fundamentally different in terms of attitudes, experiences, values etc than the people in the pews. Training can help in that regard but I don't think it will solve the issue.
For more than 20 years I attended a parish in New Jersey. I never felt at home there, but I continued with the practicing of my faith inclusive of weekly Mass, sacrament and a few men's retreats. The sermons were more about what we are expected to do, and if we don't we are somehow indirectly or directly not living up to our potential. I found this type of orientation devoid of the work of the Holy Spirit and the good news that leaving things in God's hands, we can be joyful and confident in our journey, with its imperfections. Since this was a period representing my first 20 years of marriage, the issue of birth control was important, but after a private counseling session with my parish priest, he said, after I had two children and wanted no more for good reasons, that I should not worry about the use of contraception (e.,g., the anovulant pill), if I prayed and had a good conscience and continued seeking God.
Fast forward to the last few years in San Diego, I find the sermons and the spiritual advice of the one parish priest uplifting. In private counseling session on various issues from contraception to same-sex unions, he did not read me the official Catholic doctrine but a pastoral theology that was refreshing, welcoming while in tension with the Church's teachings. I am most comfortable in this parish and have joined a ministry to the poor.
Clericalism, for me, is a much larger issue and it reflects a top-down authority in the Church where bishops, priests, theologians and the non-theologian laity do not have a effective voice in decisions concerning a re-thinking about any teaching and/or the ecclesial governing structure. Save for a few priests that do not adhere to a silent pulpit, most Catholics do not allow their disagreements to preclude them from worshiping Christ.
Most priests do a remarkable job and I thank them for helping us to live our lives according to the Spirit, not necessarily the letter, of the Law of the Gospels and the virtue of love Jesus has taught us.
This Sunday my parish's regular visiting presider was on for the 10 am mass. This being the Feast of the Holy Family, that’s what he touched on, painting a picture of how they survived together during the flight into Egypt and supported each other.
Then he did a “fast forward” to 2013 and talked about all kinds of holy families: nuclear, single parent and same-sex couples w/ and w/o children.
He painted an excellent picture of the holiness of all models of families in this day and age.
I doubt that this kind of reflection on the Holy Family would be found in too many Catholic parishes throughout this world.
That’s one of the reasons why I remain a parishioner at that San Francisco parish.
I am one of those 'pilgrims' that journeys from our local parish to another which provides the spiritual food that so many of us hunger for but can't find close to home. I travel 50 miles round trip to a parish that refreshes and is warm and inclusive rather than the berating young pastor who insulates himself in his rigorous liturgical rubrics.
Bill McGarvey | 12/29/2013 - 11:32am
Hi Tom. 50 miles round trip is a long haul. It's a testament to your commitment to getting nourished spiritually that you do that. I can't help but think that there are countless others who fall between the cracks.
Tom Helwick | 12/29/2013 - 5:24pm
Bill,
Since the imposition of the 'New Roman Missal' I am increasingly finding the liturgy empty with meaning as it reverts to a time when as altar boy I recited Latin responses to a priest with his back to the congregation. This retro movement by the Vatican is both discouraging and demoralizing as we in the pews try find ways to connect with words and rubrics that seen the have seen their day.
Since the imposition of the 'New Roman Missal' I am increasingly finding the liturgy empty with meaning as it reverts to a time when as altar boy I recited Latin responses to a priest with his back to the congregation. This retro movement by the Vatican is both discouraging and demoralizing as we in the pews try find ways to connect with words and rubrics that seen the have seen their day.
Roy Van Brunt | 12/30/2013 - 11:05am
Tom - your comments about trying to pray using the words of the New Roman Missal are spot on. I believe it will go down in history as being one of the poorest decisions of the USCCB to cave in to this change. Two years and we are not yet comfortable. Asking the assembly to wander through a creed that is indiscriminately both singular and plural in voice is the moral equivalent of anarchy - "don't think; just recite," Are we a praying congregation,... or just a lonesome voice, reading aloud? Distracting to anyone with a mind who thinks what is being "prayed".
THE MAIN ARTICLE BEGINS NOW
When my fellow columnist Daniel P. Horan, O.F.M., stirred up a hornet’s nest with his column on clericalism a few months back, I followed the conversation with great interest. To be fair, my curiosity had little to do with Father Horan’s assertion that there is a cultivated sense of separateness among some young clergy (an observation I agree with). Nor was I particularly focused on the many comments criticizing or defending clerical wardrobe choices, issues of Catholic identity and so on
What struck me was how disconnected I felt from the entire conversation surrounding clericalism. It felt as if an intramural discussion was taking place in an arena whose attendance numbers continue to dwindle. Who were these people with such passionate, high expectations or bitter disappointments regarding their parish priests? The sad reality for me and countless others I know who remain connected to Catholicism is that, for better or worse, our expectations of the clergy are much more modest. The bar is set pretty low.
In my experience, the issues many Catholics face at the parish level have little to do with whether the preaching is inspired or the liturgies are beautifully executed. They aren’t particularly exercised over clerical attire either. “For my family and friends who want to raise their kids Catholic,” a woman who works in church circles told me, “clericalism isn’t even on their radar. Gen-Xers and millennials don’t have the deference for clergy—or the expectations—our parents did.” She told me her own expectations were low. People feel it’s a nice bonus to have simply a reasonably healthy and balanced priest with some pastoral gifts.
It’s a sad state of affairs that I’ve heard echoed over and over even among young clergy. “It continues to surprise me,” a recently ordained Carmelite told me. “If you are real, relatable and make an effort to be relevant to parishioners’ lives, you are a rock star.” Another priest who has filled in at numerous parishes for 10 years told me, “People seem to be so hungry for something more. If you can offer them anything that connects their personal lives to the Gospel, they are incredibly appreciative.”
Given the circumstances, it might appear to church outsiders that those of us still inside are suffering from some form of ecclesiastical Stockholm syndrome. I would argue that we are a sign of hope.To be sure, this is not an ideal situation. Those of us who hope that Pope Francis’ popularity will inspire a younger generation to enter our doors or lapsed Catholics to return would do well to ask ourselves difficult questions: What are we inviting them to? Are we simply welcoming them back to a church that reminds them why they left in the first place?
We are still here because we know, at some fundamental level, that we long for something sacred beyond ourselves and our lives. We might not entirely understand that sacredness, but we believe that approaching it in community and participating in it sacramentally is important. We are “remnant Catholics” of a different sort. When, at times, we are faced with clergy who fall short of our expectations, we are forced to be—in a twisted nod to Hazel Motes in “Wise Blood”—a Holy Church in Spite of the Church.
Of course, we need good priests as leaders and pastors. Make no mistake; there are still plenty of priests who are real, relatable and relevant, and our love for them is familial and fierce. In fact, a growing number of us are part of a nascent “pilgrim church” that journeys far outside our local parish boundaries to attend Mass and find spiritual nourishment with them and the communities they lead.
As the pope said regarding clericalism, we need more “shepherds living with the smell of the sheep.” For those who are waiting for these shepherds to arrive, it will be important to remind ourselves that the sheep, ultimately, don’t exist for the sake of the shepherd.
It also helps to remember that this challenge isn’t new. Back in 1959, Flannery O’Connor described an exchange with a relative’s non-Catholic husband, who entered the church after years of attending Mass with his wife. When asked what finally changed his mind, he said, “The sermons were so horrible, [I] knew there must be something else there to make the people come.”
Egberto Bermudez | 12/30/2013 - 10:15pm
I just would like to share some wisdom from our Servant of the Servants of God. In Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis says no to clericalism, but he is also concerned that lay people are not doing a good job in applying the Gospel to the transformation of the world, which is really the first and most important role of the laity:
102. Lay people are, put simply, the vast majority of the people of God. The minority – ordained ministers – are at their service. There has been a growing awareness of the identity and mission of the laity in the Church. […] Even if many are now involved in the lay ministries, this involvement is not reflected in a greater penetration of Christian values in the social, political and economic sectors. It often remains tied to tasks within the Church, without a real commitment to applying the Gospel to the transformation of society. The formation of the laity and the evangelization of professional and intellectual life represent a significant pastoral challenge.
104. […] The reservation of the priesthood to males, as a sign of Christ the Spouse who gives himself in the Eucharist, is not a question open to discussion, but it can prove especially divisive if sacramental power is too closely identified with power in general. It must be remembered that when we speak of sacramental power “we are in the realm of function, not that of dignity or holiness”.[73] The ministerial priesthood is one means employed by Jesus for the service of his people, yet our great dignity derives from baptism, which is accessible to all. The configuration of the priest to Christ the head – namely, as the principal source of grace – does not imply an exaltation which would set him above others. In the Church, functions “do not favour the superiority of some vis-à-vis the others”.[74] Indeed, a woman, Mary, is more important than the bishops. Even when the function of ministerial priesthood is considered “hierarchical”, it must be remembered that “it is totally ordered to the holiness of Christ’s members”.[75] Its key and axis is not power understood as domination, but the power to administer the sacrament of the Eucharist; this is the origin of its authority, which is always a service to God’s people. This presents a great challenge for pastors and theologians, who are in a position to recognize more fully what this entails with regard to the possible role of women in decision-making in different areas of the Church’s life.
102. Lay people are, put simply, the vast majority of the people of God. The minority – ordained ministers – are at their service. There has been a growing awareness of the identity and mission of the laity in the Church. […] Even if many are now involved in the lay ministries, this involvement is not reflected in a greater penetration of Christian values in the social, political and economic sectors. It often remains tied to tasks within the Church, without a real commitment to applying the Gospel to the transformation of society. The formation of the laity and the evangelization of professional and intellectual life represent a significant pastoral challenge.
104. […] The reservation of the priesthood to males, as a sign of Christ the Spouse who gives himself in the Eucharist, is not a question open to discussion, but it can prove especially divisive if sacramental power is too closely identified with power in general. It must be remembered that when we speak of sacramental power “we are in the realm of function, not that of dignity or holiness”.[73] The ministerial priesthood is one means employed by Jesus for the service of his people, yet our great dignity derives from baptism, which is accessible to all. The configuration of the priest to Christ the head – namely, as the principal source of grace – does not imply an exaltation which would set him above others. In the Church, functions “do not favour the superiority of some vis-à-vis the others”.[74] Indeed, a woman, Mary, is more important than the bishops. Even when the function of ministerial priesthood is considered “hierarchical”, it must be remembered that “it is totally ordered to the holiness of Christ’s members”.[75] Its key and axis is not power understood as domination, but the power to administer the sacrament of the Eucharist; this is the origin of its authority, which is always a service to God’s people. This presents a great challenge for pastors and theologians, who are in a position to recognize more fully what this entails with regard to the possible role of women in decision-making in different areas of the Church’s life.
In addition, Pope Francis is very clear in stating that evangelization is a responsibility of everyone in the Church:
120. In virtue of their baptism, all the members of the People of God have become missionary disciples (cf. Mt 28:19). All the baptized, whatever their position in the Church or their level of instruction in the faith, are agents of evangelization, and it would be insufficient to envisage a plan of evangelization to be carried out by professionals while the rest of the faithful would simply be passive recipients. The new evangelization calls for personal involvement on the part of each of the baptized. Every Christian is challenged, here and now, to be actively engaged in evangelization; indeed, anyone who has truly experienced God’s saving love does not need much time or lengthy training to go out and proclaim that love. Every Christian is a missionary to the extent that he or she has encountered the love of God in Christ Jesus: we no longer say that we are “disciples” and “missionaries”, but rather that we are always “missionary disciples”. If we are not convinced, let us look at those first disciples, who, immediately after encountering the gaze of Jesus, went forth to proclaim him joyfully: “We have found the Messiah!” (Jn 1:41). The Samaritan woman became a missionary immediately after speaking with Jesus and many Samaritans come to believe in him “because of the woman’s testimony” (Jn 4:39). So too, Saint Paul, after his encounter with Jesus Christ, “immediately proclaimed Jesus” (Acts 9:20; cf. 22:6-21). So what are we waiting for?
121. Of course, all of us are called to mature in our work as evangelizers. We want to have better training, a deepening love and a clearer witness to the Gospel.[…]
120. In virtue of their baptism, all the members of the People of God have become missionary disciples (cf. Mt 28:19). All the baptized, whatever their position in the Church or their level of instruction in the faith, are agents of evangelization, and it would be insufficient to envisage a plan of evangelization to be carried out by professionals while the rest of the faithful would simply be passive recipients. The new evangelization calls for personal involvement on the part of each of the baptized. Every Christian is challenged, here and now, to be actively engaged in evangelization; indeed, anyone who has truly experienced God’s saving love does not need much time or lengthy training to go out and proclaim that love. Every Christian is a missionary to the extent that he or she has encountered the love of God in Christ Jesus: we no longer say that we are “disciples” and “missionaries”, but rather that we are always “missionary disciples”. If we are not convinced, let us look at those first disciples, who, immediately after encountering the gaze of Jesus, went forth to proclaim him joyfully: “We have found the Messiah!” (Jn 1:41). The Samaritan woman became a missionary immediately after speaking with Jesus and many Samaritans come to believe in him “because of the woman’s testimony” (Jn 4:39). So too, Saint Paul, after his encounter with Jesus Christ, “immediately proclaimed Jesus” (Acts 9:20; cf. 22:6-21). So what are we waiting for?
121. Of course, all of us are called to mature in our work as evangelizers. We want to have better training, a deepening love and a clearer witness to the Gospel.[…]
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