Before the American bishops even met for their spring 1992 meeting at
the University of Notre Dame, storm clouds gathered over the university.
The storm was both literal and figurative. Many bishops got stranded in
Chicago and Detroit on the way to the meeting as high winds, rain, and
tornado warnings closed one airport after another.
Another storm raged over the decision of Notre Dame to award its Laetare
Medal to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York. Although arguably
the most academically qualified member of Congress and a supporter of social
justice programs, Senator Moynihan was criticized by the bishops' conference
president, Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk of Cincinnati, for espousing
"the position that people should have the right to kill their unborn children."
Cardinal John O'Connor of New York and some other bishops felt so strongly
about the issue that they refused to set foot on the campus. Although he
met with the bishops' pro-life committee in a hotel in South Bend, the
cardinal boycotted the spring meeting of the National Conference of Catholic
Bishops. Of the 286 voting members of conference, about 200 attended the
meeting. How many refused to come because of the Moynihan flap is uncertain
since attendance at the spring meetings is always less than at the November
meetings of the bishops.
Bishop Imesch had come to Notre Dame fearing the worst for his pastoral
and that was exactly what he got. The draft letter was attacked from the
right and the left. Auxiliary Bishop John R. Sheets, S.J., of Fort Wayne-South
Bend said that the document should include a condemnation of feminist theology
that threatens church unity by rejecting traditional Christology because
Jesus was male, by seeing the church as a patriarchal institution that
suppresses the feminine dimension, and by refusing to participate in Eucharists
celebrated by male priests.
Bishop Elden F. Curtiss of Helena, Mont., agreed with Bishop Sheets.
He noted that the letter says that sexism is a sin, it should also say
that radical feminism is a sin.
During the debate it became clear that the drafting committee itself
is severely divided to the point that Archbishop Levada and Bishop Hughes
prepared a minority report. Although the report was not made public, Bishop
Hughes's criticisms of the draft were telling. He called for strengthening
and expanding the Christian anthropology of the first chapter. Although
he did not go into detail, this probably means reflecting more closely
the pope's theology of the human person, especially his views on the complimentarity
of the sexes.
Second, Bishop Hughes wanted the letter to analyze modern culture whose
views of the individual, family, and freedom are rooted in the Enlightenment.
Finally, he wanted a more positive presentation of the church and the church's
position opposing the ordination of women.
The pastoral letter was also attacked from the other side. Bishop Lucker
argued that the process was more important than the letter and recommended
dropping the document but continuing the dialogue with women. He noted
that the bishops have a difficult time applying their teaching about the
equality of women to the daily life of the church. The draft has lots of
suggestions for society but not for the church.
Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland of Milwaukee also called for dropping
the letter. The letter does not have anything to say beyond what has already
been said in papal and Vatican documents. He said it is not up to the standards
of other NCCB letters and that it would be embarrassing to put it out in
its present form. Furthermore, it would not heal the wounds suffered by
women nor bring people together.
Archbishop Roach spoke for the middle who hope that the letter can be
saved and approved after the normal amending process in November. "We need
the document to focus the dialogue," he argued. "This document will be
helpful for discussion on the local level."
Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago also supported pursuing the document
through the normal conference process. "It would be a serious mistake to
walk away from the letter after all the work that was done, including the
consultations," he said. He acknowledged that ordination is the neuralgic
issue. The bishops would have to enrich the section dealing with ordination
and explain the church's teaching. But to attempt to say the last word
on Christian anthropology and feminism would in effect kill the letter,
he said.
In order to give the drafting committee some direction, Archbishop Pilarczyk
held a straw vote to see if the bishops wanted to use the current draft
as a basis for debate and amendments in November. The committee had told
the bishops that after almost nine years of work, they were finished and
would not attempt another draft. A standing vote indicated that a majority
of the bishops wanted to go forward with the letter. But the vote also
showed that the letter was in serious trouble since less than two-thirds
of the bishops wanted to go forward. It will take a two-thirds vote to
pass the letter.
The results of the vote were further muddied since some bishops thought
that the committee could revise the text in light of the discussions. Others
hoped the letter could be issued by the committee rather than by the full
conference and thus have less authority.
"I don't see how it is possible to satisfy the concerns expressed by
the bishops," said Bishop Imesch. "We will try, but that would be a miracle."
Bishops who support the ordination of women believe that they only have
about 30 votes in the conference. Revisions in the letter will most likely
reflect the views of those opposed to the ordination of women and to feminist
theology.
The poll showed disagreement with the bishops on other issues. Eighty-seven
percent say couples should make their own decisions on birth control and
75 percent think divorced and remarried Catholics without annulments should
be able to receive Communion. Two-thirds of the Catholics also disagree
with the bishops' opposition to capital punishment, showing that the sample
was not limited to liberal Catholics. Despite disagreements with the pope
on these issues, 84 percent of the U.S. Catholics think Pope John Paul
II is "doing a good job leading the church."
The bishops also received reports on proselytism and evangelization.
Proselytism is the attempt to recruit people away from another church through
undue pressure and promises of material rewards. The bishops are especially
concerned about the loss of Hispanics through proselytism.
The bishops will consider a statement on evangelization at their November
meeting. The three goals of evangelization, according to the draft, are
to increase enthusiasm for the faith among Catholics, to invite all people
to hear the message of the faith, and to foster Gospel values in American
culture.
There are 15 million inactive Catholics and 80 million unchurched in
the United States who will be the focus of the evangelization effort. Many
bishops said that Catholic parishes need to be more hospitable to newcomers
and to strangers. A number of bishops indicated that Renew, a parish renewal
program begun in Newark, is the best instrument of evangelization in the
American church.
One surprise at the meeting came from Archbishop Agostino Cacciavillan,
the pope's representative to the United States, who said that the Vatican
is concerned about the Christology and Trinitarian theology expressed in
the new translation of the Sacramentary being developed by ICEL (International
Committee on English in the Liturgy). While he did not explain the concerns,
one member of the bishops' liturgy committee felt that ICEL was going too
far in trying to avoid using traditional Trinitarian language in referring
to the Father and Son. He felt that if the draft came to the conference
as it stood, "There would be a blood bath on the floor." There may be some
hope for the ICEL Sacramentary, however, since without much controversy,
the bishops did approve a new translation of the lectionary that uses inclusive
language in dealing with humans. This revised lectionary took eight years
of consultation and work with bishops and scholars.
The bishops also met in executive session behind closed doors. Cardinal
James Hickey of Washington reported that he had gotten the pope to approve
a second conference of religious women in the United States to represent
those who believe that the Leadership Conference of Women Religious is
too liberal (LCWR). LCWR has been under attack by conservative nuns whom
some bishops consider more loyal to papal teaching. Also, Archbishop Pilarczyk
indicated that there may be some movement on the Vatican on the issue of
altar girls but warned against raising false hopes.
"Sexual abuse is caused by a disorder (in some cases, an addiction)
for which treatment is essential," he said. "Sometimes the therapy may
be successful; sometimes it is not." He refused to rule out the possibility
of a priest returning to ministry after treatment, but "We realize we must
seek sound medical advice as we make responsible pastoral judgments," he
said. "The protection of the child is and will continue to be our first
concern."
He admitted that mistakes had been made in the past when people treated
sexual abuse "as a moral fault for which repentance and a change of scene
would result in a change of behavior. Far more aggressive steps are needed
to protect the innocent, treat the perpetrator, and safeguard our children.
Where a lack of understanding and mistakes have added to the pain and hurt
of victims and their families, they deserve an apology and we do apologize."
Archbishop Pilarczyk noted that the conference had discussed this problem
at five national meetings in executive session. Five years ago the conference
recommended a five-step program for dealing with sexual abuse by clergy
or church employees:
The weather was beautiful as the bishops left South Bend, but some will
return to diocesan storms as they continue to deal with sexual abuse cases
and with women who will not be pleased with the direction being taken by
the bishops on their pastoral letter.
By Thomas J. Reese, S.J., senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center
America, July 1, 1992
Copyright © 1992 by America
Press
All rights reserved
Debate on Women's Pastoral
Controversy continued to plague the bishops as they gathered in South Bend.
Before even approving the agenda, Archbishop William J. Levada of Portland,
Oregon, moved to have the discussion of the pastoral letter on women's
concerns in closed session. Archbishop Levada and Bishop Alfred C. Hughes
of Boston, both members of the committee drafting the pastoral, argued
that the bishops could be more honest and freer talking behind closed doors.
They were supported by Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston but opposed by Archbishop
John R. Roach of St. Paul, Bishop Raymond Lucker A. Lucker of New Ulmn,
as well as Bishop Joseph L. Imesch of Joliet who chairs the drafting committee.
The bishops voted to keep the discussion in the open.
Gallup Poll Results
While the bishops debated the draft, groups favoring the ordination of
women and married men released the results of a Gallup poll showing that
American Catholics favor both. Sixty- seven percent agree that "it would
be a good thing if women were allowed to be ordained as priests," up from
47 percent in 1985 and 29 percent in 1974. An even higher percentage (75
percent) support a married priesthood. Since younger Catholics support
these positions more strongly than older Catholics, future polls will probably
show a continued trend toward even greater support for the ordination of
women and married priests.
The Catechism is Coming
Another report by Bishop Edward Hughes of Metuchen described preparations
to receive and implement The Catechism of the Catholic Church which will
be approved by the pope on June 25. Bishop Hughes chairs a conference subcommittee
to develop a favorable climate for the reception of the catechism. An ad
hoc committee of the conference severely criticized the first draft of
the catechism which was then called Catechism of the Universal Church (see
America, 3/3/90). The bishops are now being asked to enthusiastically embrace
the revised catechism which they have not yet seen. The English translation
of the catechism is expected in January.
Sexual Abuse
But the major topic of the executive session was sexual abuse of children
by priests. The bishops heard from a panel of experts and bishops. In a
statement at the conclusion of the meeting, Archbishop Pilarczyk as NCCB
president addressed the problem with more directness and candor than had
ever been done on the national level. He called sexual abuse of a child
"reprehensible conduct directed at a most vulnerable member of our society."
He noted that research indicates that one out of every four girls and one
out of every ten boys is sexually abused before they reach their eighteenth
birthday.
Sources indicate that more than half the dioceses in the United States
have had sexual abuse cases and at least $100 million has been paid to
victims as a result of civil suits.
See also