My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
May is the month for the celebration of anniversaries for most priests and deacons. In fact, this week's issue of The Tablet is dedicated to the recognition of priesthood jubilees. This, then, gives me the opportunity to reflect on the Sacrament of Holy Orders in all its forms. As we know, it is one sacrament, with deacons, priests and bishops being the various parts that make up the whole of the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Holy Orders is a sacrament necessary for the life of the Church. Without Holy Orders, the sacraments cannot be celebrated. It is the sacramental life of the Church that gives most joy and comfort to people and clergy alike.
At the recent convocation for priests, Msgr. Stephen Rossetti, president and CEO of Saint Luke Institute in Maryland, addressed the almost 200 priests present. His remarks were warmly received, not only because of his scholarly presentation, but also because of his evident priestly spirituality that came across to other priests.
One thing I have learned in my 37 years of priesthood is that it is pretty hard to fool a priest. They have some innate sense for picking out what is genuine in people, and Msgr. Rossetti was truly a genuine priest presenter. Perhaps his evident deep spirituality comes from the position he holds. Saint Luke's Institute is a specialized treatment center for priests and men and women Religious. The institute addresses psychological problems, addictions and sexual abuse behavior. For over 15 years Msgr. Rossetti has seen the broken come and, thankfully, become rehabilitated through the wonderful work of Saint Luke's, and he has been able to understand the wholeness of so many others.
Most recently, the sexual abuse scandal in the Church has affected not only laity, but also priests. In some ways, it has been truly demoralizing. Many priests fear unfounded accusations and are fearful that they will not have the ability to defend themselves. Many have changed their pastoral activities, especially with youth, seeking to avoid any semblance of what might be construed as inappropriate activity. Given this situation, some have called it a morale issue.
In addressing this, Msgr. Rossetti presented the thesis of his recent book, The Joy of Priesthood. In his book, there are deep insights into priestly character and thinking. His research compares favorably with other research recently done on the attitudes of priests toward priesthood. The overwhelming majority of priests are satisfied with their vocational choice and, if they had it to do over again, they would repeat the choice of priesthood. Having said that, however, priests today experience stress, which was somewhat absent in the past; namely, it seems to boil down to an overextension. The fewer number of priests, the greater responsibilities priests are required to undertake. The feeling that they are administrators and not pastors affects priestly morale.
In our own Diocese, the necessity of consolidating schools, and now looking at parish consolidation, has affected many of our priests. In our planning efforts we are trying to recognize the situation of priests and seek their input as to how we can plan better for the inevitable consolidations we face. In order to do this, we have undergone a consultation with representatives of priests regarding the reconfiguration of parishes and how it affects priests and what they feel about it. We brought in an outside facilitator, Father Eugene Hemrick. It is my hope that what we learn in this consultation will help us to restructure our planning process so that we all have the benefits of priests' insights.
Priests are one of the most resilient groups of people I have ever met. You might say they roll with the punches, but unfortunately we cannot expect them to be punching bags. They need support and understanding. I try as Bishop to do my best in this large Diocese to provide that understanding and support through the priest lunches that we recently completed and through parish visitations. As Bishop, I must be in constant dialogue with our priests, not only to listen to them, but to try to implement what they feel to be the truth in our own day and age. Today, the ratio between priests and people grows larger and larger. In the U.S. there are about 3,000 laity to one priest; less than a decade ago it was 2,000 to one. The gap continues to grow; however, it is not the only way to look at the situation.
We must view our Church in a different way. The Second Vatican Council, still in some ways to be fully implemented, has taught us the correct place for laity in the Church and the responsibilities that they must bear as the majority members of the Church. In our own Diocese, the pastoral formation program for laity has been a great blessing. Also, the Permanent Diaconate program has produced much fruit. This month we will ordain new deacons in two ceremonies, 36 English-speaking and 16 Spanish-speaking deacons, many of whom are bilingual.
The Permanent Diaconate has been a blessing to the Church. It was re-instituted after the Second Vatican Council with the hope that it could assist evangelization in developing countries. The opposite has seemed to happen; however, it has flourished in the first world, and it has taken on a new form and has led to vocations to the priesthood in the developing world. I am sure that the diaconate has taken up the slack in the developed world. We must not view the Permanent Diaconate solely as a means of replacing priests. The diaconate is a unique ministry of its own. In a certain sense it is a bridge between the laity and the clergy. Remember, our Permanent Deacons are clergy. At the same time, they live in the world and the majority of them are married. They see things from a different perspective. Their ministry is unique; not only is it the celebration of the sacraments, preaching the Word, but also a ministry of service.
In the last several weeks, I have been able to interview all of our new Permanent Deacons to be ordained and their wives. It was a heartwarming experience to hear the deep spirituality that these men and their wives possess and how much they love the Church and are willing to sacrifice to serve it. The Diocese of Brooklyn is truly blessed to have so many men in Brooklyn and Queens who have given themselves to this five-year training program pursuing a vocation to the Permanent Diaconate. Over the next several years, we will open a new class every two years, and we already have approximately 25 in each class that is on the way. We look forward to ordaining more deacons to form men for participation in the Sacrament of Orders in the Diocese.
This year, we will ordain a total of 10 men to the priesthood, eight on June 2, another on June 30 and another in the fall. This is truly a unique year for the Diocese. We have not had this many ordinations in recent memory; however, we will return to what we have been accustomed to, one or two ordinations per year, in the foreseeable future. As I mentioned several weeks ago when I wrote about vocations, we must find a way to recreate a culture of vocations in the Diocese, so that vocations to the priesthood, religious life and the Permanent Diaconate should be something that all in the Diocese work to increase.
I take this opportunity to thank the priests and deacons of Brooklyn and Queens for the wonderful service they give to Christ's Church. As Bishop, I witness daily the dedication and love for Christ and His Church, and as Bishop, I thank them in the name of the Church for the wonderful witness they give and their lives of dedicated service. Pursuing a vocation to the priesthood and religious life is always an exercise of putting out into the deep. To pursue a vocation means to go into the unknown, seeking confirmation of God's Will to discern in prayer that one may make a final decision of how God wants the person to serve Him in this life.
Join me in prayerful thanksgiving this month for our priest jubilarians, those celebrating anniversaries and those to be ordained. We also need to pray for the Permanent Deacons, who this month are beginning new lives in ministry. The Lord is always good to His Church. He will not leave us without the pastoral ministers so necessary for the life of the Church. For this we give thanks.
