Mahony affirms lay ministry, calls
synod
By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
NCR Staff
Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony has called for a major
reorientation in the churchs approach to ministry, building on the
growth of ministerial roles for lay people following the Second Vatican Council
(1962-65).
In tandem with release of a new 12,000-word pastoral letter,
titled As I Have Done For You, Mahony announced that he would
convoke a diocesan synod in the fall to strive for greater collaboration
and inclusivity in ministry in the church of the new mllennium. It
will be the first synod Ñ a gathering of priests, religious and laity --
in Los Angeles since 1960 and is scheduled to conclude in 2002 or 2003.
The pastoral letter will be widely read, in part because it deals
with a controversial issue -- whether the growth of lay ministry threatens the
distinction between ordained priests and lay people -- and in part because
Mahony is often touted as papabile, or a candidate to be the next
pope.
There are 29,142 full- or part-time professional lay ministers in
the United States today, as compared to 27,155 priests. Lay ministers fill
roles such as pastoral associates, parish business managers, directors of
religious education, catechists, directors of programs for adults joining the
church, youth ministers and liturgy coordinators. There are also approximately
21,800 lay people in ministry formation programs.
Some U.S. bishops as well as Vatican officials have expressed
strong reservations about lay ministry, especially a fear that if the unique
role of ordained priests is blurred as laity assume responsibilities formerly
performed by clergy, it will compound the priest shortage.
The letter is issued in the name of the cardinal and the priests
of the Los Angeles archdiocese. It opens by contrasting conditions in a
fictional parish, St. Leos, in 1955 and 2005. By the latter
date, the parish has one priest and one deacon, with the rest of the staff
composed of laity. Mass is celebrated in English, Spanish, Vietnamese and
Korean. A variety of small groups are responsible for many parish
functions.
Mahony argues that this transition from a priest-led to a more
collaborative parish life is providential.
It must be recognized that lay ministry rooted in the
priesthood of the baptized is not a stopgap measure, Mahony wrote.
Even if seminaries were once again filled to overflowing and convents
packed with sisters, there would still remain the need for cultivating,
developing and sustaining the full flourishing of ministries that we have
witnessed in the church since the Second Vatican Council.
In the wake of the council, we have arrived at a clearer
recognition that it is in the nature of the church to be endowed with many
gifts, and that these gifts are the basis for the vocations to the priesthood,
the diaconate and the religious life, as well as for the many ministries rooted
in the call of baptism.
Mahony argues that the priest shortage has produced a richer
appreciation of the gifts of laity.
It has taken the shortage of priestly and religious
vocations to awaken in us an appreciation of a broadly based shared ministry
and a realization that it is in the nature of the church as the Body of Christ
to be endowed with many gifts, ministries and offices, Mahony wrote.
What some refer to as a vocations crisis is,
rather, one of the many fruits of the Second Vatican Council, a sign of
Gods deep love for the church, and an invitation to a more creative and
effective ordering of gifts and energy in the Body of Christ
the gifts
of the lay faithful have been flourishing in unprecedented numbers and in
unforeseen ways.
Mahonys embrace of lay ministry contrasts with the tone at
the November meeting of the U.S. bishops, where discussion of a proposed
document on the subject elicited strong criticism. Auxiliary Bishop Joseph F.
Martino of Philadelphia said that promoting lay ministry could foment
confusion, while Bishop Thomas Connolly of Baker, Ore., warned of
clericalizing the laity. Bishop Daniel DiNardo of Sioux City, Iowa,
said that ratifying the spread of lay ministry could be dangerous, that there
is a need for a more top-down approach beginning with more clarity
about the distinction between ordained ministers and laity (NCR, Dec.
17, 1999).
The same fears were expressed in a November 1997 Vatican document
on lay ministry. It condemned abuses that confuse the distinction
between laity and the ordained and warned that erosion of the uniqueness of the
priesthood may diminish vocations. It also stated that lay participation in
church ministries is a matter of deputation rather than right (NCR, Dec.
5, 1997).
Zeni Fox of Immaculate Conception Seminary in South Orange, N.J.,
called Mahonys letter pastorally astute and theologically
sound. Fox wrote a 1997 book, New Ecclesial Ministry, about lay
ministry.
He clearly roots all ministries in the church in baptism and
in the community, Fox said, so that the priesthood and lay ministry
are two complementary pieces of the whole. This does call for a new way of
working together.
Fox said she was impressed with the way the letter arose from
discussions among the priests in Los Angeles and points toward further
discussion in parishes and in the synod. The process follows the
theology, she said, adding that it will be important to involve lay
ministers in these discussions.
Fox said she did not find it surprising that Los Angeles priests
appear to support lay ministry. My personal experience working with many,
many pastors is that they are men deeply in touch with both the theology and
the existential needs of the moment, she said. They are not
threatened by lay ministry at all. They are the ones calling it
forth.
Mahony told NCR that he hopes the synod will produce a
10-year vision, mission and pastoral goals. The full text of the pastoral
letter is available at http://cardinal.la-archdiocese.org/000420.htm
Snapshots of parish
challenges |
In As I Have Done For
You, Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony offers several
snapshots concerning the growth of lay ministry and asks that
parishes discuss them as a means of discerning a strategy for reshaping
ministerial structures in more appropriate ways. A sampling of
Mahonys snapshots:
- A 56-year-old sister has been the director of religious
education in her parish for 13 years. Over the last year, tensions between
herself and the pastor have been mounting. These tensions are brought to a head
when a first-year seminarian, 30 years old, is assigned to help out in the
parish as part of his seminary formation. The pastor is all aglow with
excitement and enthusiasm, referring to the seminarian as the hope
for the future of the church. The DRE feels resentful because the pastor
has made a big scene, falling all over the seminarian.
Do you have any advice for her? For the pastor?
- The pastor and priest associate of a large parish are
both on the verge of burnout. The pastor hires a parish business manager and
asks the bishop for the appointment of a lay pastoral associate. The latter
takes up several tasks often associated with the priesthood. But the
parishioners want personal contact with a priest in such circumstances. Discuss
various strategies for facing the ministerial challenges in this scenario.
- A laywoman feels called to lay ecclesial ministry but
cannot afford to live on a church salary. How to proceed?
- The Guadalupanas have gathered at the parish church on
Thursday evenings for years, followed by a meeting with the parish priest to
discuss their various apostolic works. The new pastor informs them that he is
unable to join them. The Guadalupanas feel abandoned. More important, they are
reluctant to meet without the presence of a priest, because of their commonly
held conviction that they cannot make decisions affecting the life of anyone in
the parish without his approval. Any advice?
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National Catholic Reporter, May 5,
2000
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