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Editorial:  Sins of the Fathers

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May 11th 2008

The Sins of the Fathers and Everyone Else

by Nancy Sapir

(February 20, 2004) Catholics, practicing or lapsed, are used to certain sights and sounds within their parish. There is a loyal cadre of men and women who arrive early to pray the Rosary before the daily Mass. They sit in a cluster at the front of the church. They are the ones who know when to stand up and sit down, and they are guides for those of us who just can’t remember when to do what. Their heads are mostly gray now. Who will replace them?

If you catch a glimpse of the church bulletin you see the same names of people who year after year serve the church in various ways. Ann Cussen has taught CCD for as long as I can remember. Dr. Kevin Kennedy has long served the parish council. Then there is retired attorney John Recke who got a master’s degree in theology at seminary and now serves as a chaplain at the South Shore Hospital. There are so many others who carry the water for the rest of us who expect to show up at any time and have access to the full services of our church. After all, it’s always been there, but it appears we can no longer take anything for granted.

In a move designed to streamline church expenses and compensate for the lack of priests, the archdiocese has begun a process to pare down the number of churches in this region and across the archdiocese. It appears St. Joseph Church will survive the cut, a process which began nearly two weeks ago with a meeting of the cluster to which St. Joseph belongs together with Our Lady of Lourdes in Carver, and the four churches in Plymouth. Another meeting of the cluster will take place this Sunday. The cluster will make recommendations regarding the proposed closings to Fr. Bryan Parrish, head of the area vicariate, who will then make recommendations of his own to the regional bishop. Eventually, the archdiocese will either agree with those recommendations or not.

Perhaps it is natural to wonder whether the archdiocese is pushing back after Catholics revolted following the scandals which claimed our own much loved pastor, Monsignor Frederick Ryan. Or are the last good bishops standing making a point in addition to taking steps that are actually necessary to keep the church fiscally healthy. Are they saying ‘If you want us, you have to help us.’ Frankly, I can’t blame them if that’s the message. Citing my own guilt in this regard, I receive the sacraments when I want to, and a priest is there for me. What do I do in return? Nothing much.

Parishioners in our cluster will probably suffer the loss of their churches, and for Catholics, that’s traumatic. Those of us who survive the cuts will feel for them. And while right now, things look good for St. Joseph, it would be unwise to take early indicators for granted because you just never know.

St. Joseph has a building fund to which about $1.5 M has been donated. If St. Joseph were to close, those funds would be returned to contributors, according to Fr. Joseph Hennessy, our good pastor. The archdiocese, however, has put a hold on new building projects because it can’t afford to loan the matching funds. Fr. Hennessy said the project will go forward, however, though the proposed church hall may not retain the glory outlined in the plans.

What confounds me is why the Vatican doesn’t directly assist in matters that require funds. The Pope and the priests who live there reside in baronial splendor while St. Joseph can’t afford a janitor. Are the priceless art objects in that city/state so necessary for the propagation of the faith? And what happened to Jesus’ own call to ‘sell everything you have, give it to the poor, and follow me.’ What about storing up treasure in heaven? St. Francis of Assisi, a well born young man, gave away all that he had to live outdoors or in a rude dwelling and served the church for the rest of his life. He is a greatly venerated saint to whom millions pray and for whom religious orders are named. I don’t recall praying specifically to any former Pope. But be that as it may, no help will come from that quarter. If, as it appears, St. Joseph Church will survive, more helpers will be needed.

New names and new faces, new hands to help carry the responsibilities. More attendance at Mass and more donations and general participation. This is the mother of all wakeup calls for Catholics. The stench of the scandals has passed; the air is clean now. It’s time for a new beginning.

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