Our diocesan newspaper ran a story this past Sunday about four parish situations in which "change is in the air." One has three parishes served by one pastor and one parochial vicar, in the Brookline neighborhood of the city of Pittsburgh. Father Jim Bachner is pastor and Father Gary Oehmler is parochial vicar. One has two priests voluntarily sharing a rectory in Washington County. Father Mike Zavage is pastor of two parishes and chaplain to the large campus of California University of Pennsylvania. Father Ed Yuhas is pastor of two parishes. One has one pastor in one parish, Father Steve Kresak, but only after several parish mergers and church closings over the past twenty years in the city of McKeesport.
And one of those is our own situation in New Castle. Three priests serve four parishes in the city of New Castle. We live under one roof together, yet we serve in four parishes. I am canonically pastor of all four communities.
If you had told me when I was ordained 35 years ago that there would be situations where a pastor was in charge of two parishes, three parishes, four parishes, I would have said you were nuts--or asked what you were smoking. Maybe, maybe, I might have allowed that such situations happened in "mission areas" of the world (Peru, Bolivia, Nigeria, the Pacific Islands) or of our country (Texas, Alaska, Wyoming). But no, not in western Pennsylvania.
Yet I have been there, done that: pastor of one parish with one church; of one parish with two churches; of one parish with three churches; of one parish with four churches; of two parishes (twice); of three parishes; of four parishes. And many of my brothers in our diocese have been and are doing the same. There was a moment in the 2002 when three of my classmates and I were each pastor with four church buildings. That's right--four parishes, four pastors; 16 church buildings.
Check out the story in the February 14, 2014, edition of the Pittsburgh Catholic by Chuck Moody, "Shared concerns: Parish changes in retrospect." www.pittsburghcatholic.org
Monday, February 17, 2014
Monday, February 10, 2014
Looking Back Sadly, Looking Forward with Hope
Twelve years after the firestorm of public criticism of the Catholic Church's handling of priests who harmed children, as revealed by the Boston Globe, we are still getting hammered. The news around the world is that Catholic bishops in most other countries did no better than U.S. bishops--prior to about 1993.
I am proud of the current efforts to prevent child abuse in our nation's Catholic parishes and schools, either by clergy or laity. Our hard work goes almost unnoticed, but it's necessary. Our past mistakes are also there, for all the world to see. Some have not learned from them. (I'm referring to the Penn State football case and Jerry Sandusky.) Pope Emeritus Benedict and Pope Francis are on top of the issue.
I've often thought, "if we knew then what we know now," how different the past might have been. Saying that out loud, however, sounds defensive and insensitive to the feelings of victims and victims's families.
In the February 9, 2014 edition of Our Sunday Visitor, the associate publisher, Msgr. Owen F. Campion, expressed well my feelings today. I'm reprinting his column here. I don't like the title, but I do like his column: "A different perspective: Today's seminarians are brought face to face with sexuality--and that's a good thing." (From his photograph I'm guessing that Msgr. Campion was ordained in the early 1970s.)
I cannot forget my first Sunday as a priest. I learned a lot in one hour. Following Sunday Masses in my first parish, my new pastor invited me to lunch, where we talked about some of the routines of the parish and about what would be my duties. It was pleasant.
Then, we returned to the rectory. "Come into my study," the pastor said, "you need to know what you have walked into." In his study, he removed a file from the desk drawer, handed it to me, and began to detail its contents. My predecessor had sexually abused boys. I was shocked. No seminary lecture had ever discussed sexual abuse. I never knew an abusive priest. No one had ever talked to me about it.
As my time in the parish moved along, I met victims and their families and learned the toll taken by this priest's abuse of them. Also in the file was a photocopy of a letter that the psychiatrist treating the priest sent to the bishop. I knew the doctor. He held a doctor of medicine degree from a highly respected medical school, had completed psychiatric residency in a world-renowned mental health facility and was board certified in psychiatry.
His letter assured the bishop that the priest should be fine--if he followed advice, guarded against tempting situations, got his rest, organized his life and saw the psychiatrist as directed. The doctor urged the bishop to reappoint the priest. The bishop, now long dead, followed this recommendation. When bad things happened again, the bishop withdrew the priest from active ministry. (Only the Vatican could remove him from the priesthood, and such action under such circumstances then was very rare.)
Fast forward 20 years. Another priest, whom I knew, admitted sexually abusing boys. The then bishop sent this priest to a distinguished psychiatric hospital. After some months of treatment, the priest's attending doctor advised that he be reinstated. This bishop was skeptical. He assigned the priest to a desk job in the chancery and ordered he have nothing to do with boys. The priest, however, found boys. The bishop learned of a suspicious situation. No accusations had been made, and apparently no physical contact had happened. Nevertheless, the bishop himself told me that he did not care what any psychiatrist or psychologist said, he was forbidding the priest to act in priestly ministry.
Fast forward again. A psychiatrist and his wife invited me to dinner. The doctor, by then in practice for about 30 years, told me that when he was in training, and for years later, no mental health professional looked upon sexual abuse of youths with the same alarm that later came to be associated with the problem.
It will be charged that here I make excuses and try to relieve Church authorities of responsibility in managing sex abuse cases in the past, but at some time mention should be made of how the attitude about such matters has changed in professional circles. For example, science once assumed pedophilia could be treated or managed, and no incident, if treated, necessarily meant that more trouble would occur in the future. Understanding pedophilia has scientifically evolved. The injury of being sexually assaulted as a youth simply was not always realized.
Today, seminary students are brought bluntly face to face with sexuality in all respects, healthy or unhealthy. The abuse issue awakened Church leaders, but so did departures from the priesthood because of celibacy. Seminarians undergo psychiatric evaluations, but no mental health professional presently can predict pedophilia in a given case. Science still has things to learn.
This rigid seminary practice consoles me. I am convinced that rare will be problems in years to come. Thank God.
By Msgr Owen F. Campion, Our Sunday Visitor, 200 Noll Place, Huntington, IN 46750. Subscriptions $40.95 per year. 1-800-348-2440.
My own experience was no different. I never heard about sexual abuse, much less by a cleric, in the seminary. Yet in my first pastorate I had to confront a visiting priest (from another country) who got several teens drunk in my parish. I reported him to the clergy office, and his faculties as a priest were removed. He subsequently went home.
I have been blessed with several seminarian interns over the years. I talk about this subject with them, so that they are not blindsided like I was.
When the U.S. Catholic bishops met in Dallas in April 2002, they approved the Charter for the Protection for Children and Young People. The key provision was that even one acknowledged incident of abuse of a minor by a priest or deacon would mean permanent removal from active ministry. The Vatican subsequently gave its "recognitio" to this document as local law. At the time, I was not sure that the penalty fit the crime. Many voices, some of them priests, said this was too harsh, and more room for other less severe repercussions should be allowed at the discretion of the local bishop or religious superior. Cardinal Avery Dulles, S.J., the noted theologian, said at the time that the Charter would drive a wedge between the priests and their bishops.
Over time I have come to see that, as harsh and definitive as it was, "one act and you're out" was correct and is correct. The people of God have the right to know that we in ministry--clergy and laity--do not harm children. (The one lacuna in the Charter is that there is not the same penalty for bishops accused and acknowledged of harming minors. Penalties for a bishop can only come from the Holy See.) Back in 2002 the bishops basically said, we don't trust ourselves to do the right thing. Let us hold all of us to the same public high standard. The years have proven the truth of the statement. The years since have also shown that a very few bishops still don't get it or follow the Charter.
As Msgr. Campion's doctor friend admitted, for years the psychiatric community could not or would not admit the grave offense that is sexual abuse. Neither did the Catholic Church. We all have to do better. Constant vigilance is the necessary price we have to pay for our past sins.
I am proud of the current efforts to prevent child abuse in our nation's Catholic parishes and schools, either by clergy or laity. Our hard work goes almost unnoticed, but it's necessary. Our past mistakes are also there, for all the world to see. Some have not learned from them. (I'm referring to the Penn State football case and Jerry Sandusky.) Pope Emeritus Benedict and Pope Francis are on top of the issue.
I've often thought, "if we knew then what we know now," how different the past might have been. Saying that out loud, however, sounds defensive and insensitive to the feelings of victims and victims's families.
In the February 9, 2014 edition of Our Sunday Visitor, the associate publisher, Msgr. Owen F. Campion, expressed well my feelings today. I'm reprinting his column here. I don't like the title, but I do like his column: "A different perspective: Today's seminarians are brought face to face with sexuality--and that's a good thing." (From his photograph I'm guessing that Msgr. Campion was ordained in the early 1970s.)
I cannot forget my first Sunday as a priest. I learned a lot in one hour. Following Sunday Masses in my first parish, my new pastor invited me to lunch, where we talked about some of the routines of the parish and about what would be my duties. It was pleasant.
Then, we returned to the rectory. "Come into my study," the pastor said, "you need to know what you have walked into." In his study, he removed a file from the desk drawer, handed it to me, and began to detail its contents. My predecessor had sexually abused boys. I was shocked. No seminary lecture had ever discussed sexual abuse. I never knew an abusive priest. No one had ever talked to me about it.
As my time in the parish moved along, I met victims and their families and learned the toll taken by this priest's abuse of them. Also in the file was a photocopy of a letter that the psychiatrist treating the priest sent to the bishop. I knew the doctor. He held a doctor of medicine degree from a highly respected medical school, had completed psychiatric residency in a world-renowned mental health facility and was board certified in psychiatry.
His letter assured the bishop that the priest should be fine--if he followed advice, guarded against tempting situations, got his rest, organized his life and saw the psychiatrist as directed. The doctor urged the bishop to reappoint the priest. The bishop, now long dead, followed this recommendation. When bad things happened again, the bishop withdrew the priest from active ministry. (Only the Vatican could remove him from the priesthood, and such action under such circumstances then was very rare.)
Fast forward 20 years. Another priest, whom I knew, admitted sexually abusing boys. The then bishop sent this priest to a distinguished psychiatric hospital. After some months of treatment, the priest's attending doctor advised that he be reinstated. This bishop was skeptical. He assigned the priest to a desk job in the chancery and ordered he have nothing to do with boys. The priest, however, found boys. The bishop learned of a suspicious situation. No accusations had been made, and apparently no physical contact had happened. Nevertheless, the bishop himself told me that he did not care what any psychiatrist or psychologist said, he was forbidding the priest to act in priestly ministry.
Fast forward again. A psychiatrist and his wife invited me to dinner. The doctor, by then in practice for about 30 years, told me that when he was in training, and for years later, no mental health professional looked upon sexual abuse of youths with the same alarm that later came to be associated with the problem.
It will be charged that here I make excuses and try to relieve Church authorities of responsibility in managing sex abuse cases in the past, but at some time mention should be made of how the attitude about such matters has changed in professional circles. For example, science once assumed pedophilia could be treated or managed, and no incident, if treated, necessarily meant that more trouble would occur in the future. Understanding pedophilia has scientifically evolved. The injury of being sexually assaulted as a youth simply was not always realized.
Today, seminary students are brought bluntly face to face with sexuality in all respects, healthy or unhealthy. The abuse issue awakened Church leaders, but so did departures from the priesthood because of celibacy. Seminarians undergo psychiatric evaluations, but no mental health professional presently can predict pedophilia in a given case. Science still has things to learn.
This rigid seminary practice consoles me. I am convinced that rare will be problems in years to come. Thank God.
By Msgr Owen F. Campion, Our Sunday Visitor, 200 Noll Place, Huntington, IN 46750. Subscriptions $40.95 per year. 1-800-348-2440.
My own experience was no different. I never heard about sexual abuse, much less by a cleric, in the seminary. Yet in my first pastorate I had to confront a visiting priest (from another country) who got several teens drunk in my parish. I reported him to the clergy office, and his faculties as a priest were removed. He subsequently went home.
I have been blessed with several seminarian interns over the years. I talk about this subject with them, so that they are not blindsided like I was.
When the U.S. Catholic bishops met in Dallas in April 2002, they approved the Charter for the Protection for Children and Young People. The key provision was that even one acknowledged incident of abuse of a minor by a priest or deacon would mean permanent removal from active ministry. The Vatican subsequently gave its "recognitio" to this document as local law. At the time, I was not sure that the penalty fit the crime. Many voices, some of them priests, said this was too harsh, and more room for other less severe repercussions should be allowed at the discretion of the local bishop or religious superior. Cardinal Avery Dulles, S.J., the noted theologian, said at the time that the Charter would drive a wedge between the priests and their bishops.
Over time I have come to see that, as harsh and definitive as it was, "one act and you're out" was correct and is correct. The people of God have the right to know that we in ministry--clergy and laity--do not harm children. (The one lacuna in the Charter is that there is not the same penalty for bishops accused and acknowledged of harming minors. Penalties for a bishop can only come from the Holy See.) Back in 2002 the bishops basically said, we don't trust ourselves to do the right thing. Let us hold all of us to the same public high standard. The years have proven the truth of the statement. The years since have also shown that a very few bishops still don't get it or follow the Charter.
As Msgr. Campion's doctor friend admitted, for years the psychiatric community could not or would not admit the grave offense that is sexual abuse. Neither did the Catholic Church. We all have to do better. Constant vigilance is the necessary price we have to pay for our past sins.
Friday, January 24, 2014
"Their Life's Work"
For Pittsburghers of a certain age, the Super Bowl Steelers of the 1970s were sports nirvana. Couple the Super Steelers with the Pirates of the 1970s, who won five division championships and two World Series (1971 and 1979), and you have the "City of Champions." I still remember fondly that in December 1979 the Sports Illustrated Sportsmen of the Year award went to Terry Bradshaw and Willie Stargell. The picture of them, in their respective uniforms, in front of the blast furnace at the J&L South Side Works steel mill, is truly iconic Pittsburgh.
(True story: My dad got me a summer job in the J&L South Side works in 1976 -- which is a 12 week story in itself. Several of the men I worked with in the mill that summer were in that Sports Illustrated photograph.)
(Another true story: As a young priest at St. Therese Parish in Munhall, in the Steel Valley, around 1980 I began a sermon on the 12 apostles with the 500+ school children by asking for the names and numbers of the Steelers. They kids knew them all. 75, 12, 32, 58, 59, 88, 82, 20, 52, 47, even down-in-the-weeds 63, 68, 5, 78, 84, 24, 34, 33, 57, 72, and on and on. Can you match the players with their numbers? By the way, the kids knew their apostles too!)
So when Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recommended a book about the Super Steelers last fall, I bought it and devoured it. Gary M. Pomerantz covered the Washington football team in the 1980s for the Washington Post, and is an author of several books. Why he picked the 1970s "Steeler empire" to write about is baffling to me. But he has done an excellent job.
But Their Life's Work not just a history of wins and losses, X's and O's, old war stories from the gridiron. He contrasts what happened 40+ years ago (that long ago?!!!) with "where are they now and what are they thinking" interviews and insights. Bradshaw, who allegedly couldn't spell CAT if you spotted him the C and the A, now the FOX NFL analyst and motivational speaker. Swann, the ballet dancer on the field and political schmoozer off. Stallworth, in the shadow of Swann yet now the owner of multi-million dollar companies and classy minority owner of the Steelers. Webster, the over-achieving center who never could figure out "his life's work" who died homeless and broke. Gilliam, the supremely talented and troubled quarterback. Noll, the aloof coach to the end, whose "Chuck-isms" still guide many players. The Rooneys, among the "first families" in the history of Pittsburgh, not angels but very human. And Mean Joe Greene, the rock of the "Steeler empire," the "sheriff of the locker room," and consummate gentleman to this day.
His sub-title says it: The Brotherhood of the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers, Then and Now.
He could have also titled it, "time waits for no football player." Some former enemies become friends, like Franco Harris and Phil Villaiano of the hated Oakland Raiders. Some become family, like Franco and the head of "Franco's Italian Army," Al Vento. Some are forced to move on, as when Dan Rooney fired his brother Art in 1986 as head of scouting. And all the players acknowledge the toll brutal pro football takes on their bodies.
I highly recommend Gary Pomerantz's Their Life's Work, for Pittsburghers, for pro football fans, and for all those who appreciate fine character studies of some real American characters.
P.S. Super Steeler trivia: Can you name the 22 players who received four 1970s Super Bowl rings? Extra credit: Which members of the Steelers empire have more than four SB rings?
(True story: My dad got me a summer job in the J&L South Side works in 1976 -- which is a 12 week story in itself. Several of the men I worked with in the mill that summer were in that Sports Illustrated photograph.)
(Another true story: As a young priest at St. Therese Parish in Munhall, in the Steel Valley, around 1980 I began a sermon on the 12 apostles with the 500+ school children by asking for the names and numbers of the Steelers. They kids knew them all. 75, 12, 32, 58, 59, 88, 82, 20, 52, 47, even down-in-the-weeds 63, 68, 5, 78, 84, 24, 34, 33, 57, 72, and on and on. Can you match the players with their numbers? By the way, the kids knew their apostles too!)
So when Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recommended a book about the Super Steelers last fall, I bought it and devoured it. Gary M. Pomerantz covered the Washington football team in the 1980s for the Washington Post, and is an author of several books. Why he picked the 1970s "Steeler empire" to write about is baffling to me. But he has done an excellent job.
But Their Life's Work not just a history of wins and losses, X's and O's, old war stories from the gridiron. He contrasts what happened 40+ years ago (that long ago?!!!) with "where are they now and what are they thinking" interviews and insights. Bradshaw, who allegedly couldn't spell CAT if you spotted him the C and the A, now the FOX NFL analyst and motivational speaker. Swann, the ballet dancer on the field and political schmoozer off. Stallworth, in the shadow of Swann yet now the owner of multi-million dollar companies and classy minority owner of the Steelers. Webster, the over-achieving center who never could figure out "his life's work" who died homeless and broke. Gilliam, the supremely talented and troubled quarterback. Noll, the aloof coach to the end, whose "Chuck-isms" still guide many players. The Rooneys, among the "first families" in the history of Pittsburgh, not angels but very human. And Mean Joe Greene, the rock of the "Steeler empire," the "sheriff of the locker room," and consummate gentleman to this day.
His sub-title says it: The Brotherhood of the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers, Then and Now.
He could have also titled it, "time waits for no football player." Some former enemies become friends, like Franco Harris and Phil Villaiano of the hated Oakland Raiders. Some become family, like Franco and the head of "Franco's Italian Army," Al Vento. Some are forced to move on, as when Dan Rooney fired his brother Art in 1986 as head of scouting. And all the players acknowledge the toll brutal pro football takes on their bodies.
I highly recommend Gary Pomerantz's Their Life's Work, for Pittsburghers, for pro football fans, and for all those who appreciate fine character studies of some real American characters.
P.S. Super Steeler trivia: Can you name the 22 players who received four 1970s Super Bowl rings? Extra credit: Which members of the Steelers empire have more than four SB rings?
Friday, January 10, 2014
Raise the Minimum Wage
It's another example of the "he said/he said" journalism.
In an article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on January 8, Walter Williams, a professor of economics at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, writes, "There's little debate among academic economists about the effect of minimum wages. University of California, Irvine, economist David Neumark has examined more than 100 major academic studies on the minimum wage. He reports that 85 percent of the studies 'find a negative employment effect on low-skilled workers.'"
In an article in the Washington Post on January 4, Mike Konczal, a fellow at the Roosevelt Institute, says "Some studies [on the minimum wage], notably those led by U Mass Amherst economist Arin Dube, argue that there is no adverse employment effects from small increases in the minimum wage. Other studies, notably those lead by University of California, Irvine, economist David Neumark, argue there is an adverse effect."
As Speaker of the House John Boehner put it last year, "When you raise the price of employment, guess what happens? You get less of it." Democrats across the aisle disagree strongly.
So what is one to make of recent proposals to raise the minimum wage?
Well, somebody out there in these united states must like the idea. USA Today, doing what it does best--gather data from all across the country--reported on December 30 that 13 states put into effect raises to the minimum wage in their jurisdiction on January 1, 2014. On that day, state minimum wages will be higher than the federal requirement of $7.25 an hour in 21 states. Here are the states with 2014 increases:
$7.50 -- Missouri
$7.90 -- Arizona
$7.90 -- Montana
$7.93 -- Florida
$7.95 -- Ohio
$8.00 -- Colorado
$8.00 -- New York
$8.00 -- Rhode Island
$8.25 -- New Jersey
$8.70 -- Connecticut
$8.73 -- Vermont
$9.10 -- Oregon
$9.32 -- Washington
In California, the minimum wage will go to $9.00 on July 1, and to $10.00 in 2016. Nine states have tied the minimum wage to increases in inflation. Several other states, and the District of Columbia, have serious proposals in their legislatures to raise the minimum wage in 2014, with good chances of most passing.
In the same Post article, Konczal goes on to say that economists -- even opponent Neumark -- do agree on one thing: "They all tend to think that raising the minimum wage would reduce poverty." Their surveys suggest raising the minimum wage 10 percent (say from $7.25 to near $8.00) would reduce the number of people living in poverty 2.4 percent. To $10.10, that could mean lifting 4.6 million people out of poverty. Some studies show little or no job loss; some up to 1% increase in unemployement. Konczal's conclusion: "There are significant benefits [to raising the minimum wage], whatever the costs....A higher minimum wage will lead to a significant boost in incomes for the worst off in the bottom 30th percent of income, while having no impact on the median household.
When low-paid workers get more money for their work, they and their families benefit.
In all this recent debate, the voice of the Catholic Church has been mostly silent. But for decades we lead the way. As far back as 1906 Father John A. Ryan, a seminary professor from Minnesota, proposed a minimum wage for workers. He would live to see it enacted for the nation in the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938. Over the next several decades, the bishops' arm in Washington advocated strenuously for increase in the minimum wage, along with labor unions. I don't think it a stretch to say that when the minimum wage was highest, the gap in income inequality was lowest.
The reason for this advocacy is neatly summarized in two statements for economic justice by the U.S. bishops issued in 1996.
In an article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on January 8, Walter Williams, a professor of economics at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, writes, "There's little debate among academic economists about the effect of minimum wages. University of California, Irvine, economist David Neumark has examined more than 100 major academic studies on the minimum wage. He reports that 85 percent of the studies 'find a negative employment effect on low-skilled workers.'"
In an article in the Washington Post on January 4, Mike Konczal, a fellow at the Roosevelt Institute, says "Some studies [on the minimum wage], notably those led by U Mass Amherst economist Arin Dube, argue that there is no adverse employment effects from small increases in the minimum wage. Other studies, notably those lead by University of California, Irvine, economist David Neumark, argue there is an adverse effect."
As Speaker of the House John Boehner put it last year, "When you raise the price of employment, guess what happens? You get less of it." Democrats across the aisle disagree strongly.
So what is one to make of recent proposals to raise the minimum wage?
Well, somebody out there in these united states must like the idea. USA Today, doing what it does best--gather data from all across the country--reported on December 30 that 13 states put into effect raises to the minimum wage in their jurisdiction on January 1, 2014. On that day, state minimum wages will be higher than the federal requirement of $7.25 an hour in 21 states. Here are the states with 2014 increases:
$7.50 -- Missouri
$7.90 -- Arizona
$7.90 -- Montana
$7.93 -- Florida
$7.95 -- Ohio
$8.00 -- Colorado
$8.00 -- New York
$8.00 -- Rhode Island
$8.25 -- New Jersey
$8.70 -- Connecticut
$8.73 -- Vermont
$9.10 -- Oregon
$9.32 -- Washington
In California, the minimum wage will go to $9.00 on July 1, and to $10.00 in 2016. Nine states have tied the minimum wage to increases in inflation. Several other states, and the District of Columbia, have serious proposals in their legislatures to raise the minimum wage in 2014, with good chances of most passing.
In the same Post article, Konczal goes on to say that economists -- even opponent Neumark -- do agree on one thing: "They all tend to think that raising the minimum wage would reduce poverty." Their surveys suggest raising the minimum wage 10 percent (say from $7.25 to near $8.00) would reduce the number of people living in poverty 2.4 percent. To $10.10, that could mean lifting 4.6 million people out of poverty. Some studies show little or no job loss; some up to 1% increase in unemployement. Konczal's conclusion: "There are significant benefits [to raising the minimum wage], whatever the costs....A higher minimum wage will lead to a significant boost in incomes for the worst off in the bottom 30th percent of income, while having no impact on the median household.
When low-paid workers get more money for their work, they and their families benefit.
In all this recent debate, the voice of the Catholic Church has been mostly silent. But for decades we lead the way. As far back as 1906 Father John A. Ryan, a seminary professor from Minnesota, proposed a minimum wage for workers. He would live to see it enacted for the nation in the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938. Over the next several decades, the bishops' arm in Washington advocated strenuously for increase in the minimum wage, along with labor unions. I don't think it a stretch to say that when the minimum wage was highest, the gap in income inequality was lowest.
The reason for this advocacy is neatly summarized in two statements for economic justice by the U.S. bishops issued in 1996.
- A fundamental moral measure of any economy is how the poor and vulnerable are fairing.
- All people have the right to economic initiative, to productive work, to just wages and benefits, to decent working conditions as well as to organize and join unions or other associations.
Now "the just wage" is not "the minimum wage." In fact (if you give me 20 minutes to lecture you) I can explain how they differ. But to get to the just wage (which also includes medical benefits, social security, vacation time and other benefits) you have to start somewhere. And a minimum wage does that, providing a (too low) floor for almost all employers to begin their compensation for work.
I'm glad to see these increases in the minimum wage in various states, counties and cities. These are baby steps to address the income inequality in our country, and to help those on the lowest ladders of employment. If the U.S. House of Representatives will not lead, then let the various other jurisdictions do what is best for their citizens.
Monday, December 23, 2013
Christmas Letter 2013
Since 1990 every year I send out a Christmas letter to my friends and parishioners. It's done "the old fashioned way," that is, printed words on a paper, inserted in an envelope, mailed by the U.S. Postal Service to a mailbox. I suspect in the very near future, my letter will go out like this, that is, electronically. Here's the 2013 version.
December 17, 2013
Dear friends,
Merry Christmas!
Just when you think you've "seen it all," the God of Surprises strikes. On Monday, February 11, as I was preparing to drive to the Byzantine Catholic Seminary to teach a class on moral theology, I was astounded to hear that Pope Benedict XVI had resigned the papacy, the first since 1415. Wow! After a month of frenzied papabile-searching (yes, our gang of friends had a "new pope party" compete with betting on candidates) the world was again shocked by the election on March 13 of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina. A pope of many firsts--first Jesuit, first from the Americas, first from the Southern Hemisphere, and first to take the beautiful name and patron of St. Francis of Assisi.
Today is Pope Francis's 77th birthday, and in the mail came his smiling visage as TIME's Man of the Year. Our church and our world have been blessed by his deeds, his words and his smile. May we all learn how to follow Christ more deeply in the 21st century from this humble, holy man. I suspect that Pope Francis is not finished surprising us with his ministry as bishop of Rome.
Life and ministry for me in 2013 was undramatic but satisfying. The four parishes I pastor continue to work together with us three priests. The pastoral councils and finance councils meet as one body monthly. We've had many meetings of ministers for greater cooperation and collaboration. The first week of 2014 will bring a roll-out of one bulletin for the four parishes, and a new "portal" website, www.catholicnewcastle.org . St. Vincent de Paul and St. Vitus parishes completed their participation in the $125 million diocesan "Our Campaign for the Church Alive" by exceeding their targets. Mary Mother of Hope and St. Joseph the Worker parishes will begin their campaigns after Christmas. Our four parishes were blessed by two seminarian interns this summer, Chris Mannerino for his second year, and Zach Galiyas. God willing, and the bishop wanting, both will be ordained deacons next June. I felt both the weight of my years and the accumulated wisdom of 35 years in the priesthood as I mentored these fine young men.
One highlight of the year was a pilgrimage to Italy in October. My associate, Father Nick Vaskov, and I led 50 delightful parishioners from New Castle on tours of the Vatican, Rome, Assisi, Verona, Siena and Venice. We were privileged to see Pope Francis twice, in the square outside St. Peter's Basilica at his usual Wednesday audience, and in Assisi two days later, on October, 4, the feast day of his patron. We celebrated Mass at the tomb of a future saint (Blessed John Paul II), an evangelist (St. Mark, Venice), an apostle (St. Paul Outside the Walls), a miracle-worker (St. Anthony, Padua), and an African fisherman-bishop (St. Zeno, Verona). I also learned the best locations for gelato in Rome from a gustatory expert!
The other highlight was facing the "big 6-0." Instead of crying, my friend Rosanne Saunders and I decided to have some fun. Rosanne and I are only 11 days apart in age, and on October 25 we hosted a "60s for 60" party to benefit Sisters Place, a ministry of Catholic sisters in Clairton which offers supportive housing to single parents and their children. We challenged friends and neighbors to pony up a donation, and boy did they come through--over $12,500 for Sisters Place. Most of the guests took our suggestion and come in costumes of the 1960s. What a blast! Rosanne and I brought our own surprise as an accordion duo covering the Beatles' "With a Little Help from our Friends." Let's just say the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame won't be calling us.
Here's my prayer that the God of Surprises will bless you with grace, peace, mercy and love in abundance in the birth of our Savior, and throughout the new year of grace 2014.
December 17, 2013
Dear friends,
Merry Christmas!
Just when you think you've "seen it all," the God of Surprises strikes. On Monday, February 11, as I was preparing to drive to the Byzantine Catholic Seminary to teach a class on moral theology, I was astounded to hear that Pope Benedict XVI had resigned the papacy, the first since 1415. Wow! After a month of frenzied papabile-searching (yes, our gang of friends had a "new pope party" compete with betting on candidates) the world was again shocked by the election on March 13 of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina. A pope of many firsts--first Jesuit, first from the Americas, first from the Southern Hemisphere, and first to take the beautiful name and patron of St. Francis of Assisi.
Today is Pope Francis's 77th birthday, and in the mail came his smiling visage as TIME's Man of the Year. Our church and our world have been blessed by his deeds, his words and his smile. May we all learn how to follow Christ more deeply in the 21st century from this humble, holy man. I suspect that Pope Francis is not finished surprising us with his ministry as bishop of Rome.
Life and ministry for me in 2013 was undramatic but satisfying. The four parishes I pastor continue to work together with us three priests. The pastoral councils and finance councils meet as one body monthly. We've had many meetings of ministers for greater cooperation and collaboration. The first week of 2014 will bring a roll-out of one bulletin for the four parishes, and a new "portal" website, www.catholicnewcastle.org . St. Vincent de Paul and St. Vitus parishes completed their participation in the $125 million diocesan "Our Campaign for the Church Alive" by exceeding their targets. Mary Mother of Hope and St. Joseph the Worker parishes will begin their campaigns after Christmas. Our four parishes were blessed by two seminarian interns this summer, Chris Mannerino for his second year, and Zach Galiyas. God willing, and the bishop wanting, both will be ordained deacons next June. I felt both the weight of my years and the accumulated wisdom of 35 years in the priesthood as I mentored these fine young men.
One highlight of the year was a pilgrimage to Italy in October. My associate, Father Nick Vaskov, and I led 50 delightful parishioners from New Castle on tours of the Vatican, Rome, Assisi, Verona, Siena and Venice. We were privileged to see Pope Francis twice, in the square outside St. Peter's Basilica at his usual Wednesday audience, and in Assisi two days later, on October, 4, the feast day of his patron. We celebrated Mass at the tomb of a future saint (Blessed John Paul II), an evangelist (St. Mark, Venice), an apostle (St. Paul Outside the Walls), a miracle-worker (St. Anthony, Padua), and an African fisherman-bishop (St. Zeno, Verona). I also learned the best locations for gelato in Rome from a gustatory expert!
The other highlight was facing the "big 6-0." Instead of crying, my friend Rosanne Saunders and I decided to have some fun. Rosanne and I are only 11 days apart in age, and on October 25 we hosted a "60s for 60" party to benefit Sisters Place, a ministry of Catholic sisters in Clairton which offers supportive housing to single parents and their children. We challenged friends and neighbors to pony up a donation, and boy did they come through--over $12,500 for Sisters Place. Most of the guests took our suggestion and come in costumes of the 1960s. What a blast! Rosanne and I brought our own surprise as an accordion duo covering the Beatles' "With a Little Help from our Friends." Let's just say the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame won't be calling us.
Here's my prayer that the God of Surprises will bless you with grace, peace, mercy and love in abundance in the birth of our Savior, and throughout the new year of grace 2014.
Prophets of Advent: Mary
The Sacred Scriptures have very little information on Mary, the mother of the Christ Child and wife of Joseph. Luke has the most: the angel Gabriel's appearance to announce to Mary that she will conceive a boy, not through her intended husband but by "the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit"; the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem; her purification after childbirth; and the finding of Jesus in the temple in Jerusalem when he was 12 years old. In Luke's Acts of the Apostles Mary joins the twelve apostles in prayer. Matthew adds the worship of Jesus by the magi, with Mary looking on. There are two appearance of Mary in the gospel of John, though not by her given name but only by title: at the wedding in Cana and at the foot of the cross as Jesus is dying.
Mary's prayer to God, spoken after the praise of her family relative Elizabeth, is one of the most revered in the New Testament, or throughout the history of the Catholic Church. Luke 1:46-55 is usually called the "Magnificat," after the Latin word for praise. It is really a classically Jewish prayer, modeled after the song of Hannah (1 Samuel 2:1-10) and other Old Testament texts. Mary affirms the power of God, especially for the lowly, hungry and humble. This payer is one of the components of evening prayer (vespers) in the Liturgy of the Hours.
The two basic Christian beliefs concerning Mary, that she gives birth to the son of God, and the virginal conception of Jesus, are clearly stated in the Gospels. Other beliefs are developed from these two basic beliefs, or flow from the reflection and theology of the church over the centuries.
Mary's gift to God and to the church was her saying "yes" to the angel's announcement that she will conceive (by the Holy Spirit) and give birth to a son. After getting over her shock, she affirms God's will for her. "I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Her "yes" continued through her marriage to Joesph, as the two of them raised Jesus in Nazareth. She said "yes" when Jesus left her to begin his public ministry of preaching, teaching and healing. The early church saw her as a disciple of Jesus, not because of biology as his mother but because of faith and saying "yes" to his Paschal Mystery.
Each year the celebration of the birth of Christ gives us the opportunity to imitate Mary, saying "yes" to the Christ child and "yes" to all he teaches and is. Our "yes" is begun in baptism, and repeated when we come to Mass, receive Holy Communion, pray daily, support our parish community, care for the poor in our midst, and try to live justly and lovingly as Christ taught. May we revere Mary for her continual and prophetic "yes" to Christ her son.
Mary's prayer to God, spoken after the praise of her family relative Elizabeth, is one of the most revered in the New Testament, or throughout the history of the Catholic Church. Luke 1:46-55 is usually called the "Magnificat," after the Latin word for praise. It is really a classically Jewish prayer, modeled after the song of Hannah (1 Samuel 2:1-10) and other Old Testament texts. Mary affirms the power of God, especially for the lowly, hungry and humble. This payer is one of the components of evening prayer (vespers) in the Liturgy of the Hours.
The two basic Christian beliefs concerning Mary, that she gives birth to the son of God, and the virginal conception of Jesus, are clearly stated in the Gospels. Other beliefs are developed from these two basic beliefs, or flow from the reflection and theology of the church over the centuries.
Mary's gift to God and to the church was her saying "yes" to the angel's announcement that she will conceive (by the Holy Spirit) and give birth to a son. After getting over her shock, she affirms God's will for her. "I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Her "yes" continued through her marriage to Joesph, as the two of them raised Jesus in Nazareth. She said "yes" when Jesus left her to begin his public ministry of preaching, teaching and healing. The early church saw her as a disciple of Jesus, not because of biology as his mother but because of faith and saying "yes" to his Paschal Mystery.
Each year the celebration of the birth of Christ gives us the opportunity to imitate Mary, saying "yes" to the Christ child and "yes" to all he teaches and is. Our "yes" is begun in baptism, and repeated when we come to Mass, receive Holy Communion, pray daily, support our parish community, care for the poor in our midst, and try to live justly and lovingly as Christ taught. May we revere Mary for her continual and prophetic "yes" to Christ her son.
Prophets of Advent: Joseph
Joseph, husband of Mary, is not usually thought of as a prophet. He is also the most overlooked figure in the stories of Advent and Christmas. His wife Mary, the newborn Christ Child, the angel Gabriel, the shepherds, the magi, even the oxen and asses in the stable at Bethlehem get more attention that Joseph. Why?
Joseph is quiet. He is not quoted in either Matthew or Luke's gospels, and does not appear in Mark or John, or anywhere else in the New Testament.
Joseph is just. When he learns that his wife-to-be Mary is pregnant, and he knows he is not responsible, he decided to to embarrass her and just divorce her without public notice. But in a dream the angel of the Lord instructs him to go ahead with the planned wedding even though Mary is pregnant, and take Mary (and baby) into his family.
Joseph loved Mary, his wife. His love was that of service and unassuming care. He provided for her and Jesus's material needs, and their spiritual needs.
Joseph is the faithful head of household. Joseph does as the Lord says, and by naming the first-born baby and assuming paternity, becomes the devoted foster-father of Jesus in Nazareth.
Joseph is a hard worker. He was a wood-worker, or carpenter. Some speculate that he made objects for the home, as well as caskets. So that Jesus would have a trade with which to feed himself as an adult, like generations of fathers Joseph taught Jesus his wood-working skills. I often think of Joseph and Jesus as having heavily callused hands, from their laboring with wood.
Joseph was a teacher of prayers. Joseph and Mary were faithful Jews. It was the responsibility of the father to teach his children the ways of faith, to believe in the Lord God. Joseph, like most Jews of his time, probably could not read or write. But he undoubtedly memorized the prayers and psalms, and taught what he prayed to Jesus.
Joseph was humble. Only a truly humble man could do all that Joesph did, without fanfare, or complaint, or argument with God.
What does St. Joseph teach us about Advent. The virtues of Joseph are the virtues of the followers of the Christ Child. These are: to be quiet (let others speak); be listeners to the will of God for us; just; dedicated family members; hard workers; faithful members of our religious community; devoted pray-ers; teachers of prayers to others; humble of heart; and lovers of Mary, the mother of God. These virtues imitate the ways and teachings of Jesus, who was raised so well by his foster-father Joseph.
Joseph is quiet. He is not quoted in either Matthew or Luke's gospels, and does not appear in Mark or John, or anywhere else in the New Testament.
Joseph is just. When he learns that his wife-to-be Mary is pregnant, and he knows he is not responsible, he decided to to embarrass her and just divorce her without public notice. But in a dream the angel of the Lord instructs him to go ahead with the planned wedding even though Mary is pregnant, and take Mary (and baby) into his family.
Joseph loved Mary, his wife. His love was that of service and unassuming care. He provided for her and Jesus's material needs, and their spiritual needs.
Joseph is the faithful head of household. Joseph does as the Lord says, and by naming the first-born baby and assuming paternity, becomes the devoted foster-father of Jesus in Nazareth.
Joseph is a hard worker. He was a wood-worker, or carpenter. Some speculate that he made objects for the home, as well as caskets. So that Jesus would have a trade with which to feed himself as an adult, like generations of fathers Joseph taught Jesus his wood-working skills. I often think of Joseph and Jesus as having heavily callused hands, from their laboring with wood.
Joseph was a teacher of prayers. Joseph and Mary were faithful Jews. It was the responsibility of the father to teach his children the ways of faith, to believe in the Lord God. Joseph, like most Jews of his time, probably could not read or write. But he undoubtedly memorized the prayers and psalms, and taught what he prayed to Jesus.
Joseph was humble. Only a truly humble man could do all that Joesph did, without fanfare, or complaint, or argument with God.
What does St. Joseph teach us about Advent. The virtues of Joseph are the virtues of the followers of the Christ Child. These are: to be quiet (let others speak); be listeners to the will of God for us; just; dedicated family members; hard workers; faithful members of our religious community; devoted pray-ers; teachers of prayers to others; humble of heart; and lovers of Mary, the mother of God. These virtues imitate the ways and teachings of Jesus, who was raised so well by his foster-father Joseph.
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