For most of my life I regarded the Memorial Day weekend as the gateway to summer. Sometimes that happens here in western Oregon, but that was not the case this year in the Portland area. On a rainy Saturday morning, the last one of May, the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council gathered at the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center. The rain that was falling the night before may have been a blessing because most folks actually attended the meeting. I thought the holiday weekend would bring a more dramatic reduction in the participation. This was the third meeting of our fourth Archdiocesan Pastoral Council. All council members serve for a term of three years and the new group began its work this past January.
Like always, we began with the celebration of the Eucharist in the Pastoral Center chapel. As it turned out, this was one of the more challenging meetings and so it was good to begin with prayer. In the homily I reflected on some of the difficulties Jesus had with the scribes pharisees and elders of the Jewish faith community. Coming off a brutal spring myself, I knew I had to pray for greater patience and perseverance. Little did I know that I would be further tested when Mass ended.
As we were entering the meeting, I was told that a large group had gathered outside the pastoral center. TV cameras and reporters had followed them. I wasn’t sure what the issue would be that day, but, as I will explain later, there was concern about the possible closure of the San Martin Mission in Dayton. Visitors had also come to the cathedral at the Easter Vigil also to protest the potential closing of the mission, something that seemed like a good idea to many of the parishioners at the mother church in McMinnville. In addition to the disturbance outside, the agenda of the meeting included a few neuralgic issues that would test us all.
After I gave my report and our chairman, Clint Bentz, gave his executive committee report, individual members reported on the vicariate meetings that had taken place this spring. Very soon I learned that at two of the vicariate meetings participants expressed their displeasure with archdiocesan leadership. Complaints about faulty communication, the upcoming capital campaign and archdiocesan pastoral priorities were high on the list. I must confess I was delighted to learn from the representative of the southern vicariate that everybody there seemed happy. I think I know why but I still regard it as a miracle of God’s grace. Would that this were true in all the vicariates! The good news that came out of the reports is that the meetings are happening and people are beginning to collaborate more in planning and sharing activities. This, of course, is a positive development in our efforts to strengthen our evangelizing mission.
Pastoral priorities are important for all of us. In the archdiocese they remain the same as they have been for a few years, namely, faith formation at all levels, youth and young adult ministry and multicultural ministry. The fact that the previous pastoral council also encouraged some discussion about evangelization, social justice ministry and immigration reform seemed to confuse a few folks who thought these were new priorities. They are not the top priorities but they are additional important issues that many felt it important for us to discuss and develop. Parishes, of course, will have their own priorities, but they won’t always be identical. I am not sure what direction this new council will suggest, but, if the folks are like those who went before them, I am sure they will have a few of their own ideas, which they will be advancing in the coming months and years.
All the news about the clergy sexual abuse scandal spreading across the globe prompted further discussion about the way this matter has been handled in our own archdiocese. Members of the executive committee thought it would be important for all to know and understand the good work that has already been accomplished in this matter here in our own archdiocese. But some members of the council thought this would not be adequate. There was a call for greater accountability on the part of church leadership and a greater willingness to assume responsibility for these crimes.
Sometimes it seems that even our own people believe that incidents of child sexual abuse within the church are still being mishandled. That could not be further from the truth, but perception rules and the truth is seldom told widely, certainly not in the secular media. I must confess that I find it very hard to decry misdeeds of those who are no longer with us. The mistakes church leadership made in the past are mistakes I believe that many of us could have made were we in similar circumstances without the information and the resources presently available to us. Even though the church here in the United States has dealt with this matter rather capably, the upheaval over this matter in other countries raises the issue here all over again.
As it turned out, the demonstrators outside the Pastoral Center during the pastoral council meeting came from St. Martin Mission in Dayton. Folks there were still concerned about the possible closing of the mission. It had been reported in the local newspaper that the closure was on the fast track and that soon the church would be sold. I met with the demonstrators after the meeting and assured them that every effort was being made to save the mission but at the same time to assist the mother church in McMinnville with its needs for church expansion. I confess I have lost friends on both sides of the issue, but with the help of lots of smarter people, I still think we can resolve this matter in such a way that it will be a win-win situation for all. At least I hope so. Your prayers will be appreciated.
Then the council members took up a discussion about immigration reform and all the misunderstandings that are cropping up across our nation and within our church. Not only are we divided as citizens but we are also divided as church members with regard to this issue. Lots of wrong information has been shared. The recent passage of a stricter immigration policy in Arizona has stirred up many feelings that are hostile and unhelpful. I have already received letters from Catholic people in this archdiocese who are annoyed with the public expression of dissatisfaction that came from the Arizona bishops about the new law. People don’t understand that we bishops do support immigration reform. We are not in favor of general amnesty. We expect the solution to be reasonable, one that protects borders, protects the rights and dignity of individuals and does not force the separation of family members. Good people are working on this matter too and I hope reasonable heads will prevail in Washington, D.C., and in state legislatures across this nation.
The Archdiocesan Pastoral Council is a valuable resource for me so that I can become more aware of what is on the minds and in the hearts of the people in the pews. There are still reports that some parishes do not have pastoral councils. I am hopeful that all pastors this fall will make every effort to restore pastoral councils that have been shut down or to inaugurate pastoral councils where they have not yet seen the light of day. Collaboration must be the hallmark of ministry and decision-making if we are truly to be church. We share a mission. We share responsibility. We, all of us, are the church.
