Monday, February 27, 2006
FROM THE SNAIL MAILBOX - A BOOKLET FROM THE BISHOP
"working together for a vibrant church: A REPORT TO THE COMMUNITY FROM THE CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF CLEVELAND" arrived in my mailbox a short time ago. It's a sort of "State of the Diocese" statement from Bishop Pilla.
His opening message tells me that "This Report to the Community is part of our continued effort to inform you, the faithful, about the remarkable scope of activities within our Diocese while 'working together for a vibrant Church." The message closes with "It is my hope that this report will offer you a better understanding of our diocesan programs and the initiatives which have been developed in order to work together as parish communities. As we strive to affirm the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, throughout the region, it is my prayer that we are able to continue offering the declaration of our Holy Father that 'The Church is Alive' here in the Diocese of Cleveland."
It's a feel-good publication.
I guess "alive" is a relative concept. We are the 15th largest diocese in the U.S. According to the statistics presented in the booklet there were 8,679 infant/child baptisms (I presume in 2005, though the booklet doesn't actually indicate that), 1,537 joined the Church through RCIA, and there were 8,589 deaths, which means that the Church grew larger by 1,627 people in 2005. In a local population of 2,852,022, a total of 797,898 of that number (28%) are counted as Catholic. There are 233 parishes. That works out to approximately 7 more Catholics in each parish in 2005. Those numbers do not take into consideration the number of Catholics who have decided to stop practicing the faith. As I said, "alive" is a relative term.
More important, however, is the number of priests. In 1993 there were 543 priests. In 2005 there were 419 priests. The forecast for 2015 is 238 priests, and for 2025 is 162 priests. Assuming the number of parishes remains constant at 233, 71 of them will be priestless in 2025 even if all of the available priests are assigned to a parish. Since we hold a sacramental faith which requires the ministrations of priests, "alive" is hardly the word I would use to describe our situation. "In crisis" seems a lot more appropriate.
The pictures in the booklet are interesting to me because I tend to tune in to the visual. The first one is, I presume, the inside of the Cathedral during Mass, though the sanctuary is difficult to make out, while the pews, the prominent part of the picture, are relatively full. Next there is a sweet picture of uniformed children standing around a blackboard. Then comes another church pew picture (there are no captions so I don't know which church) on a page that talks about the program for "safeguarding our young people". In this picture there is a prominent section of empty pews on the right, while the rest are filled.
Next comes the Oriental (Korean?) girls in native dress holding up flowers in each raised hand, and standing in the aisle of a church with congregants and a stained glass window in the background. It is impossible to tell from the picture what these girls are doing. Must be some sort of inculturation ceremony. The facing text talks about Catholic Charities.
Following that is a picture of a black woman in a caftan holding up a golden bowl, with what appears to be a pew behind her. On the same page is a black woman wearing an apron and carrying trays with food on them. There are people in the background serving food. The text between these pictures continues talking about Catholic Charities.
Next comes the back view of a bishop in white with mitre sitting on a chair. In front of him is a guard and a couple of men in suits. Rising over the heads of all of them is a gray metal stairway with men in yellow prison uniforms. What that is about is anybody's guess. The text on this page continues the discussion of Catholic Charities, the Office of Hispanic Ministries, family life, the Filipino and Thai population, Vietnamese and Korean choirs. If I were going to draw a conclusion from the juxtaposition of text and picture, I would conclude that the prisons are filled with people from immigrant populations. I trust this is not the message intended.
The next picture is a shot of a dense crowd of people of all ages, dressed for a picnic, with their right arm raised in the air, fist clenched. Behind this crowd are the peaks of what appears to be a number of KD Kanopys. Behind them are trees. The one word this picture brings to mind is "militant." On the page with this picture is a quote which reads: "Continued willingness to accept new thinking and employ creative approaches will enable us to build a vibrant future in the face of demographic and societal realities we cannot control." The text on the opposing page talks about the "Vibrant Parish Life" program, the inevitability of change, and the growth of the permanent diaconate and lay ecclesial ministries.
The final picture in the booklet is of bishop Pilla in a cope and mitre reading from a book held in the hands of what appears to be an altar server. Behind him is a pulpit or podium. In front of him is a crowd sitting in theater-style seats in what appears to be a balcony, with a railing in front of them. There also appears to be people standing on a level below the balcony.
None of the text appearing with the pictures explains the pictures. The booklet is a chaotic jumble of disjointed words and images. What is sorely lacking in a publication about a Catholic diocese is any symbolic representation of the faith such as a crucifix, picture of the Blessed Virgin, picture of a saint. From the pictures in this booklet which all emphasize living people, this could just as easily be about some other religion worshiping some other god, or alternatively about an organization doing good charitable work. There are no Catholic markers represented in the images.
One message comes through these pictures loud and clear...the social Gospel. Bishop Pilla is a humanitarian. The statistics tend to make me believe that he has not been a Shepherd of God's Church. He clearly believes in the altruistic aspect of the Gospel, and has continuously served that aspect of the faith. Does he also believe in a transcendent God? The question is not out of line given the substance of this booklet.
Bishop Pilla has a long history in this diocese of communicating with the faithful once a year when he wants money for the Bishop's appeal. Prior to the scandal, he was invisible the rest of the year. As this booklet illustrates, those faithful who do not need monetary assistance in one form or another are not of interest to him. The faithful who look to him for spiritual guidance are left wanting. He has been a good servant of those in material need. He has not been a spiritual father to his diocese. For years I have felt that my bishop cared about me only when he wanted me to open my wallet. That is the only time that he remembers I exist.
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!
