Nurturing Presbyteral Unity
By Kathleen Bagg-Morgan
In
May, Bishop Victor Galeone and the priests of
the Diocese of Saint Augustine will gather for
an Intentional Presbyterate - an opportunity for
priests in the diocese to get back to basics of
what the priesthood is all about.
Leading the Intentional Presbyterate process,
May 5-7, is Father Ron Knott, a priest of the
Archdiocese of Louisville, now serving as the
founding director of the Saint Meinrad School of
Theology, Institute for Priests and
Presbyterates. He is the author of Intentional
Presbyterates Claiming Our Common Sense of
Purpose as Diocesan Priests, a book that
addresses the partnership priests have with each
other and with their bishop as a way of
reclaiming a common sense of purpose as diocesan
priests.
Father Ron, in his keynote address at the
National Federation of Priests’ Council
convention last year, explained that the ancient
theology of presbyterates have been neglected
for centuries, until now. “Thanks to Vatican
Council II, and especially Pope John Paul II,
the theology of a presbyterate, often referred
to as ‘an intimate sacramental brotherhood,’
working as a team under a bishop, has been
restored,” he remarked. Adding, “A presbyterate
is really a bishop’s ‘army of lieutenants’
ordained to help him carry on the ministry of
the apostles in the local church entrusted to
him. A priest’s ministry is a team ministry -
with the bishop, with each other and with, and
for, the people of God.
Because “the harvest is great and the laborers
are few,” the church today simply cannot afford
for its presbyterates to be demoralized,
contentious or working below capacity,” he says.
“These presbyterates must find a way to ‘get
their acts together,’ for the sake of the common
sense of purpose they share - generous, coherent
and effective ministry to God’s people.”
It is worth noting that it is the bishops
themselves who are most articulate in describing
this neglect and its resulting problems. In the
2001 Basic Plan for the Ongoing Formation of
Priests the U.S. bishops state: “A bishop has
many responsibilities, and many things claim his
attention. Presbyteral unity may not seem to be
as pressing for example, as dealing with
individual priests who are problematic, with the
distribution and assignment of clergy, or with
the recruitment of new candidates. Working for
presbyteral unity can slip to the lower end of a
list of priorities. In fact, its neglect favors
divisions and ultimately, a number of attendant
problems in a diocese.” (pp. 96-97).
The idea of “intentional presbyterates” has
caught on in dioceses around the country,
according to Father Ron who has worked with
about 30 dioceses so far with 12 more this year
and at least five more in 2009, including
England and Whales.
“In talking to the priests of the diocese, they
agreed that something like this [Intentional
Presbyterate] was needed here,” says Father Tom
Willis, chair of the Presbyteral Council for the
diocese. “We have a generally healthy
presbyterate, but we are always in need of
renewal.”
Father Tom explains the presbyterate in the
diocese has changed dramatically since they
participated in the Emmaus Renewal for Priests
in the early 1980’s. He says many of the priests
who serve in the diocese are not only new to the
priesthood, but many are new to this country. In
addition, Father Tom says not only has the
presbyterate changed, but the nature of being
church has changed. “It could be argued that the
nature of ‘doing church’ has changed, too. And
with so many ideologies and a too often
perceived (maybe real?) notion of people getting
into certain ‘camps,’ the necessity of a
presbyterate that is unified and supportive of
one another is important.”
In order for renewal to occur in the
presbyterate, individual conversion is critical
because factions and diatribes emerge from
within the hearts of individual priests, says
Father Ron. “If priests have any hope of having
a shared sense of direction and purpose, they
must accurately identify and honestly confront
the personal attitudes which impede and imperil
presbyteral unity.”
The success of renewing presbyterates and their
common sense of purpose rests primarily on
enough bishops and priests wanting unity, says
Father Ron. “Priests need an honest dialogue
that will help them recognize what to preserve
from the past and what to embrace in the present
and into the future. This honest dialogue could
lead to developing a new paradigm with workable
structures to enable them to offer better
service to God’s people and to be better
witnesses to the Gospel.”
Join Our Priests in Prayer:
At the conclusion of the Intentional
Presbyterate there will be a Mass of Priestly
Commitment and Renewal. The Mass, with Bishop
Victor Galeone as the main celebrant, will begin
at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 7 at San Juan del
Rio Catholic Church in Jacksonville. The
faithful of the diocese are invited and
encouraged to attend the Mass in support of our
priests and their ministry.
|