Agony in Albany - The Roman Catholic Faithful

Roman Catholic Faithful, Inc. / AMDG May 2004 Albany newsletterSpeaking of the Bishop’s pastoral plan for theDiocese, one priest said, “We have planned destructiveness.Bishop Hubbard wants to create a structurewhere he can appeal to various types — those whowant married priests, women priests, homosexualpriests. Then he will be seen as a real leader and say,‘Maybe I deserve to be an Archbishop now’.”Another priest said that a growing number ofhis fellow priests are starting to ignore Bishop Hubbard,in whatever little ways they can.“A lot of us have stopped going to retreats,because we know there is not going to be anythingspiritual there.“We used to have retreats in spiritual places,but now we go to places with names like ‘ThousandAcres Dude Ranch,’ where there is an open barthroughout the retreat.“We don’t get real Catholic spirituality anylonger. The Diocese hires these New Age apostlesand psychologists. When the subject of priests’ moralproblems comes up, the people who don’t have theproblems are told to accept those who do. ‘Lightenup,’ they say to us.“The Bishop doesn’t give a damn about hispriests.”Some priests in the Diocese, when they areapproached by a young man who expresses a desire tobe a priest, will actively discourage him.“The only seminaries Bishop Hubbard willallow candidates to attend are St. Mary’s in Baltimoreand the Washington Theological College, both knownfor their extreme liberalism and homosexuality,” saida priest, “and many feel going there will only cause aperson to lose his faith, if not worse.”That view was echoed by a young man whofeels he has been called to the priesthood, but aftervisits to the two seminaries approved by Bishop Hubbarddecided not to attend.“Our priests are being trained in Protestantseminaries,” said the mother of a young man discouragedfrom the priesthood.“They go there, and when they come out,they don’t believe in the Eucharist.”A young man commented: “I think the Dioceseof Albany doesn’t have many candidates becauseit doesn’t do anything to promote genuine vocations.”“Collaborative Ministry”In May, 1990, Bishop Hubbard published astatement in The Evangelist on the “qualities” ayoung man thinking about priesthood should have.According to the Bishop, a candidate “musthave an acceptance of his own humanity which enableshim to be comfortable with himself and in hisrelationships with others. . . .“In the past, the priest was sometimes referredto as an alter Christus, another Christ. I’mafraid, however, that this notion of ‘putting on Christ’or ‘of forming oneself into His image’ was sometimestaken too literally. A priest cannot ‘become’ Christ.He can model himself after Jesus and he can definehis ministry in Gospel terms, but he cannot ‘become’Christ.“What a priest must do, however, is to behimself and to allow his own humanity, his ownunique personality, to emerge in his ministry. Thepersonal touch is far more important today than anyrobotic performance a priest must give.”In the Bishop’s vision, the priest must showhis “humanness,” showing others that he is friendly,understanding, and patient.The second important “quality” is that thecandidate must be “open to collaborative ministry.”“Today’s candidate for the priesthood mustdevelop the ability to work cooperatively and collaborativelywith others in the Church. In particular, hemust develop skills of listening, of learning how tofacilitate group interaction, and of mastering the art ofaffirming, encouraging, and reassuring others. Hemust also acquire the capacity to work with all kindsof people, building consensus, striking compromises,and knowing the difference between assertiveness andaggressiveness.“Of special importance is the priest’s abilityto relate to women, to their needs, concerns, problems,frustrations, hopes, expectations, and aspirations.If, therefore, a person is not open to a collaborativemodel of ministry. . .and if, more specifically,he is not attentive and supportive of the growing ministerialrole of women in the Church, then. . .he is nota fit candidate for today’s priesthood.”The third quality, according to the Bishop, isa “thirst for knowledge” which shows itself in readingand a willingness for “on- going education and formation.”39