Agony in Albany - The Roman Catholic Faithful

Roman Catholic Faithful, Inc. / AMDG May 2004 Albany newsletterAn openness to live a simple life-style is thefourth “quality”: it is a willingness to “take the initiativeby offering an irrefutable counter-witness to theconsumerism of our day.” Fifth, there is spirituality.“Today's priest candidate must truly be aspiritual person, a person who seeks to integrate hisown personality, his relationships with family,friends, and parishioners in the hectic demands of theapostolate with a meaningful life of personal and liturgicalprayer. . . .“Assuredly with God’s grace, there are peoplecapable of following such a vision of contemporarypriestly ministry. . . .”“After This Papacy”In 1989, Fr. Christopher DeGiovine, thendirector of vocations for the Diocese, in an interviewin The Evangelist said that the priest shortage wouldnot be solved until women are ordained, priests areallowed to marry, or an optional five-or-ten year commitmentis allowed for men who think they mightwant to be priests.In the past year, according to one priest, duringthe course of his parish visitations Bishop Hubbardtwice told parishioners that he sees no reasonwhy women cannot be priests, and why priests cannotmarry. “After this Papacy,” he said, “they will.”Not AcceptedIn the past 15 years, the number of priestsworking in the Diocese has been diminished nearly byhalf.“What will happen in another 15 years?,”asked a priest.“It's not that there haven’t been decent, normal,good people who have wanted to be priests; it’sjust that they have been discouraged, not accepted,driven out. ...“But, there is something worse at work here.Many of the priests who came into the Diocese ofAlbany in recent years have come from other dioceses,after they were dropped from their seminaries.“We have to worry,” he said.Albany Vicar General…Reportedly Warns That ClergyWho Spoke To The Wanderer Will Be PunishedStunned by the accuracy of the first report inthe “Agony in Albany” series of articles appearing inThe Wanderer, the Diocese of Albany has begun askingpriests to write to Apostolic Nuncio AgostinoCacciavillan, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, andArchbishop Daniel Pilarczyk to praise Bishop HowardHubbard’s leadership in the Diocese.The first installment of the series that appearedin The Wanderer was mailed to every clergymanin Albany, and also to all 4,500 members of theCoalition of Concerned Catholics. A typical responsefrom readers of the first article was expressed by onewoman who told a coalition member, “Oh my God,now it all fits together.”On Tuesday, March 12th, at a Day of Recollectionin the Albany Diocese, at which Bishop Hubbardand both of his vicars general were present,Vicar General Fr. Michael Farano expressed greatanger at the series. He told priests that if they knew ofany priests who had contributed to the story, theyshould turn their names into the chancery.According to several reports, he warnedpriests that those who spoke with The Wanderer “willbe found out and will be punished.” The priests at theDay of Recollection were also asked to stand up andapplaud the Bishop to show their support.The anger officials of the Diocese are feelingafter the release of The Wanderer series exceeds thatof a year ago, when layman David Phelan publishedan article in the Troy Record. Phelan describedBishop Hubbard’s practice of deemphasizing Catholicprinciples and practices. Also, he compared the situationin the Diocese in the 1950s when 75,000 to100,000 Albany Catholics marched on the Capitol topray the Rosary, to Bishop Hubbard’s comment toCatholic youth that the message of Fatima “is just aprivate option.”“We Affirm You”After that article appeared, Phelan was denouncedby name from at least four pulpits of AlbanyCatholic churches, and a particular priest organizedan advertising campaign that “will be an expressionof our gratitude, affirmation, admiration, and a promiseof our prayers.”The ad that ran in The Evangelist and thethree major papers in the Capital District read:“A Message to Bishop Howard J. Hubbard from40