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In
a Mother’s Words – “Watch your language”
Note from VOTF vice-president
Kris Ward: A member of the Dayton affiliate, Ginny Hoehne, is the mother
of a survivor and a member of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council.
Ginny delivered the
following message at the September meeting of the Archdiocesan Pastoral
Council. Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk is the Archbishop of Cincinnati.
He attends all meetings. At this meeting the Auxiliary Bishop Carl K. Moeddell
was also present as well as the chair of the archdiocesan pastoral council
Judge Michael Merz, a member of the National Review Board.
At the end of each
Archdiocesan Pastoral Council meeting (the meetings are held quarterly)
there is an open forum in which the members of the Council may make statements
and/or ask questions of Archbishop Daniel Pilarcyzk.
At the Saturday September
10 meeting, Ginny Hoehne made the following statement:
There are several words
that I have heard bandied about in the past several months when discussing
Church related issues. One is the word vindictive – the definition
is revengeful in spirit. It is used especially by those in hierarchical roles,
describing Catholics who are now demanding accountability, responsibility,
truthfulness, openness, and financial transparency have used this word. Anyone
who is married knows and lives these words if they expect their marriage
to work. (I repeat) I find it interesting that these same words become vindictive
when asked of those who lead our Church.
Survivors of abuse by
priests, and those who support them, are now being called vindictive as they
try to find justice for the vile crimes that have been committed against
them. Meanwhile some bishops see this as a public relations problem rather
than the greatest crisis in the history of the Church in our nation. Some
have chosen to work outside the confines of civil law, while others attempt
to thwart new laws that would expose these offenders, thus giving the offenders
the ability to continue their abuse.
The men from whom their
salaries are drawn are calling Catholics in parishes and dioceses that have
been scammed of hundreds of thousands of dollars and are now asking for accountability
vindictive. Many insiders say financial improprieties within the Church may
very well be the second largest scandal to be exposed.
In 1988 I visited Medjugorge,
Yugoslavia. Whether you believe in these Marian apparitions or not, there
were some rather interesting pleas for prayers. One was for peace, and shortly
thereafter the Yugoslav war broke out. One was for children, which I didn't
think of as unusual, but was also ignorant of my own son's, and thousands
of others, abuse at the time. And one was to pray for bishops because they
were in trouble. I found this rather strange, since I thought they were about
as close to God as anyone could get, but now I clearly understand that the
misused power of their position had corrupted some of them.
By saying these things,
I am not being vindictive, but am speaking the truth in love as an adult
Catholic.
The second word is adulthood. Pope
John XXIII died on June 3, 1963, two days before I graduated from Mt. St.
Joe here in Cincinnati. It was a bittersweet graduation, for we were saddened
by the loss of this great man, but were excited by his messages of opening
the Church to a new day of bringing the laity into a closer participation
and active role within the Church. We were told that now was the time to
grow up in our Church, and walk shoulder to shoulder with our priests and
bishops. Many new ministries were formed, but little if any participation
in executive decision-making. Those of you who are my age and older know
that a sense of responsibility was quickly muted by hierarchy because walking
shoulder to shoulder meant lateral movement, and the hierarchical structure
then as now is equivalent to a pyramidal ladder. This theology means that
those below (the laity) are subject to those above, and are not even permitted
to dissent. And so, in essence the laity is the church when it comes to supporting
the parish and diocese, when it comes to pledges, or other ministries, but
when it comes to a meaningful voice in shaping decisions that touch directly
upon our lives or in the making of rules or in the exercising of church governance,
we are at the bottom of the pyramid.
Interestingly, it was
the aftermath of the abuse scandal that caused many of us to say, "Enough!
This is our church, too. And we want to save it for our children and grandchildren." So
now, 40 years later, I am once again hearing that now is the time for the
laity to be adults in the Church. Now is the time to “Be not afraid,” and
assume our rightful roles if we are to rebuild trust and renew the face of
the Church. That now, while the numbers of graduate seminarians is approximately
4,000, there are 30,000 lay women and men training to be ecclesial ministers
in the U.S. That now is the time to challenge clergy with kindness and compassion
as St. Catherine of Sienna did in her day, speaking truth in love. That now,
as newly ordained say to the bishop “Adsum," meaning, "I am here," they,
along with us, God's holy people, can all state “Adsum” to the universal
priesthood, "I am here, I am present and I pledge my loyalty to the gospel,
to my conscience, and to the Church." For this Church is not just my Church,
it is not the Bishop's Church, it is Christ's Church, and there's much rebuilding
to be done. The polarization that we have known needs to be avoided as we
move forward with imagination and the Holy Spirit's gift of wisdom, all of
us saying “Adsum.”
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