May 15, 2004

New bishop envisions 'new evangelization'

As I See It

By Bishop Robert J. McManus

It is said that "self-praise is to no avail.'' I hope the same cannot
be said about "self-introduction.'' Bruce S. Bennett, the publisher of this
newspaper, graciously invited me to write this column to introduce myself to the newspaper's readership as I come to the Diocese of Worcester as its fifth bishop.

I was born and raised in Providence. My seminary education and formation led me from Rhode Island to Washington, D.C., to Toronto and ultimately to Rome, where I earned a doctorate in sacred theology at the Jesuit-run Pontifical Gregorian University.

During my almost 26 years of priesthood in the Diocese of Providence, I have enjoyed a variety of priestly duties: parish ministry, campus ministry, teaching philosophy on a college level, diocesan administration, particularly in the field of Catholic education, priest personnel work and as rector of the diocesan minor seminary.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my priestly ministry and as I take leave of my home diocese, I am well aware that my life has been filled to overflowing with much joy, personal fulfillment and peace. I thank God every day for the gift of my vocation as a priest. I cannot imagine being anything else.

In December 1999, Pope John Paul II nominated me auxiliary bishop of Providence and titular bishop of Allegheny. I believe my ministry as auxiliary bishop has prepared me well for my new pastoral responsibility as bishop of Worcester. I am truly honored and humbled to follow in a line of such distinguished bishops: John Cardinal Wright, Bernard J. Flanagan, Timothy J. Harrington and most recently Daniel P. Reilly.

As in any building, well-laid foundations are crucially important for weathering in noble fashion the passage of time. I hope and pray that with the assistance of God's grace and the support and collaboration of my Catholic brothers and sisters in the Diocese of Worcester, I will spend myself with zeal and enthusiasm to build up the Body of Christ, his Church, here in Central Massachusetts.

Many of us who belong to the ""baby-boomer generation'' look back at the 1960s as a time of significant change both in American culture and in the Catholic Church in the United States. This is no doubt true. Yet I believe that as we move into the first decade of the 21st century, we are involved in a momentous cultural shift, the outcome of which will influence profoundly some of the most fundamental values and institutions of our society and Church.

The Roman Catholic Church is a religious institution that has a long history and as such, brings to its life and teaching a cumulative wisdom that transcends the conventions, ideologies, trends and prejudices of the present moment. Pope Paul VI, one of the illustrious popes of the modern era (1963-1978), was known to have described the Catholic Church as "an expert in humanity.'' I hope that as the bishop of the Diocese of Worcester and a religious leader in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, I can contribute in some measure to ensuring that our society and Church will continue to be communities where the dignity of every human being is recognized and respected.

I sincerely believe that it is only when people of good will share a common understanding of who the human person is and the true destiny to which every person is called, that common convictions can be reached and reasonable policies crafted that contribute to the common good of society.

I look forward to working with the leaders of the local ecumenical and inter-faith communities in this project of common interest. In sharing in the common task of building a more just and humane society, people of all faiths will often discover, sometimes for the first time, that we can rightly rejoice in what unites us rather than what divides us.

As bishop of Worcester, my primary responsibility is to exercise faithfully the three-fold ministry of the office of bishop: to teach the Catholic faith in its integrity, to shepherd the Catholic community confided to my pastoral care in communion with the Church universal and to sanctify the people of God in this particular Church of Worcester through the preaching of the Word of God and the celebration of the sacraments of the Church. This is no small task and it cannot be accomplished with any success or lasting salutary effects unless I rely on the collaboration of all the faithful of the diocese.

The Catholic Church in the United States has not escaped the American bureaucratic fascination with future planning through the use of attainable goals and achievable objectives. As a result, a new bishop coming into a diocese is often asked: "What is your vision for the future?'' "What goals do you hope to achieve as bishop of this diocese?'' The vision that I bring to my service as bishop of Worcester is that which Pope John Paul II has given to the Church universal during his nearly 28-year-long pontificate. The vision consists in promoting the "new evangelization,'' among the Catholic faithful of Central Massachusetts and beyond.

By "the new evangelization,'' I mean reintroducing the person and message of Jesus Christ, the only Savior of the world, to Catholics who already have been united with him through faith and baptism. By the "new evangelization'' I also mean reinvigorating the faith of our Catholic people who may have grown slack in their appreciation of their gracious election as children of God and members of the Catholic Church.

I am also painfully aware that more than a few Catholics feel alienated from the Church because of the betrayal of trust by its clergy or religious leaders. I hope that I can help to heal the hurt that has kept some Catholics from feeling at home in the Church of their youth.

I firmly believe that this "new evangelization'' can happen only if the Gospel of Christ and the authentic teaching of the Catholic Church are intelligently and convincingly presented to our Catholic people who may have forgotten or even rejected what they once knew as the mystery of faith.

Yet the new evangelization is a two-way street. Its successful and spiritually beneficial accomplishment depends not only on the one who presents the message but also on the one who is to receive the message. Such spiritual receptivity is not a mere matter of human decision or the determined exercise of human will power. Hearing the Word of God and acting upon it relies ultimately on the grace of God who wishes for nothing more than that we who claim the awesome name of "Catholic Christians'' sincerely open wide the doors of our hearts to Christ.

The poet T.S. Eliot insightfully wrote, "In my end is my beginning.''
As I end one part of my priestly and Episcopal ministry in the Diocese of Providence, I begin another adventure of faith in this particular Church of Worcester. I do so confident in the promise of Christ the Good Shepherd that he will remain with his Church until the end of time.

If I live to be 75 years of age, the age when a bishop can retire, I will have had the privilege of serving the Catholic faithful of the Diocese of Worcester for 23 years. I trust that when I say "good-bye'' to you then, we will all know each other quite a bit better than we do today.

Now the mission begins. May God bless us all along the road that ultimately leads home to Him.

The Most Rev. Robert J. McManus was installed as the fifth bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester yesterday.

May 10, 2004

Bishop McManus eager to get started

Bishop ready to meet diocese

Kathleen A. Shaw, T&G STAFF

PROVIDENCE- Auxiliary Bishop Robert J. McManus talks during an interview in Providence Friday. (T&G Staff
 
Auxiliary Bishop Robert J. McManus walked out to the front of the chancery building on Friday and encountered a young woman who asked when he was leaving. "Today's my last day," he told her.

The woman gave him a big hug and wished him luck on his new assignment. It had been a week of farewells; a final Mass in Providence brought tears to his eyes as he said goodbye to the people of Rhode Island.

As the Catholics of one diocese bid him farewell, Catholics in Central Massachusetts are preparing to welcome him to replace retiring Bishop Daniel P. Reilly.

"Bishop Reilly told me the two dioceses are similar," he said. The new bishop - like Bishop Reilly, a Providence native - admitted he has been to Worcester only twice, but he is eager to meet the people and get started. He said he has already received a warm welcome from Auxiliary Bishop George E. Rueger and the chancery staff.

Bishop McManus said he has been busy winding up business in Providence and that Worcester officials have been very good about driving down Route 146 to meet with him.

He planned to begin the move to the Worcester bishop's residence on High Ridge Road Saturday. Bishop Reilly and Monsignor Thomas Sullivan, diocesan chancellor, have moved to St. Paul's rectory.

Bishop McManus, 52, will be installed as fifth Bishop of Worcester at 2 p.m. Friday at St. Paul's Cathedral. The event is by invitation only. Renovations to St. Paul's by Bishop Reilly reduced the seating.

"There are a hundred people with tickets who will be standing," Bishop McManus said ruefully.

The diocese plans a public reception for the new bishop from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday in the atrium of the Worcester Medical Center.

The public will meet a man who decided early in life to be a priest and wants to emphasize religious education and recruitment of clergy.

He will get down to business right away. Some Catholics have asked to discuss their concerns about the diocese with the new bishop, who said he will hold meetings once he settles in.

Bishop McManus comes to Worcester during a deep crisis over the sexual abuse scandal that has gripped the Catholic church. He has had some experience handling sexual abuse cases and wants to look at pending civil suits over abuse allegations to see what can be done.

"I know what it is to handle these allegations," he said. "You get a telephone call at quarter of 10 in the morning and you are busy for the next several hours."

There were days he'd look forward to an evening Confirmation ceremony. "At least I'd be out there with people," he said. Spending a day listening to horrific stories of abuse affected him emotionally.

Bishop McManus said if allegations of sexual abuse have been difficult for priests and lay people it is no different for the bishops. As auxiliary bishop, he had to travel to a parish where a priest had been removed after an allegation of sexual abuse was made.

"The people would say things like, "He's innocent,' and "How can you do this?' I couldn't tell them everything," he said. "It was painful for me."

A sea change in handling sexual abuse allegations in Providence happened after he and Bishop Robert E. Mulvee returned from the 2002 meeting of the American bishops in Dallas. There the bishops adopted the Charter for the Protection of Children.

Providence had some suits still pending after 10 years, but Bishop Mulvee wanted the litigation to end; all but one suit was settled.

Ann Hagen Webb, a native of Rhode Island who heads Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests for New England, said that substantial changes are still needed in Providence. She said Providence settled those suits for about $13 million "to void a court order to open records."

She said Bishop McManus has been kind to alleged victims when meeting with them, but has not followed through.

Bishop McManus said he believes the new program in Rhode Island has helped victims and the church. He likes the model and thinks it might work in Worcester, although he has not made up his mind on it yet.

The Providence diocese has a Child Protection Board, staffed by professional lay people and priests. He said they have worked out detailed protocols for investigating allegations and helping everyone involved.

Bishop McManus learned the value of working together early in life, when he was raised with two brothers and a sister in a small fourth-floor apartment in Providence.

His father worked for the post office and had a part-time job delivering flowers. His mother stayed home to raise the children and later worked as a secretary when the last child entered school. The tenement got crowded at times, but he had some good times there.

"The three boys slept in one room and my sister had her own room." They never had pets. "My mother said raising us kids was enough for her," he laughed.

Because he decided early to be a priest, he never dated girls. "It wasn't allowed in those days in seminary."

Where Worcester residents tend to identify themselves by their native neighborhood - Vernon, Grafton Hill, Tatnuck, South Worcester - Providence Catholics are identified by their parish.

The McManuses were Blessed Sacrament people, while Bishop Reilly was from St. Michael's. Bishop McManus said the late Bishop Russell McVinney, also from Blessed Sacrament, called the parish "The Holy Land" because it had produced 95 priests in addition to consecrated religious.

Bishop McManus was an altar boy at Blessed Sacrament when he decided to be a priest. "In those days the parish had several priests and one of them was always newly ordained," he said.

He has fond memories of young priests who took the altar boys to ball games and served as positive role models. "I wanted to be like that," he said.

He entered Our Lady of Providence high school seminary in 1965 and later, at Bishop McVinney's invitation, studied at Catholic University of America. Ordained in 1978, he was consecrated auxiliary bishop in Providence in 1999 and is one of the country's youngest bishops.

Retired Bishop Louis E. Gelineau sent him to Rome during the 1980s to study at the Pontifical Gregorian University, run by Jesuits and considered one of the church's best universities.

"Bishop Gelineau told me to study moral theology. It's practical," he said. He received his licentiate and doctoral degrees in moral theology.

His doctoral thesis explored whether Catholic politicians can say they are personally opposed to abortion on one hand but vote in favor of abortion on the other.

"I concluded they cannot," he said.

From a moral theologian's point of view, if a person accepts that a fetus is human from the time of conception, then terminating the pregnancy is killing, he notes. There can be no barrier between what a person thinks and acts. The Catholic church opposes abortion, although many Catholics hold a differing view.

Bishop McManus recently signed a statement with Bishop Mulvee saying they would not deny Communion to Catholic politicians who support abortion.

Bishop McManus said he intends to do more teaching on the issue in Worcester. He plans to write a major commentary piece for the diocesan newspaper, The Catholic Free Press, and may talk individually with Catholic political leaders.

He said although he believes Catholic politicians cannot be personally opposed to the procedure but vote in favor of abortion rights, his statement with Bishop Mulvee was issued in response to a document from the Vatican regarding changes in the Mass. He said the document said nothing about whether politicians should be denied the sacraments and it should not have been used to make that point.

He became moral theologian to Bishop Gelineau when they had to decide whether it was morally permissible to remove a feeding tube from Marsha Gray, a comatose woman. Bishop McManus studied the situation and decided the feeding tube could be removed.

He believes his decision is in line with a recent statement by Pope John Paul II, who said a feeding tube should not be removed from a person in a vegetative state as a means of hastening death.

Bishop McManus said the moral distinction was that Ms. Gray's feeding tube was inserted "as a medical procedure. It was covered by insurance." There's a distinction between stopping a medical procedure and removing a tube to hasten death.

Encouraging young men to consider entering the priesthood will be one of his priorities in Worcester.

Bishop McManus accepts the pope's definitive ruling that women cannot be ordained priests. He said it is now clear that Rome will never consider ordaining women to the diaconate, but women still have serious roles to fulfill in the church.

He noted that the pope recently named a woman to a top Vatican post and that women are in important jobs at all levels. "I think we need to stop squabbling over who should do what and fulfill our individual roles well."

Religious education is also high on the bishop's agenda. He believes people need to be educated in their faith, something he thinks has been lost.

"I grew up with the Baltimore Catechism. Some religious educators pooh-pooh it, but it gave us an understanding of our faith and it gave us the common language of our faith."

He is not ready to revert to that pre-Vatican II catechism, but said the current catechism is helpful and the religious education programs in schools and parishes can be strengthened. He believes many people who have "walked away" from the church lack a real understanding of the fullness of the Catholic faith and what it truly offers.