The Catholic Church in the past thirty years has experienced many tumultuous situations. There is no need to rehash them here, as not only are we all aware of these issues, but have experienced their effects throughout our lives. As a result of these issues, we have faced a litany of consequences.
However, we now have a chance to revitalize our community here in the Diocese of Fall River, and thus help to strengthen the church as a whole. This work can become a reality if priests, religious, and especially the laity come together to support this mission.
This seemed to be the aim of the “rebuilding in faith and hope” initiative begun by Bishop da Cunha a few short years ago. When this mission statement was first released, it gave people hope for a revitalization of the Diocese of Fall River. I want to personally express my gratitude here at the incentive to move forward and create positive change for all.
Unfortunately, this work has not come without grave mistakes that have put all our hopes, efforts and current progress at risk. We have failed to always be conscious and listening to what is truly needed. We have fallen into the delusion that a “one size fits all approach” is the best method for approaching a problem that affects the spiritual and physical facets of our diocese.
The greatest example of this is the continuous usage of the “collaborative” method. We have used it in our churches, and we will be using it now in our schools through the preparatory academy. While it does help to combine resources, its end aim is to assimilate institutions where differences and diversity will no longer remain. We will erode the character that defines each church and school. We will destroy relationships that have been built up, and wreck the progress attempted by each parish. Rather than “rebuilding in faith and hope,” we are destroying in ignorance.
We have exhausted the individuals most important to the process of rebuilding, driving them to disillusionment, frustration and even a desire to separate from the diocese. Our priests are overworked and overburdened with responsibilities as it is. We only worsen this by constantly moving them, inundating them with new initiatives and paths that are mandatory for them to follow, and leaving them in the dark when they need information. Spreading them out among collaborative is an additional cross, because they cannot connect with any one parish. If these priests are overworked and exhausted, then they cannot fully devote themselves to their vocation and to those whom they are meant to serve. We are cheating them of their ability to serve God and their people.
Similar can be said for the laity. News of parish changes or priest relocations have been left until the last minute, and often people have been finding out news through secular press rather than the diocese itself. It was especially evident when parents and teachers involved with Bishop Connolly High School and Coyle-Cassidy Middle and High School were not involved with the formation or deliberation of this “solution,” and were among the last to be informed about it.
Without the input and aid of parents and teachers, a school cannot operate and will eventually fail. We have taken the most crucial information needed to teach our children and have disregarded it to forward our own unclear aims. Frustration has been emitted in regards to the diocesan committees as well, as members have been not fully informed and have been unable to help with the decisions that they have been promised. This has left members of the laity frustrated and feeling as though they are not fully able to exercise their abilities to help revitalize the Diocese of Fall River.
The great Catholic author J.R.R. Tolkien once said, “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” Yes, the damage the diocese has suffered in the past 30 years requires more immediate and long-term solutions. However, we cannot continue in the same manner that we have as a result. We must decide with the time we have to establish better communication and cooperation among all members of the diocese, so that we can care better for each other in all things.
Sonja Morin
Fall River