The Book of Bishops - The Szoka Era (A Resolution?)

Anthony Kosnik's obituary provided a very simple descriptive of that troubled moment:

 As a result of very strong opposition to the book by conservative elements of the Catholic Church, and his refusal to recant, Tony's contract at SS Cyril and Methodius Seminary was not renewed for the 1981-82 academic year. This led to strong student and faculty protest, as well as confrontation with the Archbishop, and eventually resulted in his appointment to the faculty of Marygrove College, in Detroit. Tony directed the M.A. Program in Pastoral Ministry at Marygrove from 1983 until the time of his retirement in 2000.

Short; sweet' simple - however, maybe a bit too brief and simple. At least from what I remember, maybe someone was trying to keep the descriptive brief or perhaps they were just trying to remember events from off top of their head. At any rate at least some of my recollection is at variance, particularly the cited dates.

My recollection puts this as happening in late winter and early spring of 1982, which would mean that the contract renewal in question would have been for 1982/1983. A bit later I will let you know why I stick with those dates.

As to the issue at hand, for me, before making any moves, especially any based on an "unnamed source" phone call, I decided to check the facts. I placed a phone call to Kosnik's office where, as might be expected, calls were not being answered. Fortunately, I had his private number and that worked. I got to speak with him directly and heard him confirm that a new contract was not being offered to him. 

While there was no evident, crystal-clear evidence of any Person in Great Authority being involved in this decision, speculation about an ultimate and greater source was certainly present. Tony was not going public with anything or making any public statements, especially any speculative statements.

Of course there was nothing to prevent me from speaking with the press. Just be careful!

And that was an important element and piece of wisdom.

After all, even if a certain bishop was behind this, well, the bishop of any diocese certainly had the authority and sometimes even the duty to call for the transfer of a priest within that diocese. And back then we were still operating under the older Code of Canon Law which emphasized strongly a bishop's "rights."

Furthermore, as the chief teacher and guardian of orthodoxy within the local Church, the bishop had certain duties. These were not questionable and still should not be.

However, there was another question that seemed at play in this matter. It could be called academic freedom or academic license. It did not and should not mean that the academic field should be "free" to do anything or say anything or think anything at all. There were and should be boundaries but also a certain flexibility for academic development, for growth and deepening and advancing - even in the fields of theology. Research should never be ruled out.

After all, Vatican II would not have been able to present us with the beautiful renewal of liturgy except for academic study, discussion and development. Other Constitutions and documents, likewise, evidence theological growth and development. Matter of fact, without such growth and development, we might be relegated to the ancient practice of allowing the Sacrament of Penance to be administered only once in a lifetime after Baptism. No third chances back then! But growth, development happened.

So, the real question emerging from all of this was - what is this action possibly saying regarding academic development in the area of theology?

And as a teacher, this question and its answer impacted me and every other theology faculty member!

And when, somehow, the story leaked out to the local press, this was the question set out before the public. And when, a short time later, the National Catholic Reporter made contact with me for comments on this breaking story, this was my point of focus.

And along with the story breaking in local and national news, I began to get phone calls from students asking what they could or should do. 

And an opportune moments was definitely presenting itself.

Just days after this breaking event the Archbishop of Detroit, Edmund C. Szoka, was hosting a unique gathering of clergy and laity from the Church of Detroit for the first ever Archdiocesan Assembly. The numbers would be sizable enough to fill the seats of the auditorium of Sacred Heart Seminary.

And somehow those gathering for that Assembly were greeted (as was the Archbishop on his arrival) by a significant crowd, carrying signs, of course, and asking in their chant, what was going on at Orchard Lake and with Father Anthony Kosnik. 

And that questioning did not abate or disappear inside the seminary auditorium. Delegates to the Assembly picked up the question and began to take to the public microphones joining in the search for clarity.

Oh! And I was nowhere near that scene!

I had received still another "unnamed source" phone call. And this is why I also know that the obituary dates may be off. This had to be happening in 1982 because early that year I had decided that it was time for me to consider moving on from my current pastorate. I was considering a new opportunity and folks Downtown knew this. In fact by this time I had my eyes on one particular parish and that was also known.

So the phone call I received was a simple word of advice.

"If you want that assignment, you had just better settle down!"

I got the hint.

I shut my mouth. 

Shortly afterward I was named pastor of the Church of the Precious Blood in Detroit, a ministry that I assumed in 1982. I was also, then, added as adjunct faculty at Sacred Heart Seminary temporarily until another could get academically qualified to take over full time.

Oh, and Tony's contract was actually renewed. An understanding and agreement managed to be reached. He stayed on for one more year and then gracefully resigned. He chose to not renew!

And he was allowed to take on another teaching assignment, continuing to use his academic gifts now at Marygrove College.

And from my new position at Precious Blood Parish new opportunities unfolded for interacting with Edmund C. Szoka! The fun had just begun!

Watch for more in the weeks to come.

The Book of Bishops - The Szoka Era (Dawning)

 And now we arrive at memories of what may well have been the most significant of my Memories of Bishops - The Szoka Era.

Edmund C. Szoka came to the Archdiocese of Detroit following the retirement of John Dearden. His origins were Pure Michigan and his episcopal roots were as the first bishop of the Diocese of Gaylord.

When John Dearden came to us from Pittsburgh, he bore the reputation of being "Iron John," steel cold and inflexible. Edmund Szoka came with no such designation. He really did not need a nickname. His actions spoke loudly enough. I suspect that there are some who would even suggest that Iron would be too flexible and pliable a material for describing Edmund Szoka!

His voice -- his very presence -- one glance from him -- any of these could make even those very strong tremble in their boots.

I think that may have been why the Szoka Era played such a significant part in my life.

And having set out that descriptive, now let me back up a bit and capture a prelude to our very first encounter.

I was back from my studies at the University of Notre Dame and I was newly positioned as pastor of St.  Clement of Rome in Romeo, Michigan and still very early in this process, with that new degree safely in hand and no office job to accompany it, I was asked to join the faculty of SS Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Orchard Lake, Michigan.

They needed someone to handle this newly emerging "science" of liturgy and all of the emerging documents and at that time in our history, such qualified persons were few and far between. However, I was a newly appointed pastor who had just spurned a bureaucratic full time position.

It was agreed that I would serve as adjunct faculty, maintaining my parish life while setting aside time weekly each semester to provide needed courses in liturgical theology.

I would have the best of both worlds (so to speak) or just maybe the worst!

But honestly, teaching was exhilarating and I especially enjoyed interacting with the students, often learning from the examples being set by lay students, newly being admitted to theological studies and exhibiting deep appreciation to what, far too often, seminary students were then taking for granted.

And the Dean of Studies, my immediate supervisor, was also a joy with whom to work. He was then becoming a well known theologian, Anthony Kosnik. He even had a book about to be released. It would prove to be, for back then in the 1970's, a very radical work on human sexuality.

And that is where my first real up close and personal encounter with Edmund Szoka would take place.

I had been serving on the adjunct faculty of the seminary for a number of years when "It" happened. Matter of fact, I had also been in parish as pastor for even a slightly longer period of time.

During this span of time there were numerous occasions when I would have the occasion to meet with and have discussions with Tony Kosnik. Mostly we spoke of educational approaches and techniques on the graduate study level. I do believe that we both felt strongly about how subject matter should be handled when dealing with those who had arrived at  this particular level of learning.

But then one fine day I received a phone call.

And do not try and even pretend that, at least back in those days, even Archdiocesan Offices did not have news leaks!

This caller, aware that I was working, even if part time, in the seminary and also with Tony Kosnik, just wanted me to be informed.

Anthony Kosnik was being removed from his position!

He was not going willingly. He was being ordered out.

And guess, just guess who might be giving the order!

Watch for more in the weeks to come.

The Book of Bishops - The Dearden Era (Payback?)

The days of late July, 1967 in Detroit are still remembered by those who lived through them and still talked about and even studied by those hungry for some lessons in history. These were the days when the streets of Detroit erupted in anger and frustration, days of our very own home-brewed troubles.

Following these days of turmoil and trouble many leaders sought to learn the lessons needed to move forward. One such leader was the Archbishop of Detroit, John Dearden. By this time the Second Vatican Council was finished and its impact was clearly felt on Detroit's Archbishop.

One of the ideas he developed for responding to the Troubles of 1967 centered in the annual fund-raising drive, actually inaugurated years before, by his predecessor, Archbishop Edward Mooney. That was the Archdiocesan Development Fund. (ADF)

Each year in springtime this fund-raising drive swept across all parishes raising funds for a variety of purposes, all necessary and all just too expansive to be handled by any single parish. Funds were raised to purchase properties for new parishes, for enabling and enriching educational endeavors, for counseling projects and the like. And each year Catholics across the Archdiocese proved themselves generous again and again.

Until the year after those Troubles of 1967.

That year, to the mix of charitable causes already funded the Archbishop added special outreach into the Black Community, providing seed monies to enable self-help efforts at bettering lives.

But far too many were having no part of this added effort.

Too many Catholics back then were still not ready to hear the powerful message of the Gospel in terms of true outreach to neighbors.

The ADF in 1968 tanked in terms of raising designated funds.

And it continued to tank the next year and the year after that.

Recovery would be a long time coming.

Then came the surprise for me personally.

I cannot remember today exactly what year it happened but I do know that I had managed to avoid that desk job downtown, the heat was off and I was settling into my position as pastor out in Romeo.

And the call came.

Archbishop Dearden had named me as that year's priest chair for the ADF!

And he was calling on me to work closely with the newly named lay chair to strat bring a robustness back to the ADF!

Payback for letting me settle into a parish position instead of sitting behind a desk? Who knows. What I do know is that for the next two years I would be front and center as the clergy face for the ADF and I would be spending a whole lot of time in person and on the phone with brother priests convincing them to get behind the efforts and bring this important effort back to a strong, healthy life!

Oh! And that also meant having a "make-over." Seems I was one of those "with the times" and my hair back then was a bit too long and too curly.  And those glasses! The kind that would darken when impacted by sunshine! Get rid of them. Photos of me had to be of a straight-laced, clean-cut, respectable looking cleric! The pros got busy and I got that make-over.

And I got to meet and work with the lay chair of the ADF who was also the president (and I guess in today's terns CEO) of the Burrough's Corporation, at that time one of the leading local innovators in computer technology. This was back when computers occupied whole rooms and even whole floors! He introduced me to the future and shared visions of days ahead and brought me in on the ground floor of a dawning era.

And we actually did, also, turn the ADF around, hitting target once again after a number of years of falling short.

And I have John Dearden to thank for that part of my life.

But then he retired and his replacement was named - the bishop of Gaylord, Michigan, someone named Edmund Szoka!

And if we thought Dearden was Iron John when he came to Detroit, we were about to get a lesson in what Iron truly meant.

Edmund Szoka was coming to Detroit. The Szoka Era was about to begin.

And some years of real "fun" were dawning!

Watch for more in the weeks to come.

The Book of Bishops - The Dearden Era (Fact/Fiction)

 This tale is one not often spoken of, in fact so infrequently has it been told that even some close to me (including family members) have probably never been aware of it.

At least until now.

And part of it is definitely fact but there is also a part that remains and will remain questionable, uncertifiable, not able to be documented or proved due to the fact that principles involved have passed away and so leave a part that cannot be authenticated.

Let's begin with the fact part.

I had never considered myself as an "academic." True, I passed through those early grades and then college and seminary grad school rather easily. However, given the choice between settling in with some classic tome or playing a couple of games of pinochle, one could easily find me at the card table.

However, evidently others, certainly some in high places, saw things differently.

And John Dearden saw a potential need to fill.

The winds of change were clearly in the air in the Catholic Church and John Dearden was definitely impacted by them. In his wisdom he realized that work would be needed to enable the folk in the pews to enter wholeheartedly into the spirit of the dawning age.

One critical area to be addressed was that of liturgy. The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council had made this the number one item on their agenda, acknowledging that reform was needed and long overdue. As a result new tools, books and documents were being prepared and needed to be studied, understood and introduced in such a way that the average Joan (or Joe) would be at home in this strange territory. (I might be inclu=ined to say"new" territory but there really was nothing new emerging. Rather, we were rediscovering our ancient roots.)

At any rate a handful from the Archdiocese of Detroit were tapped to engage in advanced studies, the plan being that this would provide a resource pool for introducing the coming books and documents to the Church of Detroit.

I was among that handful chosen and selected for liturgical studies at the University of Notre Dame.

I accepted the call with one very important and strong stipulation.

I would be allowed to remain in parish ministry.

I believed then and still do today that far too many get advanced education and then get removed from the common folk. They wind up in office jobs or teaching positions with hardly any regular contact with real people and their lives. I did not want that. I would resource the Archdiocese. I would teach when called on. I would do whatever might prove necessary but all of this just as long as I would never be removed from the daily life of a parish faith community.

Agreed!

So the assurance was given to me.

And off I went for graduate studies in liturgical theology at the University of Notre Dame (where, by the way, I decided not to ever try out for the football team!)

And four years later the mission was accomplished and I was full time back home, diploma in hand. Actually, diploma was not yet in hand when I returned home. I skipped the commencement and had the parchment mailed to me. But I was back home.

And in only a matter of days I was called Downtown for a special meeting.

And at that meeting I was informed that in a couple of months I would be receiving a new assignment. Of course, it would be an office job, heading a department Downtown.

That promise of my remaining full time in a parish? Well, forget it. There was a greater need. And I had a couple of months to get used to the idea.

But I also have at least a little knowledge of things like politics and bureaucracy and how they work.

I left that meeting, traveled across the street and down the block into another set of Archdiocesan offices. And there I asked what parishes might be open and looking for a full time pastor. My thinking? If I got a new assignment, it would be guaranteed for six years and no one could move me for that amount of time without my full agreement.

And I also figured that one department would not know what the other was doing until, hopefully, it was too late.

And sure enough!

A parish was open and looking for a pastor and I could apply even though I was still so very, very young. And I applied. When the time came, I got the phone call.

I had been appointed pastor of St. Clement of Rome Parish in Romeo, Michigan.

And by Canon Law I would become untouchable for the next six years unless I agreed to move!

And the phone call that I received shortly after getting this news was from a different Archdiocesan official who, needless  to say, was not a very happy camper. Such language! And from a cleric!

And that is the fact part of this story.

Now the undocumented part.

Well, for some time after there were still movements to undo the assignment. It was a sort of "get him out of that parish and back down here where he belongs!" situation.

And then suddenly - silence.

The movement stopped and I was left in peace.

It was only some years later, too long after these events to document or verify, that I was told, "Did you know that John Dearden intervened?" He finally stepped in and told those officials whose plans had been upset that they should just leave me alone.

"If that is what he wants, if that is what he believes he is called to, just leave him alone!"

Fact? Fiction?

Don't know.

What I do know is that it sounds like John Dearden and in the months and years after, I joined the adjunct seminary faculty, gave many a presentation throughout the Archdiocese, resourced in the area of liturgy in numerous ways, but never left parish life and the real, day to day faith community.

And eventually, someone else was groomed for that position that I managed to avoid. And life has gone on.

And we have all somehow survived!

And that is fact!

Watch for more in the weeks to come.

The Book of Bishops - The Dearden Era (I See You!)

 It was not quite four years after Iron John Dearden arrived in Detroit than he was off in 1962 to Rome for the first session of the Second Vatican Council. Sessions of that Council lasted until its conclusion in 1965, reshaping so much of the Catholic worldview.

And somewhere, somehow within that very process good, old Iron John also began to melt.

I can find no other way to describe it.

By the end of the workings of Vatican II Iron John was no more.

Instead we found ourselves dealing with a man who had, somehow (call it the working of the Spirit,) been radically transformed.

Instead of iron cold, steely, hard and inflexible, John Dearden was now warm, approachable, engaging and, well, downright pastoral.

He was actually a joy to speak with, to listen to, to learn from, to be with.

So amazing was the transformation in this man that he was the one whom his peer bishops from all of the United States elected as their first president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops! His hand would guide the Church of the United States through the often unfamiliar waters of the post-Vatican II Era.

It was this John Dearden that I finally had aa chance to meet, greet, sit and speak with and even get to know somewhat personally. Until this time my dealings with him were what might best be called remote - singing or assisting in other ministerial ways at services.

And the really up close but still frankly impersonal moment - my ordination to the priesthood. His hands anointed me. His hands rested on my head. His hands clasped mine as I was commissioned to set Word and Eucharist before God's People.

But my up close and personal meeting with John Dearden did not come until a few years later.

By this time I was in my second assignment, a parish on Detroit's Eastside. I also had a couple of years of graduate studies in liturgical theology at the University of Notre Dame under my belt. I was becoming a liturgical resource for the Archdiocese of Detroit.

And that is when my first one on one came with John Dearden.

Until that time we had never met up close. Never spoken other than, perhaps, a word or phrase of courteous greeting. To John Dearden I was just one more face in that crowd of so many who constituted a part of the Church of Detroit.

One more nameless face!

Or so I thought!

He had come to our parish for Confirmations and, as was expected, there was dinner beforehand with the clergy of the parish. (Remember, this was back in those ancient times when parishes actually had more than one priest! We had four at that time plus weekend help!)

Anyhow, after the obviously elegant dinner and courteous but general table conversation, and before  the Confirmation ceremony, much to my surprise, John Dearden took my arm and pulled me aside and said, "Let's have a chat!"

He led into a sitting room away from the gathered crowd. We sat down.

And that is when his next statement blew me away.

"I understand," John Dearden, Archbishop of Detroit, said to me,, "That you disagree with my theology of Confirmation!"

Now how could he possibly know that?

He had definitely done some serious homework before coming to the parish. And we were definitely not strangers, faces in the crowd to him - at least I certainly was not! John Dearden knew me and whatever his sources, they were good! Very good!

He knew my theological position on Confirmation!

He saw me!

And, yes indeed, I did disagree with his position. I had actually never said so in public, announced it from the rooftops or anything like that but my studies had been leading to some research and conclusions that put us sort of at odds with each other. In a word, our starting points were different and as a result, our conclusions were different.

Really,  I am not sure if I should even describe this whole moment as being at odds. Maybe if I were dealing with Iron John that would have been the case but this was no longer Iron John.

And it showed.

"Let's talk about your conclusions," he invited.

And we began a discussion on the theology of Confirmation!

And he listened to and showed respect for the sources I was citing and, when appropriate, he countered with his views tempered by candid admissions of not really having explored the actual subject in all that depth!

That evening so long ago I truly met John Dearden.

And we had a decent, respectful conversation. At its ending he concluded by saying (and I still deeply treasure this comment) "I cannot, at this time, agree with your conclusions but I will always respect your stand and if ever a guest in your parish, I will respect your theological conclusions!"

John Dearden was a pastor of the finest class!

Watch for more in the weeks to come.

The Book of Bishops - The Dearden Era (Birettas)

 

That is a biretta!

And I wanted you to see the item that will be the center of attention for this writing so that you do not in any way get confused. After all, I do believe that there is a quite different item which is also could easily sound almost like the item of which I am writing.

That other item is a beretta.

And that is a gun.

This is about the hat not the gun.

The funny looking hat called biretta.

It's a clerical garment, rarely seen anymore, although I suspect there are some of you who may still be seeing clerics proudly wearing these things as if to announce that they are really from a previous century.

There was a time when all Roman Catholic clerics wore bettas.

And I grew up in that time.And in my junior and senior years of college, all students of philosophy, as normal, daily attire topped our heads with birettas.

Or at least that is what some in authority thought.

John Dearden, then Archbishop of Detroit (AKA Iron John, remember) was one of those who assumed that we dressed properly with those birettas on our heads.

And in my senior year of college at St. Mary's, Orchard Lake, this newly-arrived bishop of Detroit was about to make his visit to our campus.

And part of that visit would include a uniform inspection!

Which meant, get those birettas out from wherever they may be in your closets!

For some it even meant get to that religious goods shop and buy yourself a biretta.

Everyone of us would be properly uniformed and that definitely meant a scramble for birettas.

Iron John would tolerate nothing less than full dress uniform!

And this event also occasioned a very important lesson in anatomy as well.

Until then I never knew (and bet you did not know until reading this) that God gave us those seemingly useless little fingers solely for the purpose of properly balancing birettas!

That little finger on your left hand, the one you thought was merely decorative, well, it is the biretta finger!

We were, in anticipation of Iron John's visit, schooled, trained, rehearsed in how to courteously welcome and greet our new Archbishop while balancing our biretta firmly on the little finger of the left hand.

Biretta on head (as a hat should be) and then methodically moved with right hand from head downward and into left hand and securely attached to that left pinky, held firmly in place while the right hand clasped the Archbishops hand and the head bowed to kiss his episcopal ring.

Soldier!

You have nothing on those ancient seminary routines!

And for Iron John, we were sure to know well the routine.

And he judged us to be good, model seminarians, promising future priests.

After all, we had birettas,

We wore birettas.

We knew how to handle those clerical tools.

And we knew why God gave us a little finger on our left hand.

Our birettas witnessed to the very quality of our clerical potential.

We had birettas.

At least until Iron John went home!

 

Watch for more in the weeks to come.

The Book of Bishops - The Dearden Era

 John Dearden came to the Archdiocese of Detroit from Pittsburgh. Edward Mooney, who has been Detroit's archbishop, had died while awaiting the openning of the conclave in Rome to elect the successor to Pope Pius XII.

It was in very short order after Mooney's passing that the new archbishop was named.

He came to Detroit with a nickname said to embody his persona.

Iron John!

That was the nickname and reputation that preceded him as he moved to Detroit.

And early on my dealings with Iron John began.

They were remote dealings at first, kind of second hand.

My mom's family had come to Detroit from Pennsylvania, a small - and I really do mean "small" - town called Rossiter. It was a coal mining town where families knew well what it meant to get dirty earning a living.

However, it seems that one of the town's natives had made good for himself. Jacob Shiner had become a priest. Word, as I remember it, was that we were even somehow related. At any rate, this priest, Jacob, rose through the ranks to become the secretary to the then archbishop of Pittsburgh, John Dearden. 

First contact point!

And I did tell you that the initial contacts were rather remote!

The second "contact" was rather equally remote.

At the time of the new Archbishop's installation, I was a junior in college at St. Mary's, Orchard Lake. I was also in the choir there and we were asked to join several other choirs in singing for the installation. It was not only a great honor but also something of a mandate. After all, this was the installation of Iron John!

The day of the installation arrived. Rehearsals had taken place. It was time to depart for the event. One small matter remained. Getting there.

It seems that, for a handful of us,  our scheduled ride was unable to make it.

And those were the days when seminarians could not own, rent, lease or in any way actually have a car. The only autos on campus were those of faculty and institution employees. And by the time we discovered that our ride was not coming, faculty going to the installation had already departed.

One car remained for certain, at least one that we knew of.

It was that of an elderly philosophy professor who was not attending the event.

However, seminary rules prohibited any faculty from loaning a mere seminarian a car, at least without permission from higher up, meaning the rector of the seminary, and he, of course, had already headed off to the installation.

We begged. We pleaded. We invoked the reputation embodied in that title, Iron John. All to no avail. 

Finally one of us, not saying who (protecting reputations) invoked a principle directly from the philosophy class taught by that very professor.

Epikeia!

An awesome, ancient principle of ethics.

Epikeia. n. The principle in ethics that a law can be broken to achieve a greater good.

Iron John will not be happy with this seminary if he learns that we could not get to sing at his installation because of some rule regarding use of faculty automobiles!

Break the law to achieve a greater good! We want him to like us!

And so the keys were handed over to us and we were on our way.

And while that Big Man way up there at the altar of the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament never knew it, some voices in that choir that day were singing because reputation that had come with that bishop from Pittsburgh. And a seminary rule had been broken just to make that sound happen.

Iron John had arrived in Detroit!

Watch for more in the weeks to come.