Word to the Wise
Monday, November 12, 2012 - Monday in the 32th Week in Ordinary Time
[Titus 1:1-9 and Luke 17:1-6]For a bishop as God's steward must be blameless, not arrogant, not irritable, not a drunkard, not aggressive, not greedy for sordid gain, but hospitable, a lover of goodness, temperate, just, holy, and self-controlled, holding fast to the true message as taught so that he will be able both to exhort with sound doctrine and to refute opponents.
As I write this, the bishops of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops are gathering in Washington, D.C., for their semi-annual meeting. I'm sure that when the first scripture for today is read at their liturgical celebration, there will be a chuckle or two and maybe more than one prayer for divine guidance so as to avoid the pitfalls of high office. The celebration of the feast of St. Josaphat, BISHOP AND MARTYR, today could give them pause as well. St. Josaphat was martyred because some of his people thought he was trying to introduce Latin rite elements into their Ukrainian liturgy!
For most Catholics, the bishop is a somewhat distant figure who shows up in the parish from time to time for the Sacrament of Confirmation. The diocesan clergy who spend their lives working in one area, have a relationship with the bishop that is complex. He is a brother priest, but he is also a "successor to the apostles" and, if he is the head of the diocese [in big dioceses, the head bishop is called "the ordinary" and he may have assistant or "auxiliary" bishops], he is their "boss." For us religious order clergy (like me, a Dominican or Jesuit or Franciscan, etc.), the bishop is the one who runs the diocese and we play by his rules, but he cannot transfer us from place to place. He can only say, "Yes, you can work in this diocese", or "No, you cannot."
Catholics do enjoy some pageantry, and the visit of the bishop with his pointed hat (mitre) and shepherd's staff (crozier) is an occasion for pageantry! The job is a killer, however! The headaches are never-ending and the appointment lasts till one is 75 years old. Like a federal judge, a bishop remains a bishop even in retirement, and has to live with the identity till he dies. Yes, there are pitfalls of the kind that St. Paul warns about in his Letter to Titus. Like all human beings, bishops can be subject to weakness and fall in human ways. When one is "king" in one's diocese, who takes care of the "king?" And, as Lord Acton wrote in reference to Pope Pius IX, "Power tends to corrupt. Absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely."
We can pray for our bishops and do what we can to support them. They have a serious burden of representing Catholic faith on a level that most of us will not have to worry about. We can also insist that they measure up to St. Paul's standards! Some of them will be heroes, like Archbishop Romero in El Salvador. Others will serve their dioceses (or Vatican agencies) well or less well and with or without incident. The church will continue and the Holy Spirit will do its part to see that we get as as good a leadership as human choosing will permit! AMEN
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