Continuing the Conversation Another voice
McCabe, Thomas A
Thomas A. McCabe Continuing the Conversation Another voice I would like to join the conversation begun by Margaret O'Brien Steinfels (December 20, 2002) and continued by David O'Brien (February...
...Priests in particular are "badly organized" and for the most part "stick to their parishes, speak well of the laity, and hope for the best...
...O'Brien says members of the church need to organize, but he does not hold out much hope...
...one who listens well...
...and "one who has special concern for the poor and undocumented...
...Thomas A. McCabe, a former priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn, lives in Garrenville, New York...
...The important thing here is that an attempt is being made by an association of priests to offer their voice in the selection of their next bishop...
...Concerns have been voiced that some groups in the church want to use the priest crisis "to push their own agendas," as, for example, an agenda against homosexual priests or an agenda for married priests...
...VOTO sent these names and the list of qualities to Archbishop Gabriel Montalvo, the Apostolic Nuncio in Washington, D.C., asking that he forward them to the Holy See...
...Other priests want three distinct diocesan chapters of VOTO, since that would allow for more decisions to be made at the local level...
...VOTO has no specific agenda on such issues...
...Brooklyn was chosen because the current bishop, Thomas V. Daily, has reached the retirement age of seventy-five and has already submitted his mandatory letter of resignation...
...I would like to draw attention to one group of priests in the New York City area called Voice of the Ordained (VOTO...
...At the present time, there are 194 members of VOTO: 131 active priests, 63 resigned priests, most of whom are married...
...The qualities respondents were looking for included: "One who is committed to collaboration...
...The following received the most votes (along with another who requested that his name not be given to the press): Auxiliary Bishop Joseph M. Sullivan...
...Archbishop Montalvo wrote back to VOTO's steering committee that, "as a matter of course, the nunciature takes into judicious account all the information it receives from any quarter in the matter of the provision of a diocese...
...We have a long way to go, but we offer VOTO, no matter how its final structure develops, as an organization that is not, in David O'Brien's words, simply "standing around, waiting for the Holy Spirit to straighten things out by sending new leaders for offices in the hierarchy...
...Steinfels is correct when she says the present crisis has come about in part because the Vatican has consistently appointed bishops who "have spent too much time in Rome, too little time in parishes, and too much time lobbying for higher office...
...The structure of VOTO is still being worked out among the three dioceses of Rockville Centre, New York, and Brooklyn...
...Of the fifty-one priests and bishops who were nominated at least once by those who responded, forty-seven (92 percent) were men from the Brooklyn diocese, indicating a very strong sense that the next bishop should be someone with firsthand experience of the diocese and its personnel...
...VOTO's structure will be worked out over time...
...He is a member of VOTO's steering committee...
...VOTO is, instead, an organization that is seeking to be heard and to make a difference...
...Some celibate priests want the married priests to be part of the organization because the latter bring a certain energy and diversity to VOTO...
...and Monsignors Martin T. Geraghty, Raymond F. Chappetto, and Peter V. Kain...
...Thomas A. McCabe Continuing the Conversation Another voice I would like to join the conversation begun by Margaret O'Brien Steinfels (December 20, 2002) and continued by David O'Brien (February 14, 2003) and others on what is to be done regarding the crisis in the U.S...
...others would rather meet alone, with the married priests as "associate members...
...Priests and laity are almost never consulted...
...It simply wants to have a voice in all matters affecting the church...
...Catholic Church...
...When pressed for names, he replied that he could not disclose them because they are covered by the "Pontifical Secret...
...Formed a year ago, VOTO describes itself as a "free association of men ordained in the Roman Catholic Church in any of the dioceses of the New York metropolitan area...
...He and his wife Eileen have four children...
...The primary goal of VOTO is straightforward: "To give its members a voice on issues that in any way affect the life of the ordained or the church in general...
...The important thing is that these priests are beginning to organize...
...humble but not intimidated by the Vatican...
...We think that means yes...
...He also noted that he had done his own consultation among the priests of Brooklyn...
...Membership is open to those ordained men whether they be in active ministry, have retired, have married, or continue as single men...
...Some priests want membership to be spread over the three dioceses because, as Steinfels notes, this is an "ecclesiological crisis," that is, not limited to one diocese...
...So late last year, VOTO's steering committee decided to ask priests in Brooklyn whom they would like to see chosen as their next bishop, and what qualities he should possess...
Vol. 130 • May 2003 • No. 9
