An open letter to the American Bishops:

Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice! Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near. (Phil 4:4)

As you prepare for your annual meeting in Baltimore next week, please don’t forget the joy of the Gospel. It’s true that you have serious matters to discuss—including your own failures to protect children and steward responsibly the local Churches entrusted to your care. But as Pope Francis has forcefully reminded us, your primary responsibility as bishops is to proclaim the Gospel, the good news that brings us joy, not to scold people (including yourselves) for their sins and human weaknesses.

What the world needs now is authentic joy. We need to smile, to wonder at God’s creation, to laugh at ourselves, and to know that we are loved and appreciated and valued. You are called to give witness to this Gospel joy, not to wallow in sadness or self-doubt.

Rejoice in the Lord always, St. Paul tells. The Lord is near.

We have seen enough gloom and doom. We have cried too many bitter tears. We have lost hope too often. Show us the way to rejoicing—not in any superficial sense, but in truth and love. Show us how to encounter joy in the person of Jesus Christ.

Yes, with the help of God’s grace, you must address the current crisis caused by your weakness and sin as leaders and teachers and pastors. Yes, you must be held accountable. Yes, you must transform the customs and structures that have too often allowed clericalism and cronyism to be the modus operandi of Church governance. But please don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you can “fix” the Church’s problems by new laws (policies, charters or programs). Healing is needed—and so is hope—but these can only come with a renewed sense of gratitude and a profound experience of Gospel joy.

During the coming weeks, especially, you will be in my prayers and those of all faithful Catholics. We wish you Godspeed. We hope you can find in your ministries the peace of Christ and the joy of the Gospel. You need both to serve God’s people faithfully.

With sincere gratitude,

Daniel Conway

We expect too much from our bishops and priests and, so, are easily (and often) disappointed. 

Listen to these words from the second reading for today’s Mass:

It was fitting that we should have such a high priest: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, higher than the heavens. He has no need, as did the high priests, to offer sacrifice day after day, first for his own sins and then for those of the people; he did that once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints men subject to weakness to be high priests, but the word of the oath, which was taken after the law, appoints a son, who has been made perfect forever. (Hebrews 7: 23-28)

We expect our bishops and priests to be “holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and higher than the heavens” like Jesus. And they are not. They are sinners like us who have answered the call to follow Jesus in a particular way—as men subject to weakness who humbly represent 
the one and only “high priest” who has been made perfect forever. 

Only by the grace of God can they hope to live their vocation with integrity. Only by accepting and handing-over their weaknesses can they succeed in being Christ for others. 

We call it “clericalism” when bishops and priests exalt themselves as a privileged class. But it is also clericalism when we expect them to be super-human, “high priests” whom we place on pedestals only to be scandalized by their human sinfulness. 

Both forms of clericalism should be recognized as poisonous; both must be rooted out and destroyed if we wish to renew our Church.

Bishops, priests and all who exercise leadership in the Church must be held to the highest standards of morality and accountability. But the minute we expect them (us) to be perfect, we set ourselves up to be bitterly disappointed and angry. 

May the God of justice and mercy give us all the serenity,  courage and wisdom to accept our human weaknesses even as we work together to change and grow as faithful disciples of the one and only High Priest, Jesus Christ.