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FROM THE EDITOR
Another
Victim of the National Bureaucracy
Ecclesiae de Mysterio meets a quiet
death in U.S.
(Nov./Dec. 1999)
BY MICHAEL S. ROSE
TWO YEARS AGO this month
the Vatican released its Instruction "On certain
questions regarding the collaboration of the non-ordained
faithful in the sacred ministry of priests" (Ecclessiae
de Mysterio). The Instruction addressed a variety of
common abuses regarding "lay ministry" and
reiterated Church norms, most notably with regard to
extraordinary ministers of the Holy Eucharist.
Upon receipt in the U.S.,
Cleveland’s Bishop Anthony Pilla, then president of
the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, formed an ad
hoc committee led by Toledo’s Bishop James R.
Hoffman to "study" this document and its
application in our country. Over the summer an SCR reader
wrote to Bishop Pilla via email to see what, if any,
decision was made as to curbing the abuses clearly
outlined in the 1997 Vatican Instruction.
She received this response
from Siobhan Verbeek of the NCCB: "Your e-mail of
July 10 concerning the ad hoc committee on the
Interdicasterial Instruction has found its way to my desk
for a reply. Luckily, the answer to your query is a
simple one: Namely, the ad hoc committee that was created
by Bishop Pilla to study this instruction has not
published any materials. In fact, since it accomplished
the objectives outlined for it by the president of the
NCCB, the committee ceased existence in November of last
year.
"As regards your
particular question concerning the proper authority for
interpreting the instruction, I would recall two points:
First, the instruction was addressed to the diocesan
bishops of the world, and thus it is the diocesan bishop
who possesses the authority of interpreting it. Second,
the very nature of an instruction is that it does not
impose new law, but rather seeks to explain norms which
are already in effect in the universal law. Again, the
local bishop remains the proper authority for seeing that
the norms of the Church are observed correctly."
Why then was it necessary
for an ad hoc committee to be formed to "study"
the document and its application in the U.S. when it was
the diocesan bishop’s responsibility all along? Our
bishops are supposed to be able and competent men, and no
doubt they can handle the task of
"interpreting" a straightforward Vatican
Instruction such as Ecclesiae de Mysterio.
Interpretation simply means that the diocesan bishop
reads through the Instruction, takes note of the
"norms which are already in effect in the universal
law" and sees to it that these norms of the Church
are being observed correctly in his diocese.
A bishop who understands
his role as shepherd of souls in his jurisdiction (the
diocese) as outlined by Bishop Sullivan in our lead
article this issue will, no doubt, instruct both his
priests and the laity to observe the universal norms of
the Church, and he will explain why the Church
calls us to do so. The first logical step would be to
mail out the Instruction to the clergy. Further, as Ecclessiae
de Mysterio states: "It is useful for the
diocesan bishop to issue particular norms concerning
extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion which, in
complete harmony with the universal law of the Church,
should regulate the exercise of this function in his
diocese." This would be a logical second step, to
address one of the main considerations of the document.
SCR is aware of the many
inquiries directed to diocesan bishops across the nation
regarding the Vatican’s Instruction, and many
bishops continue to respond that they are waiting for
Bishop Hoffman’s committee findings before taking
any action to curb the innumerable abuses that continue
to chip away at the Church in this country.
In our Sept./Oct. 1999
issue we published a review of Bishop Thomas J.
Tobin’s thoughtful response to the 1997 Vatican
Instruction. We’re not sure just how much Bishop
Tobin relied on the NCCB’s ad hoc committee and its
unpublished interpretation, but we suspect that it had
little influence on the Youngstown bishop. In other
words, he acted on his own authority as was his duty and
responsibility.
Perhaps other diocesan
bishops, especially those in the Ohio Catholic
Conference, could learn a bit from the youngest bishop in
Ohio.
* * *
THE ARCHDIOCESE OF
CINCINNATI recently announced its "pilgrimage
churches" for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000.
The 21 chosen churches were identified according to three
geographical regions. They are said to have been chosen
for their architectural and historical significance.
In the Cincinnati region,
these churches are: the Cathedral of St. Peter in Chains,
Old St. Mary’s, St Francis Xavier, Immaculata-Holy
Cross, St. Louis, Mother of God (Covington), and the
Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption (Covington). In the
Dayton region, the churches are: Our Lady of the
Immaculate Conception, Holy Family, Emmanuel, St. Joseph,
Holy Trinity, St. Mary, and Holy Angels. In the northern
region they are: Immaculate Conception (Celina), Holy
Trinity (Coldwater), St. Henry (St. Henry), St. Rose (St.
Rose), The National Marian Shrine of the Holy Relics
(Maria Stein), St. Augustine (Minster), and St. Michael
(Ft. Loramie).
SCR highly recommends
making a pilgrimage to all of the above churches. Those
chosen are arguably the most beautiful landmarks of the
Catholic faith locally, many of them as yet
"untouched" by the modernist elements of the
church renovation machine. (There are some notable
exceptions, such as St. Xavier Church in downtown
Cincinnati, whose interior has been painted a ghastly
blue faux marble). We especially recommend putting on
your pilgrimage shoes for Old St. Mary’s in
Cincinnati, the Cathedral Basilica in Covington (before
its interior is mangled by the church renovators), Holy
Family Church in East Dayton, St. Joseph Church in
downtown Dayton, St. Rose Church in Mercer County, St.
Augustine Church in Minster, and St. Michael in Ft.
Loramie.
Why, one wonders, were the
modernist edifices of the archdiocese not chosen instead?
If these new church designs ought to serve as models for
the Church in the 21st century, it only stands
to reason that Catholics of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati
ought to pilgrimage to "worship spaces" such as
St. John’s in West Chester, St. Charles Borromeo in
Kettering, St. Clement in St. Bernard, St. Ignatius in
Montfort Heights, and on and on.
[ St. Catherine Review ]
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