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Press Release - NFPC Convention 2006
Priest Councils/USCCB Reps from Across the US Gather in Fraternal Call for Unity
News Release • National Federation of Priests’ Councils
333 N. Michigan Avenue • Suite 1205 • Chicago, IL 60601 •
Tel: (888) 271-NFPC (6372) (312) 442-9700 •
Fax: (312) 442-9709 • www.nfpc.org •
For Immediate Release
For Information contact:
April 27, 2006 Vic Doucette
doucette@nfpc.org
In its 38th gathering of priest-leaders from around the US and several English-speaking countries, the National Federation of Priests’ Councils, in prayer, presentation, discussion and sharing of fellowship sought insights and practical paths for building unity under the theme That You May Be One: The Community of Priests.
In his keynote address titled “Priests for Today and Tomorrow: A Spirituality of Living and Building Community,” Sulpician Father Gerald Brown, a priest of the Archdiocese of San Francisco and president-rector of St. Patrick’s Seminary and University in Menlo Park, Calif. emphasized “that, more urgently than ever, we need to build accessible bridges among us and to foster greater friendship, harmony, and collaboration if we are to fulfill our identity as agents of Communion.” He claims that diocesan priests are talking more consciously about their own particular charisms in the church, embodying “a sense of common mission, shared identity and ministry in the church, an apostolic spirit, and a commitment to each other that transcends personality, cultural, ideological and ministerial differences.” To live this identity in communio means, 1) seeking conversion from any personal or communal tendency towards “exclusivity, divisiveness, egoism and narcissism;” and, 2) trusting each other with respect, even reverence, dealing justly with each other, demonstrating a genuine interest in learning from each other, sharing our own experiences, journeys and hopes, and maintaining healthy and intimate friendships with priests, family members, and men and women from diverse denominational, faith and ethnic backgrounds “who can help keep us honest and faithful to our promises.”
In order to make this happen, Father Brown emphasized, priests need to take personal and communal action in creative ways to build relationships and make them happen, “to build bridges across the chasms of experience and ideologies that can so easily divide us.” He suggested 11 structures that local churches should have in place focusing on: regular priest gatherings; a unified vision and strategic plan for the local church; understandings of viable local models of priesthood; relationship building between the ordinary and his priests; fostering spiritual direction, prayer/support groups, relaxation and prayer times for groups of priests; qualified mentors for recently ordained, new pastors and new arrivals from foreign countries or other dioceses; well-conceived and well-planned programs for continuing formation focusing on spiritual renewal and contemplation, time away and sabbath, best practices and collaborative leadership techniques, and opportunities to explore one’s own culture and the cultures of others.
Father Brown pointed out that we share 95 percent of our spirituality in common with others but, as ordained priests, “we are called to be sacraments of Jesus Christ at the very core of our being. In Jesus Christ, we are called to be living signs of mercy, forgiveness, reconciliation and communion.” We do this in communion with our bishops and one another. Finally, Father Brown pointed out a distinction between having a spirituality for living and building community and a necessary complement to this of probing and developing for ourselves a spirituality of living and building community. And he then went on to suggest ways to embrace both of these components of priestly spirituality.
On Tuesday morning, Father Bob Silva, outgoing president of the NFPC and a priest of the Stockton, Calif. diocese, gave his final address, closing six years of dedicated service to priests and priest councils nationally and internationally. “It has been a turbulent time. What has pained me most is how anguished priests are. We are struggling with relationships with our bishops and with one another. In the midst of it all, we must turn to our light who is Christ.” Father Silva highlighted the words of Paul VI, John Paul II and, quoting Benedict XVI, “Christ is Risen because God is love. The Resurrection of Jesus is an explosion of love.” Father Silva added, “God is in us, so we must be lovers.” He mentioned the great grace it has been to witness the self-sacrificing, life-giving persona of so many priests, to witness the clear and unmistakable movement of the Spirit in so many. He closed by saying that we must defend the rights of our people, especially our children, but we must also defend the rights of priests. “The rights of priests are important. They are there to sustain him as a life-giver in his ministry.”
In a delightful, energizing and oftentimes humorous talk entitled “Unity and Diversity in the Church’s Liturgy,” Father Michael Joncas, priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, noted composer of liturgical music, and associate professor of Theology and Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn. took the gathered assembly on a journey through the struggles and tensions in the practice of liturgy over the past four decades. Highlighting areas of language, gesture, posture, environment and music, he made it very clear that we are still struggling with the best ways to celebrate the sacred liturgy, honoring the spirit of our tradition yet at the same time honoring the great diversity of culture in the human family reflected in language, music, custom and ritual.
Father Joncas elaborated on the tensions in adapting the wisdom and guidelines offered in Sacrosanctum Concilium, other documents from the Congregation for Divine Worship, Liturgiam Authenticam, and the struggles within ICEL. He offered several test cases in each of his focus areas. In regard to language, he used the example of trying to translate the simple Latin phrase Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabbaoth posing questions like: How do you translate without the presence of a verb? What are the Hebrew and Greek derivatives of the phrase? Is the holy, holy holy simply poetic emphasis, is it related to the Trinity, or a way to raise God above other gods?
In regard to posture, he used the Preface dialogue, and the awkwardness of first addressing the community, then transitioning into a conversation with God. As regards gesture, he highlighted the various ways both the priest and congregation engage in the Lord’s prayer, the intervening embolism, and in the final “for thine is…” reserved in the documents to the community. Fr. Joncas presented the contrasting development of external church building structures and inner church environments over the ages, each incorporating different forms from their periods as well as characteristics marking churches as fortresses and sanctuaries, and moving the presider from distant leader of worship to a celebrant among many, albeit with a unique role in the celebration. Finally Fr. Joncas talked about the development of liturgical music, again emphasizing the high sacral nature of Gregorian chant, but also the necessary integration of different forms that draw people into a deeper relationship with the sacred.
Fathers Brown and Joncas then participated in a panel discussion. Father Joncas observed that there seem to be four cohorts of priests: pre-Vatican II (how does the church interact with the world?), Vatican II (internally oriented struggles, e.g., women’s ordination, celibacy, lay involvement), John Paul II (evangelizing the world in a culture of death), and a new cohort just arising. He suggests that maybe the meeting point is in our male bonding: “It is good to be together.” Father Brown offered that perhaps the first questions we need to ask ourselves is, “What is it that divides me?” and “Am I talking to anybody about it?”
On Tuesday evening, Father Richard Vega, priest of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, was installed as the 13th President of the NFPC. In his remarks, Fr. Vega expressed his gratitude for the confidence of the priests of the NFPC and pledged his support in directing his energy in collaboration with the board toward building on the NFPC’s mission to support and develop priests councils and to the ongoing formation and support of priests.
Wednesday morning featured a panel discussion with three bishops: Most Rev. Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of Milwaukee and Chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Priestly Life; Most Rev. Blase J. Cupich, Bishop of Rapid City, So. Dak; and, Most Rev. David A Zubik, Bishop of Green Bay, Wis. and three priests: Father Joe Mayo, rector of the Cathedral of the Madeleine, Salt Lake City, Utah; Father Jayson Landeza, pastor of St. Columba, Oakland, Calif. and parochial administrator of St. Joseph the Worker, in Berkeley; and Father Larry Dowling, pastor of St. Denis in Chicago. Topics focused on healing from the sexual abuse crisis, need for dialogue and presumption of trust between priests and bishops, the need to resource priests in regard to liturgical and pastoral practice, the need to move from ad intra to ad extra emphases in ministry; how bishops and priests are overworked, overwhelmed and overstretched; the need for bishops to open the doors to collegiality, relationship building; the ache among bishops about the chasm that has grown between priests and bishops; the image of the cross and the hands.
Thursday morning featured workshops on: International Priests; Intentional Presbyterates; Lay Ecclesial Ministry; Priestly Wellness; and Addictive and Compulsive Sexual Behaviors. On Thursday afternoon the House of Delegates voted on revisions to the NFPC Constitution relating to overall governance structure relating to consultative bodies, representation of membership, term of office and manner of election of the NFPC president. On Thursday evening the NFPC honored Monsignor Doug Doussan, a priest of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, with the President’s Award for his extraordinary service to priests in his local diocese and nationally.
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