Bishops' Lenten Appeals: Let them practice what they preach!

The big push for the diocesan Bishop's Lenten Appeal was today. It actually was scheduled for last week, but, with all the snow, the pastor postponed if for a week. Other parishes probably did the same. That meant, of course, that the bishop's homily didn't match the readings for the day,  but after making all those CDs....

I'll be honest. My husband and I don't support any diocesan collections these days. Frankly, we didn't even give to the Haitian Relief collection through the Church. We did some research and contributed to a  different group. I just don't trust the bishops any more to use our money in any responsible and accountable way. Check out all the posts on this blog about the USCCB scandals, the CCHD scandals, etc. ad nauseum and you'll get the picture. Oh we give to the Church and to charity, an absolute obligation, but in our own way: monthly donations to the Poor Clares, our parish development fund, and a crisis pregnancy center; donations to activist pro-life politicians (yes, I consider that charity for the unborn); and other periodic donations to solid Catholic colleges and individual ministries we find trustworthy. I don't find the diocese trustworthy. When the Virginia Catholic Conference uses its Catholic Advocacy Day to lobby on bills about immigration, the death penalty, and scholarships for the poor, but takes a neutral position on a bill supporting personhood for the preborn (HB 112) - well - they just don't deserve either my trust or my money.

With regard to the BLA here in Arlington, I have a lot of questions. First of all, why do we have to have a professional fundraiser who eats up a significant chunk of the contributions, not to mention the cost of the slick insterts in the diocesan paper, the multiple mailings, and the handouts in church. A few years ago, a priest in the diocese serving as a parochial administrator met his church's goal for the bishops' capital campaign. (Can't recall the name of it at the moment - there's always some slick slogan.) He was punished by being demoted back to an assistant pastor position because he didn't do it according to the fundraiser's manual. If the CEO of Ford treated  an effective employee that way, well, it certainly wouldn't be very smart. But I suppose the priest showed that all that money going to the fundraiser was unnecessary when a hard-working, beloved priest could just ask and the people would open their pocketbooks and meet the goal.

But the thing that bothers me most about the BLA is using the Mass to manipulate people into pledging. We started today with an audiotaped homily from the bishop. (Isn't a recorded homily a liturgical abuse? I know several priests who won't play the recording. Good for them.) After that the pastor went to the pulpit and led the people in the pew giving detailed instructions on filling out the pledge card. "Now write your name and address on the proper line. Now select the amount you want to give and check the box, etc. etc." We did not take the card and neither did the couple sitting next to us. Somehow I can't see St. Jean Vianney, the patron of parish priests, using his homily time that way. But in many places the bishops are quicker to serve the Almighty Dollar than Almighty God. And God help the parish priest who disobeys as did the administrator I mentioned previously. (Actually, using the function of parochial administrator as a trial position for pastor is NOT in accordance with its purpose in canon law. cc. 538-541; 549)

I'm sorry not to be able to contribute directly to the diocese, but I don't think our money is being well used. Spending over a million dollars renovating the convent at St. Thomas More to fix up a luxury mansion for the bishop's house is hard to square with the spirit of poverty that should imbue the life of any cleric. I know bishops and diocesan priests don't take vows of poverty, but where is the spirit of voluntary sacrifice and voluntary simplicity that illustrates the life of even the wealthiest saints? And what's with tripling the size of many offices at the chancery since Bishop Loverde came? And why is the chancery door locked with two receptionists on buzzer duty?

Frankly, I'm sick of bloated church bureaucracies with locked doors (like the USCCB offices in Washington, D.C.) where the people have to run the gauntlet to get anywhere near chancery administrators. I've reached the point, after addressing many scandals and getting a regular run-around, that I believe some employees are just there to provide cover. Why does a bishop need a PR person and speechwriters? There is something fundamentally wrong with the way things are going in the Catholic Church in the U.S. these days. Many dioceses operate more and more like the White House rather than God's house.

Which means we need to pray hard for poor Holy Mother Church, the battered bride of Christ, whose beauty has been so disfigured by so many with the responsibility to protect and defend her.

Lent is a good time to spiritually reflect on how to respond to problems in the Church. Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are important components of the preparation leading up to Easter. But may I suggest you be spiritually smart about your almsgiving. If your bishop is still supporting the CCHD and other questionable fundraising programs that advance abortion and same-sex marriage, cut him off. It's too much like giving clean needles to a drug addict. But don't just cut off the money. Send a lovely letter assuring him of your prayers and tell him where you're sending your money instead.