Two prominent members of the Women's Ordination Conference are currently in charge of Catholic parishes in the Diocese of Rochester. Sister Joan Sobala, SSJ is heading up the Our Lady of Lourdes - St. Anne Church Cluster, while Nancy DeRycke is in charge at Good Shepherd Parish.
Both of these women have now been granted what seems to be a special honor in DOR. Last September Bishop Clark visited Our Lady of Lourdes and formally installed Sister Joan as the cluster's Pastoral Administrator and this past weekend he was at Good Shepherd to lead the installation of Ms. DeRycke as its PA. (The latter must have been more challenging, as it seems the bishop needed 3 Masses to get the job done.)
It is no secret that Bishop Clark has said that he would be happy to ordain women as priestesses, if only Rome would allow it. Well, Rome has emphatically said that it lacks the power to allow it and so the bishop now seems reduced to these public displays of his support for their leadership.
To the best of my knowledge our bishop had never traveled to a parish to formerly install a pastoral administrator until last fall.
Isn't that special?
17 comments:
do you have a citation for "it is no secret that Bishop Clark has said that he would be happy to ordain women as priestesses, if only Rome would allow it."?
If you do, then I would think we need to write a letter to Rome. Has anything been done about this?
These installation masses by Bishop Clark are a slap in the face to the parishoners in the DOR. It appears as though the Bishop plans to do as much damage as possible before he either asked to step down or retires. I sure hope someone videotaped this installation mass and is planning on sending the video along with other supporting documentation to
Rome. Although the internet has it's evils, it has proven to be a great tool to get the word out. I'm sure it won't be too long before the installation mass is on youtube. For the time being, the parishioners are going to have to fight this battle in the short term.
Ben,
I don't have the reference handy, but it does date back to the 1980s, well before JPII issued Ordinatio Sacerdotalis in 1994.
IOW, it's old news that I'm sure Rome has been aware of for years.
There's a 1990 NY Times article online that touches on this and mentions Bishop Clark's role in drafting a USCCB Pastoral Letter dealing with this and other issues. See here, if interested.
Dr.K & Ben,
Dr. K.'s comment triggered my memory. That D&C article is still online, in the form of a quote in a Catholic Citizens article.
See here, about 1/3 of the way down.
Dr. K.,
Here's another, slightly older, one.
The facts speak for themselves. There is a clear and well documented history that demonstrates Bishop Clark's views and motivation. It is clear that he is trying to do whatever he can to destroy the diocese and ultimately affect the Church as a whole. In the meantime, we need to keep exposing the abuses that go on in the diocese. Perhaps local media should be notified so that they have something to report on other than just publishing AP stories.
I pray for the Bishops of the world when I pray the Third Glorious Mystery of the Most Holy Rosary. 40 days after Our Lord left the Apostles, they wound up cowering in a locked room. The Holy Spirit descended upon them. You know the rest of the story. While you meditate on this mystery, pray that the Holy Spirit aid all of the world's Bishops - including Bishop Clark. After all, our bishops are the direct "descendants" of the Apostles, who (with one exception) abandoned Our Lord.
I'm seeing more and more Bishops speaking out as they should. This can only be the work of the Holy Spirit. Pray that the flame grows. The Spirit worked through the Apostles. The Spirit CAN work through Bishop Clark.
In case you think that I'm some sort of "plant", I come with some credentials. I'm a Traditional Catholic who had to deal with Sr. Joan while she was P.A. of St. Felix/St. Francis. As such, I've seen and heard plenty. I enjoy camping. While out, I've attended mass at Good Shepherd and left with such a sour taste in my mouth that I vowed to drive the extra 15 miles in the future to avoid such an ordeal.
I know that you are following your conciences during these difficult times. I had to endure years of it. Just remember to pray for all of these people. God loves them every bit as much as He loves anyone. They did devote their lives to Him.
God Bless
Dr. K. wrote, "Apparently possessing heretical views is a requirement to be named "Pastoral Administrator" in the Diocese of Rochester."
We've got well over 100 Permanent Deacons in DOR. Some of these guys are still holding down well-paying secular jobs while raising their families, but there have to be others who are capable of running parishes and are available to do so. It would seem to be a perfect fit.
Maybe they're all too orthodox.
The CRONES of Rochester - sounds like the sequel to "The Witches of Eastwick".
I'm prayin' for you guys!
Finally got around to reading all the links. This is really bad. I converted to Catholicism in 2007. I had no idea how bad this diocese was. I thought I was joining a Church that had the fullness of the faith. Yes, I still think that's true, but this diocese is drifting away. Rome must know about all these shenanigans? If they do and choose not to take action, then I lose faith in them as well. Is there an organization that can assimilate all of this so we can petition Rome?
Ben,
First of all, welcome to the fullness of the faith!
Yes, Rome already knows about most, if not all, of what's going on around here. But, to be honest, I'd really be surprised if they took any public action. A bishop really has to screw up royally and publicly for Rome to take decisive action. Read up on the case of Boston's Bernard Cardinal Law and you'll see what I mean.
Bishop Clark has not publicly espoused any heresies, nor has he directly challenged Vatican authority. He's been careful to "nuance" his more controversial actions so that it can be claimed that any deviations from "the rules" are mere differences in interpretation.
That said, keeping Rome informed of everything going on here certainly cannot hurt. It may not result in Matthew Clark's early departure but it sure will make interesting reading for whoever his successor might be and help pinpoint trouble spots that he might want to address early on.
Finally, don't give up on Rome or the Church. We have no idea of all the issues Rome is currently dealing with and just where DOR ranks on its list of trouble spots.
Keep praying and asking God for help. He'll take care of things in his own good time.
Dr. K and Mike,
Thanks for the encouragement. It's just good to know there are others who are concerned and doing what they can to defend the Church
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