Editor’s note: The following letter was sent to Our Sunday Visitor by a priest in a diocese near the Diocese of Steubenville. Read Our Sunday Visitor’s editorial about the prospective merger of the Diocese of Steubenville here.
To my brother priests in the Diocese of Steubenville,
I write to you to let you know that you are not alone; there are other priests throughout the country who see your plight. We hear you, we are praying for you, and we are with you. As a priest in a small neighboring diocese, I watch with a vested interest as your story currently unfolds. And I know I am not the only one who is watching closely.
As Bishop Jeffrey Monforton told the Pillar, he expects his current process to be a template for the extinctive merger of other small dioceses in the United States in the coming years. Right now, you are feeling the rumblings of an interior earthquake. You are in danger of having a radical shift in your life, possibly to be taken up into an entirely new diocesan structure, moved hours away from your homes and expected to serve a population that is much different than the one you originally discerned and promised you would serve at ordination.
This is not the worst part of your current suffering, however, it seems to me. Worse is that this is being done without your consent and, indeed, without even your consultation. You are intimately involved in the work of the local Church in Steubenville, and you were not given a voice in this process until the 11th hour. It was not until a year after your bishop consulted the other bishops of Ohio that he revealed his plan to you.
Now, like disenfranchised children, you are supposed to watch while the wheels turn and you have practically no say in what is taking place. The next step is for this to be brought to the whole body of U.S. bishops at the USCCB general assembly later this month. Who will speak on your behalf? Will a bishop in the USCCB tell your side of the story? Will a voice provide a different perspective on this merger? Your voice has been diminished, and you are feeling your helplessness as these developments continue.
In the face of all this, I am moved by the letter that the younger half of your presbyterate (14 out of 36 priests) along with two retired priests and two deacons sent to the bishops of Ohio on Oct. 18 in which you highlighted important statistics that had been overlooked. Further, despite extraordinary financial and sexual abuse scandals, you still boast 50% weekly Mass attendance and higher participation in the synodal listening sessions than several other dioceses in your region. Finally, you also noted the diocese’s financial solvency, even in the face of the recent $4 million payments to taxing agencies due to the financial scandal.
In this letter, you also summoned yourselves to evangelization. Noting the 50% drop in the percentage of those who consider themselves Catholic, you recognized how important it is that you lead your diocese in more vigorous evangelization. I believe this could be the good fruit that God brings out of this painful process. A greater commitment to evangelization from the priests and the people would be a great outcome. You could set an example for the rest of us! Your final paragraph was so inspiring:
“With the Holy Father, we clergy ‘wish for a Church that is poor and for the poor!’ Most importantly, we are blessed to already live in that reality for which Pope Francis longs for the universal Church. With specific actions and changes in diocesan governance and administration, with the work and help of our people, with God’s continued blessings, and, ultimately, with your allowance, we can keep this local Church alive and we can produce great fruit for the Kingdom of God in the years to come. We beg Your Excellencies, please allow us to do it.”
The outcome of this process will impact clergy all over the country. The recent report from The Catholic Project highlighted the gap that already exists between bishops and priests who should be related like a father to a son. Only 36% of priests surveyed felt that their bishop would help them “very well” if they went to him with a personal struggle. In contrast, 93% of bishops said they would. This is a huge discrepancy. Priests already feel significant distrust for their bishops, and the unwillingness or inability to hear their priests in situations like this will only magnify the problem. Top-down processes with effectively non-existent consultation, like this one, will greatly exacerbate the current division and distrust.
And still, the Lord is at work. Your present suffering can produce still greater fruit in your ministry. The priests of Steubenville are particularly well positioned to teach us all how to handle this breach of trust, how to surrender to God’s providence and how to suffer it all fruitfully. Betrayal marked the life of Our Lord, and our own experience of disagreement conforms us most powerfully to his cross and to his priesthood. I pray that this extinctive merger will be delayed for the sake of a more consultative and discerning process. I also pray for your virtuous response as you pass through this crucible.
Brothers, may you “Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus, Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave” (Phil 2:5-7). Show us how to stand with our people, not losing hope in the power of the Holy Spirit, confident that the Lord can bring about a new springtime from these dark, wintry days.
My brother priests, you must speak the truth, but in charity, remaining faithful and obedient. Remember always that no goodwill comes from disobedience (cf. Prv 17:11). We are praying for you and praying for our bishops with confidence that “all things work for good for those who love God” (Rom 8:28).
