A recent study undertaken by The Catholic Project at The Catholic University of America had some good news to share. Overall, priests report high levels of well-being on the Harvard Flourishing Index, a comprehensive measurement tool used to gauge a person’s overall level of satisfaction with life. But the study also discovered a tension — until now undocumented but often discussed in seminaries and rectories — between diocesan priests and their bishops. And that tension is reflected in the fact that only 24% of Catholic priests, including religious priests and diocesan clergy, reported that they have confidence in the “leadership and decision-making” of the U.S. bishops.
Moreover, the study reveals how few priests (28%) report seeing their bishop as a “father.” At the same time, 70% of bishops report viewing themselves as a father to their priests. While the crisis of fatherhood in the American family has been well documented, perhaps it is time to consider the crisis of fatherhood in the Church?
Fathers are available
What does it mean to be a father? First, fathers are available. The father of a family makes time for his wife and children. His work is undertaken chiefly for their support, for their flourishing. Bishops who are perceived to be unavailable, standoffish or absentee in their roles as father to their priests fail their sons. And here, the priests’ perception is the story. If a bishop seems distant or unapproachable, he will inevitably actually become so unless he very intentionally acts to cultivate accessibility and presence for and among his priests.
The fatherly, available bishop doesn’t rush in and out of events at parishes; he takes his time to greet not only his people, but his priests, spending time in real conversation with them before and after. The fatherly, available bishop takes a phone call or answers an email himself in a time of crisis. The fatherly, available bishop schedules dinners with his priests for no other reason than to be with them. Like every good father, he is happy to “waste” his time with them.
Fatherhood and responsibility
Second, fathers are responsible. They do not abdicate their authority. By their presence and availability, they learn the intimate workings of their family. No one knows a family like an available father. With that knowledge, he is able to govern better. Unfortunately, at times, the desire for a bishop to be a good father to his priests results in certain policies or administrative systems that inadvertently exacerbate rather than bridge the gap of trust.
Consider the following scenario: Because a bishop wants to be more present to his priests, he decides to delegate administrative duties to another at the diocesan chancery. This position is most likely to be filled by an established C-suite executive who may be more adept at increasing profits and efficiencies than rekindling the fire of faith. In this scenario — happening in some dioceses in the United States — the executive effectively becomes a shadow, secularized bishop who has less understanding or sensitivity to the fundamental issues of the Catholic faith than the bishop would. Under a worst case scenario, the executive ends up holding a disproportionate level of power and focusing on primarily fiduciary or legal concerns rather than evangelization. Even if it means bearing with administrative inefficiencies or other missteps, Catholics will be better served by the gifts of their bishop when the man himself is shepherd, decision-maker and head.
Spiritual fatherhood
Finally, the bishop as father is first and foremost a spiritual father. The bishop who is a true father prioritizes initiatives that feed his flock spiritually. Our young people do not know how to pray — will our bishops pray with them? Mothers and fathers are uncertain how to hand on the faith to their children — will our bishops teach them? The spiritually wounded long to be able to go to confession — are our bishops willing to join our priests in salving the hurts of sin? Catholics of every age and stripe are longing to hear about Scripture and the saints — will our bishops share the wealth of our tradition? With these priorities, a bishop will live and model a renewed fatherhood for his priests.
To prioritize the spiritual life may well mean abandoning other initiatives in order to shore up the essentials of the practice of the Faith. How amazing would it be to know that, if they were to visit the cathedral on every Tuesday, for example, the faithful could hear their bishop preaching, like Augustine or Ambrose of old?
The findings of the Catholic Project expose a long-suspected reality: American diocesan priests are struggling to trust in and have a flourishing, familial relationship with their diocesan bishop. Some bishops may be surprised at this news. But challenges always make way for opportunities. If our shepherds hear this call to renew their priestly fatherhood with availability, responsibility and a revitalized vision of the spiritual life, that fatherly love will restore the wounded trust not only of America’s priests, but of the entire American Church.
Our Sunday Visitor Editorial Board: Father Patrick Briscoe, Gretchen R. Crowe, Scott P. Richert, Scott Warden, York Young
