GIVE BISHOPS AND PRIESTS POWER TO THE LAITY

ONE OF THE VERY BIG LESSONS WE HAVE LEARNED FROM THE HANDLING OF THE ABUSE CRISIS IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IS THAT BISHOPS MAKE HOPELESS DAY TO DAY MANAGERS.

Currently, in Catholic dioceses, bishops have absolute power - and we know that absolute power corrupts absolutely.

The bishop and the priest are called to be spiritual leaders and spiritual leaders are not always good "temporal" leaders - and there is no reason for them to be.

The RC bishops claim that they are the successors of the Apostles a claim I don't buy into.

But if they want to be successors to the Apostles, then let them behave like the Apostles.

In the New Testament we read:

Acts 6:1-7 New International Version (NIV)

The Choosing of the Seven

6 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews[a] among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

This is a very example and model of how the Church should work. The bishops and priests should concentrate on their role as spiritual leaders and teachers and the day to day management of the church's affairs should be handed over to able men and women.

Take the diocese I live in - Down and Connor - as an example.

The bishop here - Noel Treanor - has become a CEO attached to his desk.

The only time he leaves his desk is to go to meetings - preferably in Europe with other bishop CEO's.

He has the personality that would make him a perfect fit for a job as a bookkeeping clerk who never has to interact with other human beings. His people skills are at zero and he comes across as having the compassion of a stone knife sharpener.

I suspect that Noel Treanor does not believe in God - or if he does he relationship with Him is like the relationship between Queen Elizabeth and the street sweeper outside Buckingham Palace - they never get near each other.

I have never heard him speak or preach with passion and conviction.

I have never seen him with his sleeves rolled up kicking a football around a schoolyard with primary school children.

It is quite clear to the clergy that Noel Treanor has no interest in going around his parishes every year celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation. Rumour is that from now on parish priests will confirm - even though Cardinal Sarah in Rome has said quite definitively that it is the diocesan bishop's duty to confirm personally.

So people like Treanor and many others have abandoned the practices of the Apostles and the early church and have abandoned prayer and the ministry of the word in order to look after church property, church finances, architecture, personnel management, schools etc.

The Apostles deliberately chose NOT to do these things so that they could concentrate on prayer and the ministry of the word.

If Catholic bishops think they are the new Apostles why are they not behaving like the Apostles?

The Irish Church started as a monastic church and the community lived around the monasteries and was under the authority of an abbot. 

One of the monks in the community - not necessarily the abbot, would have been consecrated a bishop without power or authority - in order to celebrate the sacrament of Holy Orders - ordination. Most of the monks were not ordained. They were simply monks.

The tendency to appropriate temporal power to bishops was a tendency that came from the secular world and that tendency grew during the middle ages when the episcopate became a monarchial episcopate and many of the bishops were from noble families and were the local landlords and civil authorities as well as bishops. In fact, the bishop bit was just an added on bit of power and status.

Over the years I heard many things on retreats that made great common as well as spiritual sense.

One of those gems of wisdom was about a priest or bishop who was so busy RUNNING dioceses and parishes that they forgot what they supposed to do:

"HE WORKED SO HARD FOR GOD THAT HE FORGOT THE GOD FOR WHOM HE WORKED"

Another:

"HE WENT OUT TO DO GOOD - AND HE DID WELL"

The Abuse Crisis is probably the biggest crisis that the church has faced for many centuries.

But there is another bigger crisis that is contributing to the Abuse Crisis - the crisis that bishops and priests are very often no longer men of faith, prayer the ministry of the word.

A holy bishop or priest will never abuse a child.

A holy bishop or priest will never cover up abuse.

And I do not mean PIOUS bishops and priests.

I mean HOLY bishops and priests.

Because true holiness is always marked by conviction, integrity and radical courage.

"There was a time in Ireland

When chalices were made of wood and priests/bishops of gold.

Nowadays,

The chalices are made of gold and the priests/bishops of wood"

When did you last surprise your bishop praying alone in his cathedral before the Blessed Sacrament when you went in to light a candle?

When did you last see your priest praying his Divine Office around the grounds of your church?