Glorification of clericalism?
I am writing to tell you that I am deeply disturbed, not to say angered by the article "DEFINING PARISH MINISTRY" by Mark F. Fischer in the November/December issue of " Today's Parish Minister.
I quote, "Professionalism can intimidate ordinary parishioners. It can lead to the wrong conclusion that real ministry pertains to the professionals only." Stercus Taurorum and a pox upon your house! The conclusion about ministry in the Church is already in. It is conducted by people who are chosen by the priests because they know the mysteries of the rosary by heart. The lack of professionalism in the Church is the root cause of many of the problems. I could name some of them, but I would take too much of your precious time. Look around. You'll have to admit that professionalism in ministry is non-existent...OK, maybe about 20%, to be generous. This guy Mark Fischer teaches in a seminary. I can just see now what he is teaching. "Remember, you're the one with the education. You're the leader; you're the ordained one; you're the one with the magic Moses wand; don't too many professionals into your inner circle, the "little people" won't relate to them and you won't be able to control them." It's a great day for the glorification of centralized clericalism.
Labels: ministry, TodaysParishMinister
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2 posted by Ideas for the Whole Community at 10:25 AM
2 Comments:
Nick's reply:
You make some excellent points. I especially note your comment that the lack of professionalism in the church is the root cause of many problems. I would agree with you on that point. However, as I read Mark's article, I don't really find any place in which he tells pastors they are the ones with the education and to limit their professional staff to a small inner circle. It seems to me he is asking parishes to do the opposite. There is a danger that the lay members of the parish might be excluded from their baptismal call to ministry if there is a small, tightly knit, inner circle of professionals who run everything by themselves. So, as I read the article, he is asking the professional ministers to see their "profession" not so much as "music minister" or whatever their title is, but more so as animator and coach to enable a broad and deep level of participation of all the faithful in the ministries of the parish. I noted this especially when he quoted Cardinal Mahoney's letter (page 17 of the article). That is the point I was hoping Mark would make when I asked him to write the article.
Paul's reply:
Thanks for the kind words. I must confess that the blurb beneath the picture had the power to cause my action and drove me away from reading the rest of the article. I have been around the Church for long time and I have fought numerous battles defending myself on many fronts in my efforts to surround myself with the highest caliber of ministerial and business professionals.
I haven't died young because God is still looking for a way to drag me across the threshhold of the Pearly Gates.
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