We’re all aware that there are a number of Pastoral Administrators in our area who think they are priests, want to become priests, dress and act like priests, etc. The newly appointed Pastoral Administrator of St. Pius X, on the other hand, does not appear to exude any of these negative attributes that have caused the DoR faithful much frustration with P.A.’s in the past. Bill Rabjohn wrote a nice piece for the upcoming SPX bulletin where he outlines the differences between an ordained priest and a lay Pastoral Administrator. In his article, he makes it clear that he is no substitute for an ordained priest. He also makes a few interesting statements about protecting tradition (though that may or may not be a good thing if St. Pius X’s traditions are less than traditional). Anyways, below is his article. I added some bold emphasis to statements which most impressed me.
Mr. Rabjohn’s article:
“The ministerial priesthood, on the other hand, is based on the sacramental character received in the Sacrament of Orders, which configures the priest to Christ so as to enable him to act in the person of Christ the Head and to exercise the power of the sacraments, to offer sacrifice and to forgive sins.
…
“Although known as the Pastoral Leader of our community, we shouldn?t confuse my role with the rich and vital role our brother Priests have in the Church. While a ministerial priest is Persona Christi and is closely related to Headship of Christ. My role is more along the line of Saint Joseph, betrothed to Mary, who protected andprovided for Mary and Jesus. My role is to provide for and protect our parish ministries, traditions and teachings. It?s more than cold coordination of ministry; like you, I am called to a holy life and to practice charity through establishing sustainable ministries within our parish, ensuring Roman Catholic doctrine, implementing good liturgy, assuring good Christian stewardship of our resources, and allowing our priests to be who they are in the body of Christ. It is in this sense that I am the pastoral leader. Yet, no Pastoral Administrator will ever replace the role of the Ministerial Priest. Laity and ordained have different but complimentary tasks in this life that lead to a profound unity.
This year has been designated as the ?Year for Priests.? We are called to pray for an increase in priestly vocations. I suggest we not only pray but work towards helping those qualified to respond fully to the call. We do this by fulfilling the wider call to grow in holiness through practical charity; in so doing, we will witness the good of our traditions to the next generation of Catholics through our own spiritual maturity.
Bill Rabjohn
brabjohn@dor.org”
Sounds like St. Pius X has received a huge upgrade over their former leader. Yes, the priest who campaigned for the ordination of women and an “inclusive” language Bible. Mr. Rabjohn mentioned twice in this article that he has a duty to protect tradition and the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Let us pray that he will take these duties seriously and see that the authentic Catholic faith be taught to the parishioners of SPX during his tenure as lay administrator. Maybe this man will become a model for the other P.A.’s in the Diocese of Rochester.
Update: Reader and fellow DoR Blogger, Ben Anderson, informs us that Mr. Rabjohn has a blog available at:
http://fedbytheword.blogspot.com/
The blog hasn’t been updated in a while. Hopefully he’ll get around to posting again when things settle down.
Tags: Orthodoxy at Work
|
I would like to see Sr. Joan just once say that she is not a priest.
wow – we totally just posted about the same thing:
http://www.fallaciesandfashions.com/2009/07/spx-model-parish-for-diocese.html
LOL. I swear I didn't see your post before putting this up 🙂
His words must truly be significant for both of us to find them so interesting. I think he'll do a good job, but I've been disappointed before. Time will tell.
~Dr. K
and I swear I didn't see yours! who would've thought orthodox bloggers would be bumping into each other like this? kind of shows we're earning our keep. btw – he really is a great guy and he has a blog:
http://fedbytheword.blogspot.com/
but it hasn't been updated in a while (he's been busy).
Thanks, I posted the link at the bottom of the post.
~Dr. K
This man must have gone to a different school than Joan Sobala.
Refreshing!
Clearly the best Pastoral Administrator in Rochester.
As I've mentioned on other blogs, the Deacon Pastoral Administrator at St. Michael's does a fine job. Let's make sure we don't lump the Deacon Pastoral Administrators together with the group at large!
Let's see how the new administrator @ St. Pius does – he hasn't been there very long. The Deacon @ St. Michael's has been there for several years.
The Deacon we have at All Saints Parish in Corning, also does a fine job, he is devout, fairly orthodox, and willing to listen to all sides and has actually been convinced to try more traditional elements. He puts up with a lot of junk from all sides,
While he is of a Charismatic bent when it comes to liturgy, He stopped most of the funny business with masses and lay preaching, and we have had a Latin Chanted mass at 7:30am on the first Sunday of the month for the past 10 months. This only happened because he sponsored it, and protected me and the schola I formed from the onslaught of the music and liturgy directors, and the DRE who wanted us banished before we started. 11 months later and we're getting ready for our 11th mass and planning for a second year.
Leadership makes all the difference in the world. Also, a certain amount of distance from Rochester doesn't hurt either! 😉
That sounds great Cpt. Tom! Please keep us informed about your schola.
In reference to Bill's education, his Christian education comes from a Protestant up bringing and Protestant higher education. He will do well since our Protestant neighbors seem to take it more seriously.