I have decided to add three new terms to our list of banned words to kick off the New Year. They are as follows:

21. Worship Community
22. Pastoral Planning Group
23. Oversight Committee
24.

If anyone has any words which they do not see in the list to the right (scroll down) please put a comment to this post. The three phrases I added were added because of what they imply, not what the words actually mean. For instance: “worship community” sounds innocuous enough. “We worship as a community,” after all. However, this term has come to be associated with those who are afraid to say the word “parish.” I don’t know why. I guess “community” sounds more inclusive? Oh, we mustn’t offend anyone!

Pastoral Planning Group is a phrase which has come to be loathed by many in the Diocese of Rochester. Whether it’s the Irondequoit, Brighton, Monroe, or Whatever Pastoral Planning Committee, we associate these with forced closings, limitations on the role of pastor and priest, and blindness to reality.

“Oversight Committee” is a phrase which only a few of us have probably encountered. I will give you a scenario to better determine what this stands for: In the Our Lady of Lourdes + St. Anne Cluster, an oversight committee was established to help the two parishes grow together. It was formed with the following assumptions: Fr. O’Connor (Lourdes pastor) would retire, Fr.William Leone would be present to assist, as would Fr. Peter Abas and two visiting African priests. However, this committee’s plans were “tweaked” by its members when Fr. O’Connor retired early, Fr. Leone was deployed overseas with the National Guard, and the African priests went elsewhere when there were whisperings of Sr. Joan’s desires. So, instead of following a “contingency plan” where the two parishes would be led by a priest/administrator, the group invited Fr. Ed. Palumbos to come and take suggestions for who should be considered to take over the two parishes due to the immense confusion following all the changes. The following were told to Fr. Palumbos regarding “ideal strengths of a St. Anne/Our Lady of Lourdes administrator”:

• a love of Tradition and sacred choral music
• good with the elderly
• someone not afraid to do what should be done, liturgically
• someone who “loves the Church and the pope”
• someone with a background in liturgy
• someone with an education in sacred choral music.

And we all know the rest of that story, don’t we. So, in essence, “worship community” = liberal political correctness, “Pastoral Planning Group” = anything but “pastor-al,” and “oversight committee” = duplicitous body which follows political agendas rather than Church documents.

If you are at a parish with any or all of these groups, you have a duty and a responsibility to find out what exactly is going on. What is your contingency plan? Are the wishes of the parishioners being communicated to the diocese when the diocese claims they are? Each of these groups is responsible for some share in the crimes committed against the laity and the ordained priesthood. No one is blameless in the eyes of God – and that includes us. We should do more to combat corruption and liberal political agendas at work within our Church.

(photo not from DoR)

Nod of the miter to Joan F. for sharing examples – your input is greatly appreciated.

Tags: Joan, Progressive Drivel

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