Catholic Courier: Becket Hall will undergo changes By Mike Latona/Catholic Courier
As Becket Hall observes its 50th anniversary this year, some changes lie ahead for the diocesan pre-theology program.
Details of the restructuring are outlined in a new document issued by Bishop Salvatore R. Matano: Fostering Vocations: Walking With Those Who are Discerning the Call to Priesthood With the Diocese of Rochester. The document was released to diocesan priests May 1.
Although the diocese will continue its many efforts to assist discerners, Fostering Vocations states that the local residence for men working on their pre-theology requirement is being dissolved.
…
Bishop Matano noted in Fostering Vocations that “a stable number of residents” is necessary for a conducive community atmosphere, as stipulated by No. 258 in Program of Priestly Formation, fifth edition. That document, issued by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, is “the normative guide to be observed in seminaries and dioceses,” Bishop Matano wrote.
I love how Bishop Matano relies on the documents of the Church to guide his decisions. May we all do the same.
|
If a young man wishes to determine if he has a vocation to the priesthood, one of the better ways might be to serve in a mission in a third world country and meditate on the Gospel’s preferential option for the poor.
The same holds true for women who are considering a religious vocation.
Thanks for that idea, Raymond. I think I’ll make that a requirement for any potential suitors who come calling on my daughters (that is if they don’t marry Jesus).
Ben:
Many modern nuns see themselves as sisters of Christ rather than married to Him. This may have significance as current role models go! Looking at marriage , you can get a divorce or an annulment. However, you have no means of “un-sibling” yourself which may be a stronger commitment. Look at Mary Magdalen as a sister of Jesus and discount the part where modern theologians ( fiction writer wanna be’s or behind on their Mastercard payments) say they were married.
Let’s not talk about sibling rivalry or birth order.
The creation of Becket Hall for men to determine if they had a vocation to the Roman Catholic priesthood was a noble concept. I know of at least 2 men who stayed at Becket Hall with that intention: one became a priest and the other came to the conclusion that the priesthood was not for him.
But I know firsthand, after Becket Hall was moved to the convent at St. Boniface Church in 1984, there were a significant amount of men who did not use Becket Hall for discernment to the Roman Catholic priesthood. While the numbers for Becket Hall may have looked better in previous decades, particularly the 1980’s, it is not prudent to conclude that there were more young men discerning the Roman Catholic priesthood.
In August of 1985, I had a Roman Catholic friend who I had met at church and other church groups and activities, tell me that he had just moved and had a new apartment. He then gave me his new telephone number for me to be able to contact him. When I called his new phone number, someone answered “Becket Hall.” I asked for this friend and he was summoned to the telephone. I questioned him with regard to his claim of getting a new apartment, and he responded that it was his new apartment, and laughed. He was a bit of a character, but a nice guy. I think he was between jobs at the time. He was far from the only one who used Becket Hall as his new apartment.
A group of us in a prayer group that met at St. Boniface Church, encountered various young men from Becket Hall who were not there to discern the Roman Catholic priesthood. Some of them had strange ideas on religion, and additionally, had no direction. A better percentage of them were between jobs. Becket Hall was just a flop house for some young men, and they were customarily thrown out at some point along the way when it became evident they weren’t interested in the priestly vocation.
A lot of parishioners of St. Boniface Church, groups associated with St. Boniface Church, and others in the community, were upset and angry when the Notre Dame Sisters were evicted from their convent (St. Boniface Convent) so their residence of many years could be used as a residence for discernment to the priesthood. There was a community of nuns there and they all had to return back to their main Headquarters/Motherhouse in Connecticut after being thrown out of their convent. The ire over their eviction was only fueled further when it was known how some young men were using that residence. (At least some good came out of that residence, but I do not think the nuns should have been pushed out of their residence. I think another residence should have been used, which was either already vacant, or had adequate empty rooms such as many of the rectories in the Diocese of Rochester.
I want to point out that while there are fewer numbers of men at the current Becket Hall location, those that are there appear to be seriously contemplating the Roman Catholic priesthood.
A history of the 50 years of Becket Hall:
http://www.catholiccourier.com/news/local-news/becket-relocates-to-former-rectory/
An explanation to the dissolving of Becket Hall and the new Becket Program:
http://www.catholiccourier.com/news/local-news/becket-hall-will-undergo-changes/
Within this last article detailing the new Becket Program, I noticed that there are stipulations for being able to enter Becket Program:
“for men who are enrolled in other academic programs or are working.”
I like Raymond F. Rice’s idea of discernment to the priesthood – “serve in a mission in a third world country and meditate on the Gospel’s preferential option for the poor.”
Raymond, I make a light-hearted comment and you have to start again ? 🙂
If any of my daughters become nuns or sisters, I’m pretty sure they will see themselves as brides of Jesus (not sisters) as they will not be exposed to “modern nuns” (if they even exist much longer).
Your gripe against the traditional analogy does not ring true as a civil divorce does not break the bond of marriage and an annulment says it never happened. So you can’t “un-marry” anyone just as you can’t “un-sibling” them. I’m not saying that nuns/sisters actually marry Jesus, but that’s the traditional symbol/language and I’m sticking to it.
Ben:
Lighten up/ it was half tongue in cheek!!!! 🙂
I made comments about this subject yesterday morning, but it has yet to be moderated, so I am rewriting my comments, hoping to be more concise.
1. I would like to say that Bishop Hogan, Msgr. Hogan in 1965, originated a noble conception of developin as a residence and program for men to stay when contemplating the Roman Catholic priesthood called Becket Hall.
The concept and creation of Becket Hall was in 1965. Becket Hall’s original residence was in a brand new building on St. John Fisher Campus in 1967. The Diocese of Rochester sold that building to the college in 1980, and it is now known as Murphy Hall.
2. The next residence for Becket Hall was the convent building on the St. Boniface Church site where a community of the Sisters of Notre Dame had been living for many years. The nuns were forced to vacate the convent and return to their main headquarters in Connecticut. The nuns in that convent were involved in various ministries and paid jobs. Before leaving, the Sisters of Notre Dame had a sale of religious items that had been part at their residence. Parishioners of St. Boniface Church and people affiliated with that church, as well as those in the general community, were upset and angry when the nuns were forced to vacate their convent to make way for Becket Hall. While most, if not all of these people did not oppose the idea of a residence for men discerning the Roman Catholic priesthood, they did oppose the selection of the new residence and the method of making it available. Personally, I think pushing an older community of devoted nuns out to make way for a residence of younger men is wrong on so many levels.
2. A. Becket Hall opened at the convent building of St. Boniface Church in 1984. For at least the first few years, I and others from a prayer group that met at St. Boniface Church, encountered some of the young men at Becket Hall. It was obvious to us that those we encountered hanging out, outside on the premises, were not seriously contemplating the Roman Catholic priesthood. They appeared to have no direction and we also heard strange ideas about religion from them. It was not uncommon for them to be without a job and or not involved in an academic program. It was not uncommon for them not see any reason to depart from their usual habits of going out on the town or dating. We learned from some of these young men later on, that they were being kicked out.
2.B. In August of 1985, a Roman Catholic friend who I had met at church and other church groups and activities, (a friend to many of us), told me that he had just moved and had a new apartment. He then gave me his new telephone number for me to be able to contact him. When I called his new phone number, someone answered “Becket Hall.” I asked for this friend and he was summoned to the telephone. I questioned him with regard to his claim of getting a new apartment, and he responded, “This is my new apartment!” and laughed. He was a bit of a character, but a nice guy. I think he was between jobs at the time. He was far from the only one who used Becket Hall as his new apartment.
Summary:
Becket Hall apparently was just a flop house for some young men, and they were customarily thrown out at some point along the way when it became evident they weren’t interested in the priestly vocation.
I know of two men who seriously discerned a calling to the Roman Catholic priesthood while at Becket Hall, at the St. Boniface Convent location on Gregory Street. One became a priest and the other discerned it was not for him, but choose another Catholic Christian vocation.
3. Becket Hall moved to the rectory of Church of the Most Precious Blood Church in July of 2006.
4. Becket Hall currently is in the rectory of St. Thomas More Church.
It appears that those currently in Becket Hall are seriously contemplating a vocation to the Roman Catholic priesthood. I somehow think the Diocese of Rochester toughened its criteria to get into Becket Hall. I believe currently you have to be enrolled in a 2 year pre-theology academic program.
Conclusion:
It would not be accurate to state there are less men interested in discerning the Roman Catholic priesthood at Becket Hall currently, than there were in past decades with regard to numbers.
I can understand why Bishop Matano made the decision to end the residence component of Becket Hall and rename it Becket Program.
I like RaymondFRice’s idea of discernment to the Roman Catholic priesthood – “serve in a mission in a third world country and meditate on the Gospel’s preferential option for the poor.” There are religious orders who do exactly that. They send those enrolled in a formation program to a mission area to serve the poor and marginalized before discernment of final vows.
Christian,
My apologies for not approving your comment sooner. For some reason, my CF email is ending up in my spam folder, so I didn’t notice it. fyi that any comment with 2 links requires moderation (not exactly sure why, but that’s how the spam detection works). If you want to avoid moderation in the future put the links in separate comments. I’ll eventually try to come up with a better solution on our end.
Raymond,
Regarding your “half tongue in cheek” comments… perhaps you could preface them with “I’m just trying to get a rouse, so don’t take my words seriously” or else refrain from typing them in the first place. It sure would save us some time around here. Or should we just assume all of your comments are not meant to be taken seriously? If that’s the case we could change your screen name for you so as to avoid such confusion.
Will there be any impact on St. Bernard’s as a result of Becket Hall’s closing? Also, it seems like fewer men are becoming permanent deacons. Does that affect St. Bernard’s? Is St. Bernard’s in discernment about its own future? Does it have a future as it is presently constituted? I’m glad that the Bishop of Albany is once again visiting the Diocese of Rochester and St. Bernard’s, although the “dynamics” are quite different from prior visits. Is considering the past and potential future cooperation between the dioceses re St. Bernard’s part of the agenda? Does St. Bernard’s report directly to Bp. Matano? Or to the new vicar general, Fr. Tomasso? So many questions; so few answers.
I somehow have got the impression within at least the last 15 years, the main focus of St. Bernard’s Seminary is aimed toward educational programs and degrees for laity involved in ministry, and educational courses, talks, or seminars to enrich the laity. I know that the educational program and degree for the permanent diaconate is also offered at St. Bernard Seminary.
I am sure there are courses offered for those who are in some stage of preparation for the priesthood, and there are also courses offered which ordained priests may choose to take, but I think the male candidates for the priesthood who enter formal seminary educational programs and training for the Roman Catholic priesthood have to leave the Rochester, New York area to attend a seminary elsewhere.
I would think St. Bernard’s Seminary is under the Bishop Matano’s tutelage. Essentially, anything that is Roman Catholic in the Diocese of Rochester is under the bishop’s tutelage.There may be varying degrees to how involved the Bishop may be with a particular organization, educational institution, church, or hospital, mostly due to time constraints and the number of these Roman Catholic entities and the area and distance they cover.
I believe Bishop Matano still plans to have the Becket Hall Program, but not have the Becket Hall Residence.
Hopeful, I can find no references to a “new Vicar General” online. Just the DOR administration list of “The Very Rev. Dr. Joseph Hart, Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia”. What did I miss? And when?
Mary-Kathleen,
I don’t think you “missed” anything at this point. It has been all word of mouth but from a number of different people. Fr. Hart is reported as going to pastor Queen of Peace and St. Thomas More, that Fr. Tomasso is leaving Mother of Sorrows to become Vicar General, that Fr. Coffas is leaving Becket Hall and going to pastor Mother of Sorrows. Also that Fr. Niven is leaving St. Patrick in Victor to go to Terra Incognita. If you know more, or can correct, please comment.
Ben:
I am serious all the time but try to present my ideas in a light hearted fashion so as not to sound like a Grand Inquisitor with a thistle stuck to his derriere. I am a believer also that a “spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down “( Mary Poppins )and “flies are more attracted by honey than vinegar” ( st Francis de Sales).
Henceforth I shall be more clear and concise and boom it forth like an old German Redemptorist who has heard confessions for many years!! And I may not be on here too often, given the number of barbs I have received in the past.This Blog is not for thin skinned pugilists!!
Pax Vobiscum
Fr. Tomasso to assistant priest at OLQP/STM. Margaret is staying as pastoral associate.