The archdioceses of Washington, St Paul and Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and Milwaukee celebrated the largest number of new priests in decades.

On 15 June, the Archdiocese of Washington celebrated its largest ordination class in 64 years. Cardinal Wilton D Gregory ordained 16 new priests, the largest number since 1960, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

The other three archdioceses also saw notable increases in their ordination classes. The Archdiocese of St Paul and Minneapolis welcomed 13 new priests, Los Angeles ordained 11, and Milwaukee saw nine men take up the priesthood.

Diverse backgrounds

The new priests in Washington range in age from 25 to 64, including a Rwandan genocide survivor, a former emergency room physician, and military veterans.

Cardinal Gregory praised the lifelong development of priestly vocations, supported by family and friends, and urged the new priests to centre their lives on prayer and the sacraments.

In his homily, the cardinal emphasised the importance of unconditional love, urging the new priests to "surrender your lives in imitation of the One who poured out His life for us."

In St Paul, approximately 3,500 people attended the ordination at the Cathedral of St Paul. Archbishop Bernard A Hebda highlighted the varied backgrounds of the 13 new priests, including careers in marketing, the Air Force and social work.

Archbishop Hebda noted that their skills and experience would serve them well in their new roles.

Faithfully serve Jesus

Archbishop José H Gomez ordained 11 new priests in Los Angeles at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. The new priests come from varied backgrounds including catering, therapy and sports.

Archbishop Gomez highlighted the importance of love in the priesthood, quoting St John Vianney - "The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus".

Milwaukee saw Archbishop Jerome E Listecki ordain nine men at the Cathedral of St John the Evangelist.

Archbishop Listecki emphasised the role of priests in shaping and forming communities through the sacraments and acts of charity, encouraging the new priests to "faithfully serve Jesus Christ in his church".

This record number of ordinations signifies a hopeful future for the Catholic Church in the US as it sees an influx of diverse and committed individuals step into the priesthood.

Sources

Our Sunday Visitor

CathNews New Zealand

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Both are usually held in conjunction with the national March for Life in Washington DC.

"After a consultation process that involved dialogue with other dioceses, ministry leaders, and the partners who assist the archdiocese in hosting the annual rally and Mass...[we have] decided not to move forward with hosting the larger multi-diocese rally."

Five months ago, the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, the 1973 landmark case that legalised abortion nationwide. The annual March for Life, which is now in its 50th year, began in opposition to Roe.

"During this consultation process, we heard from many dioceses who shared that they are turning their efforts to their state's March for Life now that Roe v Wade has been overturned," the Archdiocese of Washington said in a statement.

The archdiocese says the Youth Rally and Mass for Life had been held for over 25 years.

Its youth ministry website says the Youth Rally aims to "encourage the youth participating in the national March for Life in their witness as disciples of Christ and promoters of the Gospel of Life."

The Youth Rally is the archdiocese's largest annual event.

The archdiocese says last year, the Holy See granted a plenary indulgence for any Masses that were held in the archdiocese during the March for Life.

"As difficult a decision as it was to cancel, we encourage groups travelling to Washington, DC, to participate in the National March for Life at the National Mall and to attend the Vigil Mass at The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception," it says.

"Wilton Cardinal Gregory, archbishop of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, would like to express his deepest gratitude for the support and participation of archdiocesan youth and young people who travelled to Washington, DC, over these past 25 years," the statement says.

Youth from the Archdiocese of Washington have been invited for a Mass of Celebration and Thanksgiving at the Cathedral of St Matthew the Apostle on 20 January 2023.

Source

• Catholic News Agency

The only drawback is his age. Gregory, 71, will have to submit his resignation when he reaches 75, the age when every bishop must submit his resignation.

Whoever the pope is in December of 2022 will then decide whether to accept it.

If Gregory wants to accomplish anything, then, he will have to hit the ground running.

Normally, new bishops, if they are smart, spend the first year or two listening to their priests and people before beginning to act. At his age, there is no possibility of having a 10-year plan for the archdiocese.

Is he up to the challenge?

Yes.

Gregory has been a bishop for almost half his life, beginning as an auxiliary bishop at 36 years of age, only one year over the minimum age required by church law.

Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago, Gregory's patron and mentor, saw his potential and fostered his career.

Nor did Bernardin use him the way most diocesan bishops use their black auxiliaries — that is, put him in charge of an inner-city parish.

Rather, Bernardin made sure Gregory was prepared to shepherd a diverse flock. This served him well when, in 1994, he was appointed bishop of Belleville, Ill., where he was the sole African-American clergyman.

He was also thrown into the clergy abuse mess in Belleville, where he suspended five priests as bishop.

But over time his response gained mostly positive reviews.

Enemies

This experience served him and the church well when he became president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2001, just before the Boston sex abuse catastrophe broke.

As president of the conference, he was a real leader pushing the bishops kicking and screaming to adopt the Dallas Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People in 2002.

Gregory made a lot of enemies by pushing strongly for the charter.

His mentor, Bernardin, also began to lose favor as the papacy of John Paul II turned the church in a more conservative direction.

When Gregory was appointed to Atlanta, many church insiders concluded that he was being sent into exile. Bernardin, who died of cancer in 1996, had hoped Gregory would get Washington or another cardinalatial see.

You can bet that Bernardin is doing a victory dance in heaven.

Impeccable credentials

As I said at the beginning, Gregory will be good for the church, the city and the country.

He has impeccable credentials for dealing with the sex abuse crisis, which is essential for healing the church. He also is very pastoral, able to connect with people of all backgrounds.

He is smart and a good preacher.

He will also be good for the city, where the black population often feels marginalized.

He will be good for the country because he knows how to present the church's message of justice, reconciliation and peace without appearing partisan.

He is fully supportive of his mentor's consistent ethic of life, which is concerned about abortion but does not abandon the child once it is born.

His experience as president of the USCCB, where he often had to speak on issues of public policy, will serve him well under the spotlight of the Washington media.

Washington should rejoice to have such a good bishop; too bad we may not have him very long.

• Thomas Reese SJ is is a senior analyst at Religion News Service, and a former columnist at National Catholic Reporter, and a former editor-in-chief of the weekly Catholic magazine America.

"I believe that the only way I can serve the local archdiocese is by telling you the truth," he said several times in a news conference.

"This is obviously a moment fraught with challenges throughout our entire Catholic Church, but nowhere more so than in this local faith community," he said.

Gregory's predecessor, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, resigned in October after a Pennsylvania grand jury report raised questions about his handling of abusive priests in the 1990s while bishop of Pittsburgh.

Wuerl's predecessor in Washington, Theodore McCarrick, was removed from the priesthood after revelations he sexually abused a youngster and sexually harassed seminarians.

"I would be naive not to acknowledge the unique task that awaits us," Gregory said.

He said he is confident in the grace of God and the goodness of the people of the church as aids in facing his new responsibilities.

"I want to come to know you, to hear your stories, to listen to the emotions and experiences and expectations that have shaped your precious Catholic faith, for better or for worse. I want to offer you hope."

The ethnically and socially diverse Washington diocese "is home to the poor and the powerful, neither of which realizes they are both," he said.

Besides offering the faithful hope, Gregory also promised to rebuild their trust.

"I cannot undo the past, but I sincerely believe that together, we will not merely address the moments where we have fallen short or failed outright, but we will model for all the life and teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we will reclaim the future."

He said the archdiocese will move forward, "neither forgetting the past nor being constrained by it."

Speaking of the clerical-hierarchical culture behind the church's current sex abuse crisis, Gregory recalled the words of an older priest who outlined the temptations he would encounter while he was studying in Rome.

The priest told him: 'You will face the temptation for self-aggrandizement, the temptation for pleasure, and the temptation to power. And the most damaging and seductive temptation is that for power,' he said.

"And I think so much of what we're facing now was a misuse of power, an abuse of power, clerical power, power that was intended in too many cases to dominate and destroy lives."

When media asked Gregory whether he would address the misdeeds of his predecessors, he replied:

"It's difficult to come into a situation where there is unrest.

"I've known Donald Wuerl for over 40 years. I know he is a gentleman. He works very hard for the church. He's acknowledged that he's made mistakes. That's a sign of the integrity of the man.

"If I can shed light on what I think we need to do in response to some of the mistakes he's acknowledged and asked forgiveness for, I'll do that. Part of clericalism is circling the wagons so that the episcopacy won't call one another to task. I think this moment has shown the folly of that approach to episcopal governance and episcopal collegiality."

Source

• National Catholic Reporter
• Image: Catholic News Agency

Although he has not mentioned standing down, Cardinal Donald Wuerl has acknowledged calls from local priests and others for new leadership.

Allegations he mishandled clergy sex abuse reports - such as in relation to the alleged sexually coercive behavior of ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick - are behind appeals for his resignation.

Writing to the diocese's priests after a spending 90-minutes in prayer and discernment with them last Wednesday, Wuerl said:

"Among the many observations was that the archdiocese would be well served by new leadership to help move beyond the current confusion, disappointment and disunity."

Wuerl's letter also notes that during the period of prayer and discernment, he "heard voices calling for the beginning of healing. This I believe we need to do now."

Wuerl proposed a six-week "Season of Healing" beginning this Friday for prayer and recognition of the suffering of abuse victims.

In addition, he has promised to provide resources for the priests to respond to abuse survivors who may reach out to them.

A one-day healing retreat for abuse victims is also planned, which he says will include prayer and opportunities for professional counselling.

Wuerl, who succeeded ex-Cardinal McCarrick as Archbishop of Washington in 2006, says he had no knowledge of settlements paid to McCarrick's alleged victims, or of any complaints about McCarrick's behaviour.

Last month's release of a Pennsylvania grand jury report on clerical sex abuse of minors heightened public scrutiny of Wuerl.

It alleges that, over seven decades, more than 1,000 children had been abused by priests in six dioceses including Pittsburgh.

It goes on to note concerns about the way Wuerl managed priests who had been accused of sexual assault during his tenure of Bishop of Pittsburgh from 1988 to 2006.

Authorising the transfer and continued ministry of a priest who had been accused of committing acts of sexual abuse decades earlier is one such concern the report point to.

Wuerl denies knowing of the allegations when he authorised the transfer.

"While I understand this Report may be critical of some of my actions, I believe the Report confirms that I acted with diligence, with concern for the victims and to prevent future acts of abuse," he wrote.

While he was Bishop of Pittsburgh, Wuerl says he:

• Established a diocesan committee in 1989 (later called the Diocesan Review Board) to evaluate policies for responding to abuse allegations
• Implemented a policy formally encouraging Catholics making complaints to also report them directly to law enforcement agencies
• Sometimes informed civil authorities himself, even against the express wishes of the person making the allegations.

Source

• Crux Now
• The Washington Post
• Image: Last Commentary

The lawsuit was filed after the metro system banned the archdiocese's Christmas ads.

A series of ads promoting Christmas Mass schedules and ways to help the needy during the holiday season had been prepared.

They were to be shown on the sides of buses and on bus kiosks.

The graphics for the ads show the Three Wise Men and a couple of sheep looking at the star pointing to the place of Christ's birth.

The metro rejected the ads because they were religious.

"The rejected ad conveys a simple message of hope, and an invitation to participate in the Christmas season.

"Yet citing its guidelines, WMATA's legal counsel said the ad "depicts a religious scene and thus seeks to promote religion," a statement from an archdiocesan spokesperson says.

"To borrow from a favorite Christmas story, under WMATA's guidelines, if the ads are about packages, boxes or bags — if Christmas comes from a store - then it seems WMATA approves. But if Christmas means a little bit more, WMATA plays Grinch," the spokesperson added.

A metro spokesperson says religious advertisements have been banned since 2015.

"In 2015, WMATA changed its advertising policy to prohibit issue-oriented advertising, including political, religious and advocacy advertising.

"The ad in question was declined because it is prohibited by WMATA's current advertising guidelines,' the manager of WMATA's media relations says.

But the archdiocese says the metro has been inconsistent in the way it enforces the rule.

It claims the metro allows the Salvation Army, a Christian group, to advertise and allows Christmas advertisements that play into the commercial side of the season.

Source

• The Daily Mail
• WJLA
• Image: Dancing to God