Dear People of the Diocese of Shreveport,
I
Fr. Peter
Addresses Thoughts on June Conference and the Future of the Diocese A Letter from our Diocesan Administrator as we Near One Year Without a Bishop
begin this article on Pentecost Sunday, preparing for the gathering of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in Baltimore. A year ago this past June, His Holiness Pope Francis announced the transfer of Bishop Michael Duca to the Diocese of Baton Rouge and two months later, I was elected to serve as Diocesan Administrator. I have had the opportunity to participate in a variety of gatherings of bishops, including meetings with the Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops, accessing issues affecting Catholics and institutions in our state, as well as with the Catholic Extension Society and the bishops of mission dioceses who face similar struggles. In April, I participated in the ceremony of installation of Bishop David Talley, the former Bishop of Alexandria, as the new Bishop of Memphis. One of the archbishops told me then, face to face and in all seriousness, that, given all the other more important and pressing matters the Apostolic Nuncio is dealing with, I needed “to hunker down” as Diocesan Administrator as he did not foresee us getting a new bishop any time soon. In fact, dioceses that have been without a bishop less time than ours have already received new bishops. I cannot wait to approach the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, tomorrow! I have participated in USCCB meetings before. The first of these meetings was in November 2018, slated to have the vote of the century related to the Sexual Abuse of Minors or Adults by Clergy and “Standards of Episcopal Conduct” and to set up a “Special Commission for Review of Complaints Against Bishops.” We can all recall what happened next, the Holy See insisted that the American bishops delay the vote until after the February 2019 Vatican summit of all the presidents of bishops’ conferences worldwide to discuss the abuse crisis. Our common anger and disappointment was indelibly stamped on my consciousness and the experience is still fresh. That watershed moment in the life of the Church would wait until after all the bishops of the country meet in January of 2019 in a weeklong retreat with the Pope’s retreat master and until after the Vatican Summit in February and Pope Francis’ subsequent document, issued in May, to govern the world-wide handling of all cases. The meeting is about to begin. In the coming days, we will discuss
and vote on a document related to the ministry of Permanent Deacons, a document on the Ordination of a Bishop, of Priests, and of Deacons, the Church’s engagement with the growing population of the religiously unaffiliated (the so-called “nones,”) among other items. But the world will focus on the centerpiece of the agenda: four action items dealing with the investigation of abuse claims against the bishops, accusations they have been negligent in handling or covering up cases of credibly accused priests and other church workers. (Remember: a Diocesan Administrator is equivalent in law to a bishop so I have the same vote as any active bishop present.) As we anticipate this gathering of bishops, Pope Francis wrote his Apostolic Letter “Vos Estis Lux Mundi,” a new universal law to safeguard its members from abuse and hold its leaders accountable, a law which took force June 1st. It governs complaints against Church leaders worldwide regarding the sexual abuse of minors or vulnerable persons. We will debate and then vote on directives for implementing this Church law. As Pope Francis wrote: “The crimes of sexual abuse offends our Lord, causing physical, psychological and spiritual damage to the victims and harm the community of the faithful.” This upcoming business meeting is to approve several proposals to hold the bishops accountable. The Holy Father, in his letter, calls for a “public, stable and easily accessible” reporting system for allegations, clear standards for the pastoral support of victims and their families, timeliness and thoroughness of investigations, protection for “whistleblowers” making allegations and the use of “proven experts from among the laity.” This document strengthens the protections already in place and expands the definition of vulnerable adults to include seminarians and any person made to engage in sexual acts due to a power differential/ abuse of power and establishes a process for investigating various forms of misconduct by bishops. The metropolitan archbishop in each province will have the oversight for investigations – the Archbishop of New Orleans has oversight of our state. I am particularly glad to read of the importance of lay experts being used, so bishops are not policing themselves and the need for accountability and transparency is met. In
