Bear with me, I am just making an observation and asking a few
questions.
We all know about the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. We know that pastors are in charge of the
souls over whom they have been placed.
We know that they, and other priests, are primarily responsible for the
sacraments being offered for the people.
But what is a pastor, really, and what is he supposed to be
doing?
What happens, for instance, if by extension of his ministry,
a pastor finds himself in the position of spending time away from his parish in
the interest of educating, inspiring and evangelizing people both in and out of
the church?
I was thinking about Bishop Robert Barron recently, of Word on Fire fame. He is all about social
media. He does podcasts and pilgrimages
and is an informational resource extraordinaire. How does he have time to be a bishop?
From what I can see, he has people in charge of the media
end of his ministry and I would guess he relies heavily on them to keep things
moving.
But what about the pastor who has the same natural drive for
evangelization and social media, or enjoys public speaking engagements (or any
other particular charism), but does not
have the support staff to run a “business” allowing him time to pastor?
For sure, Bishop Barron is not the only ordained priest
active in evangelization and actively using social media, but he does stand out
because of the breadth of his ministry.
Even Archbishop Fulton Sheen embraced the public teaching
element of his ministry and reached millions of people back in the day. Those were simpler times, for sure, but I
expect his episcopal work was still all-encompassing.
In the diocese where I live and move and have my being (Acts
17:28 😊),
due to the limited number of vocations and our bishop’s commitment to having a
priest in every parish, pastors are more frequently running two or three
parishes. Now what if you add into that
mix a priest’s evangelistic drive as well?
How can a pastor manage all of that, or does he have to squash his
natural evangelizing skills?
Here’s the thing. I
would instinctively say his first responsibility is to his parish and the
people to whom he serves. Seems like a
no-brainer.
But the more I think about it, this question crops up:
What if his teaching, etc., which is a good thing, keeps him
so busy that he does not have time to take care of his people, what is he
supposed to do?
I’m just asking, really.
I see that under Canon law (and I am definitely no expert
here!) that a bishop is given a solution if his problem is too few priests.
For instance, a pastor of a particular parish is called to
exercise his care of the community, and under his authority he carries out his
priestly functions which are teaching, sanctifying and governing. He does this in cooperation with the other
priests and deacons, with the assistance of lay members. (Canon Law 519)
But, if there is a lack of priests, a bishop can entrust a
deacon, or someone who is not a priest, or even a community of persons, to
assist the pastor in the pastoral care of a parish. (Can 517 §2)
I know this is a jump, but that being said, I wonder if we
need a shift in our thinking to the extent that the door should be opened wider
for priests to teach, sanctify and govern without putting their attentiveness
to their parish at risk. They could do
this by depending on those “others” who can legitimately give them qualified
assistance.
It seems to me, everyone wins—pastors might actually have
more quality time for the people of the parish when the administrative work (within
his purview of course) is taken care of by utilizing the gifts of the
non-ordained, plus, the people he reaches outside the church who are drawn in
by his particular way of proclaiming the gospel also benefit, thus widening the
circle of evangelical activity.
You could say this is already happening in a lot of places,
and that would be true, but it is not happening everywhere, dare I say, to the
detriment of our parishes and communities at large, and our overworked pastors.
Will the face of the church and the pastorate have to change
to allow them to use their natural gifts and let someone else participate in
the administration part, as well as assisting pastorally?
Maybe as a church, we need to look more carefully at this
growing challenge so that pastors are better able to serve the people. We have to recognize that not everyone called
to the priesthood desires to be a CEO.
These men who have dedicated their lives to God—out of their love of God
and his people—deserve the opportunity to fulfill that call.
So what is a pastor and what is he supposed to be doing?
Well, governing a parish for one thing. This IS part of the work he is called to do,
but I would argue that in the same vein that Bishop Barron oversees his media
empire, a pastor could still oversee the governance of a parish and broaden his
evangelical, or teaching work, as well, IF he had the help and resources he
needed to do it.
Good stewardship by the people in the pews could go a long
way in terms of helping provide the necessary support staff and resources.
Of course, it simply cannot be said enough that the members
of any given parish—all of the baptized—are also responsible for proclaiming
the gospel in the particular way in which they are called as well.
This rising concern (of pastors being overworked and laypeople
being under- utilized) may not be resolved quickly, but in the very least, I
think we need to work toward a shift in our approach to ministering to God’s people,
as well as taking care of the ministers themselves.
The Amazing Parish Minute:
"The journey toward becoming
an amazing parish is a long one, but it begins in a moment of silence, in
the mind and heart of the pastor. Very few will have the desire,
skill or time to fulfill every leadership function that is required... The
only way for that to happen is for the pastor to prayerfully acknowledge
and accept his ultimate responsibility as a leader, and to turn to God
regularly for the grace and wisdom needed to step into that role without
fear."
God bless,
Janet Cassidy
janetcassidy.com
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