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The pastor has not set foot in his church for years. Actually, it's a magnificent, ancient cathedral, which until recently was in serious disrepair. But during the pastor's time, the old church was restored to a place where new generations worship in the rejuvenated splendor.
The people wish the pastor could be with them. In better days, he would only come once or twice a year, but even those infrequent visits and celebrations of Mass reminded the people that this was his church and he was their pastor. When he first came to the church, the people marveled at his youth and energy. He was warm and robust, and when he celebrated Mass his strength, vitality and, most of all, his faith filled the church.
Illness, injury and time have been harsh on the pastor. He's now 80 and ailing. He can hardly walk, speaking is a difficult chore, his hands tremble and his face reflects the pain he always bears. These days, he spends most of time in the big basilica across town. It's newer than his parish church and more people visit the basilica.
The people are fully aware of their pastor's physical disabilities, but it's his spiritual abilities they long for and respect. He should retire, let a younger man take over, and spend the rest of his earthly days in rest, prayer and reflection, as he prepares to enter the Kingdom. But he won't retire, he doesn't want to, the people expect him to stay and few in the clergy have the nerve to suggest he should retire.
He really can't do the job and should retire, but he's served so long and so well. His spiritual gifts are most important to the people.
Another pastor in another place is filled with joy over the growth and rejuvenation of his parish. Like the other pastor, he took over an old church in disrepair and a parish that had faded. But the pastor worked with faith, imagination, zeal and skill. He toiled to restore and preserve the church's rich history and wonderful spiritual heritage. He did what many believed would be impossible.
The old church sparkled, and people from around the world witnessed its importance for the faith. The parish, the people of God, are strengthened as a force for good in the community. This pastor also faces health problems but, at 60 years old, his certainly are not as debilitating as our first's. In this case, though, the church hierarchy, through the chancellery, moves quickly, something it does when it chooses.
Our second pastor has no choice. "You must leave your parish and retire. We order you to do so," he is told. The pastor, always humble and obedient, agrees, although he knows he still has his spiritual gifts and he remains a priest forever able and willing to serve the people.
In a church where the number of men available to serve is constantly diminishing, removing the pastor with such final dispatch is unnecessary and harsh. We are less than a decade away from a serious shortage of priests worldwide and thus far, the institutional Church refuses to fully acknowledge the crisis, let alone try to do something about it.
Our first church is the Cathedral of St. John Lateran, built by the Emperor Constantine for the bishop of Rome. He often is too feeble to tend to his local flock, and so, too, it is with his flock around the world. One of the most respected members of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Godfried Danneels of Belgium, says the pope might step down. While carefully avoiding a call for his resignation, Danneels notes John Paul II lived to see the new millennium, one of his most cherished wishes, and now might be the time for his retirement. Don't hold your breath, though. Too many powerful men in Rome and elsewhere want their "main man" around to preserve their authority and control. For too many in the institutional church that is their passion.
Our second church is St. Mary's of the Cataract, the oldest parish in Niagara Falls. Its deposed pastor is Monsignor William Stillwell. The institutional church was able to move on this because it has the power and no one can challenge it. But that doesn't make it right. The good monsignor serves his people and God well and we should pray he can continue in the way of his choosing. He deserves better and, while I know the pope and a parish priest will be judged by different standards, I only hope there could be more consistent treatment of those who labor for the Church.
Monsignor Stillwell should be rewarded for his long, dedicated service and his wishes respected, the views of the parishioners of St. Mary's given more weight in the decision, and the ham-handed hierarchy should learn to use power with restraint and, most of all, charity.
The Monsignor's work as pastor lives on through the faith of the lives his deep faith touches. His premature departure is a reminder of just how fallible the church is, and it's a stark lesson on the wrong way to send a fine pastor out to pasture. The move is a victory for the powerful and a loss for St. Mary's parish, the city of Niagara Falls and all the people of God.