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	Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland
	Herald of Hope Herald of Hope is a weekly column by Milwaukee Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland and Bishop Richard J. Sklba. • Herald of Hope online archive

The next Archbishop of Milwaukee will probably already be a bishop when he arrives. (That makes the ceremony shorter.) I was an exception to this rule. When I arrived here in 1977, I was one of those naive creatures straight out of a monastic environment -- an environment where I had lived since I was 13 years old. I wasn't sure I wanted to be a bishop or even what it would entail. Pope Paul, when I spoke to him about my qualms, assured me that being an abbot was the best preparation for becoming a bishop, and encouraged me to be an abbot to my people.

One of the first questions posed to me by a press reporter when I arrived in Milwaukee was: "Are you going to be bishop for the priests or for the laity?" The question confused me: Was there something going on I did not know about? I answered: "For both." But after that experience I decided to keep the same motto I had as abbot: Aequalis omnibus caritas (Equal love for all).

The early years here were the hardest. Pope Paul VI died the next August. My mother died a month later in September. My mentor and the one who had ordained me bishop was removed as Apostolic Delegate to the United States by the new Pope John Paul II and sent back to Rome. Then began my bouts of conflicts with Roman authorities. Although I was one of those who cheered the election of Pope John Paul II, I soon found myself thinking outside the box and in constant debate with Rome over so many issues. (All of that is too long a story for this article.)

Those first few years as bishop were crucial in my life. Grappling with many issues and getting lots of good spiritual counseling and help, I gradually became a bishop. From my mistakes I believe I learned much and gained the kind of self-identity and poise that made it possible for me to serve with all my heart and skills. The isolation and loneliness passed and the immensity of the opportunities began to open up before me. I took on then the big task at the request of the Conference of Bishops to chair the writing of the Economic Pastoral. All of this would not have been possible without the support, encouragement and acceptance of the people and the priests here. Archbishop William E. Cousins, Bishop Leo J. Brust and Bishop Richard J. Sklba were important factors in that acceptance.

I knew that certain decisions on my part made it clear that I would be Archbishop of Milwaukee until age 75, and I willingly embraced that role. I would give what talents I had and the wisdom I obtained from working through my doubts and struggles to try to bring to life this vital and wholesome church.

Members of the Roman Curia often referred to me as a "maverick." (The word comes from Samuel A. Maverick, 1803-1870, a Texas cattleman who refused to brand his calves like the others.) The best compliment I received, then, came from a religious superior in Rome who said: "Rome does not know what to do with Weakland. He is a free man." I feel I have been able to maintain my own dignity and identity through it all.

Often I am asked if there are many decisions I regretted. I have spoken of these regrets before, but I bring them up again. Hindsight makes it easy to say yes. I regret to this day and will go to my grave with it on my conscience how I handled in 1979 the case of Fr. Bill Effinger. As an abbot, I simply would have brought him back to the monastery where he could have been monitored. Bishops do not have monasteries to put priests in. Obtaining laicizations from Rome was next to impossible in those days and never really brought up as an option. I am sure that bishops took risks then that they now regret. It would have been so much wiser just to hand it over immediately to the state as a crime and let the law take care of it.

I regret that I could not do a better job of healing the divisions in the church in Milwaukee. Among the priests there was a division between the Council of Priests and the Priests' Forum, the latter with no canonical recognition. These divisions, abstracting from the personalities involved, reflected the acceptance of, or reaction against, Vatican Council II and its implementation. Such divisions became gradually worse under the present pontiff and have brought about lasting wounds that are extremely serious. The division among the priests here has died out, but not among the laity.

Abbot Marmion once wrote that the abbot should be the abbot of the minority because the majority won. I did not do a good job as a reconciler as I was too occupied with being the leader of the majority, having put so much energy and zeal into the implementation of Vatican Council II, especially in liturgy, ecumenism, and the relationship of the church to the modern world. I regret not having been able to bring everyone along on the same faith journey. It might shock some of you, but often I felt more at home and more reconciled with my Protestant, Jewish, and even secular friends than with some Catholics. I worry about these divisions in the church.

In addition, through these years, I saw the way the priest shortage was placing stress on the priests. I did not succeed in bringing the issue to a fruitful discussion, neither on a national or an international level. The stress on priests will get worse as we try to keep up the same amount of service with diminished numbers.

Again, I say I regret that I was not more effective in helping to carve out a clear and decisive place for women in leadership and decision-making roles in the Catholic Church. We seemed to have progressed a few years ago about as far as possible without causing a rupture in the church. I wonder when it will be possible to open up the issue again.

The concern for the poor, especially on a global level, remains a strong motivational factor in my thinking. But also it is a frustrating one. There are no signs of a groundswell in that regard among our people. In our present global economy the Economic Pastoral of the bishops is now more needed than ever before, but neither the U.S. bishops nor Rome has enough fire in the belly to face up to it. Perhaps the Asian bishops -- or the Africans -- will do so.

I have rambled and I have repeated myself, but one has to be allowed some perks after the age of 75. If the above is being a maverick, so be it. One could be called worse things.