The state of the local church

	A Man of History A Shepherd of Hope A Catholic Herald special supplement Supplement home Aug. 22 issue home

MILWAUKEE -- As he crosses the welcome mat that's been laid out for him, what will Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan walk into in terms of current archdiocesan programs and efforts? And what additional steps might people working in those areas like, or expect, him to take?

AFRICAN WORLD FESTIVAL -- Christina Madison, parishioner at All Saints Parish, Milwaukee, carries incense at the African World Festival Mass held Aug. 4 at Maier Festival Park, Milwaukee. (Photo by Allen Fredrickson)

Several key figures in archdiocesan offices shared their insights on the subjects.

Vocations -- "Because of all the things that have happened in the past year beginning with (Sept. 11) and including the clergy sex scandal, we're going through a very rough time with candidates right now," observed Fr. Robert F. Stiefvater, director of the vocations office. The unsettling aspects of the terrorism, "kind of stopped some of them in their tracks."

"I don't think God is calling any fewer people," he added, "but there is so much more going on in our world, and they're backing off from making a decision."

Moreover, Stiefvater said, "I think they're much less willing to talk to friends and family" about their possible vocations "and it's harder for me to find potential candidates."

But Stiefvater predicted that Dolan would be a breath of fresh air with his gregarious personality and enthusiasm, and noted that he had already stated privately and publicly that he will be "very deeply involved in vocation invitations." He will make good on that promise Aug. 29 with the airing of a radio commercial which includes Dolan encouraging vocations.

The archbishop is also expected to be co-presenter at the archdiocese's next annual vocation team workshop in October, and continue the tradition of local bishops having a dinner with candidates, said Stiefvater. "I'm very happy" with Dolan's approach to vocations, Stiefvater said. "I'm looking forward to his presence."

Women's issues -- "I think we're in a good place at the moment," Thelma Walker said of the status of Office for Women, which she directs. "We've come a long way in the past 20 years" since the archdiocese, under former Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland, conducted women's "listening sessions" which led to creation of a Women's Commission.

Walker said her office's referrals can help women who might be "overwhelmed by the maze" of resources available to them. "If you look up 'domestic violence' in the phone book, there might be 10 places" offering help, she explained. Calling some of them, she added, might yield only "an answering machine."

Her office assists women in enhancing their spirituality, perhaps through seminary classes, prayer groups or book discussion clubs, she said.

"I would trust Archbishop Dolan would build on the history of our office as a valuable resource" that can continue to "provide support at all economic levels," Walker said.

Education -- The archdiocese is "moving in the right direction to implement its policy -- necessary partly because of a teacher shortage -- of paying its educators 80 to 90 percent of the salaries paid in public schools, according to Maureen Gallagher, director of Catholic education.

Gallagher said archdiocesan schools, which she considers pretty solid, are "making advances academically and serving the community well."

For 2001-02, there were about 134 elementary institutions and 13 high schools, with enrollments of 31,815 and 7,510, respectively. Of the 8,059 pupils attending schools where the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program is available, 3,635 took advantage of it. The majority of pupils in archdiocesan schools in Milwaukee are kids of color, Gallagher said.

She added she hoped Dolan would help raise capital to replace two schools closed in mergers, and expand others.

Civic involvement and community services -- Encompassing, among other things, the World Mission, Rural Life and Social Concerns offices, the Campaign for Human Development and Catholic Charities, the Department of Community Services "is always evolving," said Celia Jackson, archbishop's delegate for Community Service and director of the Social Concerns Office.

For example, the department has begun pairing poor families with more affluent families so they can "support each other and share experiences in each others' worlds ... as human beings," she said. The interaction might include grocery shopping, worshiping and attending social events. While the better-off family does not provide financial support to the other, it might profit by "understanding the ills of poverty" that its counterpart suffers, according to Jackson.

She said she would like to see Dolan foster "incorporation of the values of Catholic social teaching in all aspects of ministry whether in mission work, schools, ecumenically...." In addition, she hopes he will encourage "cultural competence" in parishes, where "faces are changing more and more, but we don't always know and understand" those of other ethnicities.

Response to sex abuse -- Through Project Benjamin, the archdiocese "serves victims' of sexually abusive priests "by listening compassionately and validating their experiences, and making sure there is accountability when removal of a priest is necessary," according to director, Barbara Reinke, a licensed psychologist. The archdiocese "offers financial assistance" for victims' psychotherapy, she added.

Reinke also said she would like to see Dolan "extend compassion and a sincere apology" to victims -- "I think he did a wonderful job his first day here, but it's an ongoing function" -- and encourage the continuing search for, and assistance to, all who have been abused by priests.

Moreover, she wants the archdiocese to continue implementing the recommendations of its commission on sexual abuse, and the United States bishops' charter on the problem.

"We also need to support the priests and what they need for a healthy lifestyle," and undertake a periodic review "of our internal structure and strategy" for addressing the abuse, Reinke said. "Let's see how we're doing."

Ecumenism -- According to Judith Longdin, director of the Office of Ecumenical and Interfaith Concerns, "The archdiocese has developed a strong reputation for involvement and leadership" in those areas. "And it's very clear that the original associations started in the 1970s," with Lutherans, Episcopalians, Jews, United Methodists and Orthodox Roman Catholics, have endured.

The archdiocese is expending "a lot of energy, especially post-nine-eleven," in fostering relations with Muslims, Hindus Sikhs, Baha'is as well as other Christians and Jews, Longdin said. Weakland issued a public apology for what he considered church transgressions against the latter in 2000.

Many of the archdiocese's ecumenical and interfaith efforts have included work to "foster common prayer and worship," and establish pastoral guidelines for religiously "mixed marriages," she said. "We need to look at more ways to support families" of such unions.

Longdin believes that because Dolan is outgoing, he will be aware of what's happening in parishes.

She added that with "changing religious demographics, we need to do a whole lot more in preparing Catholics at all levels on church teachings on ecumenical and interfaith" issues.

"More opportunities for dialogue and encounter" with other religions, and a "reaching out to new dialogue partners, like evangelicals and historically black churches," would also be welcomed by Longdin.

Multiculturalism -- Fr. Paul Fliss provided the following estimates about the nationalities served by the Asian Ministry Office, which he directs: Filipino - 400 to 500 families, "spread out throughout the archdiocese"; Vietnamese - 160 families, most attending St. Anthony Parish, Milwaukee; Hmong - 70, 25 and 15 families, attending St. Michael, Milwaukee, St. Peter Claver, Sheboygan, and Holy Family Fond du Lac, (St. Patrick site) parishes respectively; Laotian - 60 families attending St. Michael; Korean - 25 families, St. Mary Magdalen Parish, Milwaukee; Chinese - 10 families "spread out" among parishes; Indonesian - About 50 students from Milwaukee School of Engineering, Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, and five families.

According to a September 2001 archdiocesan report on Hispanic ministry: There were 28,162 registered Catholic Hispanics, about 21 percent of the total number of Hispanics. Twenty-six parishes offered Hispanic ministry and "a growing number of Masses (were) being offered in Spanish throughout the archdiocese." The Office for Hispanic Ministry, directed by Pedro Martinez, fosters "insight (into) and understanding of the Hispanic presence, and advocate(s) for Hispanics so their participation is encouraged and their needs met..."