New priest knows he's 'exactly
where he's supposed to be'

MILWAUKEE -- On May 18, the newest priest of the Milwaukee Archdiocese was ordained at St. John the Evangelist Cathedral, and he's wasted no time putting his priestly "power" to good use.

	FEEDING THE HUNGRY -- Fr. Carl Diederichs, who was ordained to the priesthood May 18, helps serve bag lunches at the newly remodeled Archbishop Weakland Center. Diederichs says he sees social justice and outreach as important parts of his ministry. (Photo by James Pearson)

"There's a lot of excitement for me surrounding the role of the priest in a parish," Fr. Carl Diederichs recently told the Catholic Herald. "There's a lot of power in this position, and you can use it or you can abuse it. At the heart of it for me there are two things," he said, listing presiding meaningfully at Eucharist and preaching.

Diederichs' first assignment is as associate pastor at the cathedral where he was consecrated. Along with assuming some of the liturgical responsibilities there, his primary role is as coordinator of the cathedral's outreach ministries.

"Since I've been here, I think we've increased our volunteers by 60, who are involved in the outreach ministries." Along with being the go-to guy for all things pertaining to social concerns at the cathedral parish, Diederichs is busy doing marriage preparation with couples and counseling.

Priesthood is what he expected

When asked if the priesthood is turning out to be what he expected, Diederichs said, "Yeah, it is. I feel very comfortable and I know who I am. People are extremely happy to find somebody who's transparent and who just is who he's supposed to be, as best I can."

There haven't been too many surprises, but he said he is struck by the number of young people active at the parish. "To some degree I'm surprised that so many young people still come to church." He said he believes young adults are seeking to belong to a church that really stands for something, as opposed to simply fulfilling an obligation, and the social outreach at the cathedral appears to fulfill that need, he said.

Diederichs said the cathedral was not the archdiocese's first choice for his initial assignment. When Fr. Carl Last, pastor and rector there, requested Diederichs as an associate, he was originally turned down because there were other places in the archdiocese where he was also needed. "There are only 1,700 people who belong to the cathedral parish. But with the widening scope of the outreach ministries at the cathedral, it was decided that I should take up that work," he said.

Every day is unique

Apart from a daily prayer routine and Mass, Diederichs said "every day is unique.... The meal program is central. We give out about 100 bag lunches every day to the poor in the area."

He said he's busy trying to expand the outreach ministries at the newly remodeled Archbishop Weakland Center next door to the cathedral church, and building relationships with other social concerns organizations in the area. Diederichs said he spends a lot of time with the people who come for outreach services. While giving a tour of the facility during the interview, Diederichs greeted those waiting for lunch by name.

He said he sees social justice and outreach as an important part of his ministry, and will carry that wherever he's stationed in the future.

During the few free evenings he gets, Diederichs said he enjoys reading and going to movies, and that he and Last try to share evening meals when their schedules permit.

As Franciscan, he did parish work

Diederichs, 62, moved from Eden to Marytown when he was 3, where his parents, now deceased, opened a general store. He has no siblings. He attended Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Elementary School in Marytown, then entered St. Lawrence Seminary in Mt. Calvary for high school. Following graduation he joined the Capuchin Franciscans.

One of his assignments as a friar was at St. Elizabeth Parish, now St. Martin de Porres, Milwaukee. "That was at the beginning of its transition from a white community to a black community," he said, adding that he was happy to have been a part of that parish as it made the transition. He said he's always admired the joyful worship style of the African-American community. "They see life as a real blessing, and they utter that, and they continually let you know that you are a blessing in their life. That has continued on with me."

From friar to newsman

He said he left the friars in the early 1970s, primarily because he found success and joy in parish ministry, and they wanted him to teach. "The friars wanted to send me to school at a white, upper-class, boys high school in Minneapolis.... In retrospect, that would have been an easy life, but I really felt so committed to the Catholic Church in the black community."

Following his departure from the Franciscans, Diederichs worked for a while at the Milwaukee Star, a black newspaper, which is no longer in print. He worked at the Wisconsin Lung Association as a fund-raiser, was director of planned gifts for the United Way of Greater Milwaukee, then became director of development at Sacred Heart School of Theology in Hales Corners. He also worked as a church development consultant for an organization based in Chicago.

All the while, he said he still felt a calling to ordained ministry.

Call to ministry persisted

"As I was working with church after church after church, and realizing the power of the pastor, what you could do for good or how often it was misused, I thought, 'Hey, look, this is what I've wanted all my life. I'm now helping other churches to be successful as a consultant, why don't I just do this?'"

At the time he was also receiving spiritual direction from a Norbertine priest at St. Norbert Abbey, De Pere, in the Green Bay Diocese. "He said to me, 'Carl, either do something about this call you have, or I don't want you talking about it anymore.' He said age is not an issue, which is something I was seeing as an obstacle," Diederichs said.

He said he never had second thoughts throughout his time at the seminary, and attributes that to all the years he had been thinking about the priesthood and the experiences he had with the Capuchins. "This was so much the right decision. There was never a point where I thought twice about this. And at my age there shouldn't have been," he said with a laugh.

Scandal secured his commitment

The priest sex abuse scandal broke during his last year at the seminary, but Diederichs said it wasn't much of a factor in his desire to continue toward ordination. "Because I know who I am, that didn't change my perception one bit of the priesthood. I knew what a good priest does, and I know too many good priests to think that this is in any way tipping the scale against priesthood as a way of life. My anger is certainly there for those priests who are pedophiles ... but my anger is much more significant for the bishops who I think even to this day haven't admitted their role," he said.

Diederichs is aware of the need for more priests in the United States, and said, "There's no way anyone can keep up with those who are leaving the ranks. So what you need to do is be the best you can be." He said he thinks vocation numbers will "absolutely" improve.

When asked what he can do to make the priesthood look like an attractive life for men, he said, "When people see me in operation, they have to know that I'm having a lot of fun. And even with some of the issues I'm dealing with, like hunger, going to murder scenes with members of MICAH (Milwaukee Inner City Congregations Allied for Hope), being present to people's hurts and pains ... the power you have, if you use it for others, to be present to them, there's a certain joy in the fact that you can be there at that moment as no one else can."

Eager to work with Dolan

He said he feels a bit mixed about newly installed Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan. "We knew what we had but we don't know what we're getting. I'm anxious to sit down with (Dolan). I'm anxious to know how he and I may agree on Catholic social teaching, and I want to talk to him about the real nature of racism and segregation in our city, as just one issue, and how that plays out in terms of the Catholic Church."

Diederichs said he has met Dolan on a couple occasions and enjoyed the brief time he's gotten with him so far. "He wore my ordination vestments for his installations, so I thought it was kind of nice to see him wear that chasuble (the outer vestment of a priest celebrating Mass).... I see him as a warm human being who's going to listen and be open, and I'm excited about the possibilities."

His decision to become a priest is validated daily, Diederichs said. "I see the confirmation every day when I walk into that chapel with my chasuble on and people are there waiting for me.... Every time I start with 'In the name of the Father ...' I know that's exactly where I'm supposed to be."