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COMMENTARY
History Repeating Itself
Robert Kaintz
The following is the text of a letter sent to the St.
Louis Post-Dispatch and St. Louis Review in
response to the transfer of Fr. Darrel Mitchell from
Yakima, Washington to the St Louis archdiocese. Fr.
Mitchell has since left St. Louis rather than meet
with the parishioners of St. Ambrose parish. [See Vineyard Jan.
25 coverage]
Accountability has become a critical issue in the
Catholic Church resulting in the concern of lay groups
such as Voice of the Faithful. Recent events in St
Louis demonstrate how far-reaching the issue can be.
As recently reported in the Post, parishioners at St
Ambrose parish requested an explanation for why a priest
was removed from his diocese in Yakima WA and reassigned
to St Louis, after allegations of impropriety. The
laity asked for an accounting and the priest resigned.
While this may not solve the systemic problem of reassignment
of troubled priests, it did address the specific incident.
Increasingly, the Catholic laity is asking for openness
in its Church, not only regarding the sexual abuse
scandal, but in finances and in governance as well.
The incident at St Ambrose demonstrates that an active
laity which collaborates with its clergy can be effective
in improving transparency, but only at the cost of
challenging existing procedures. Carol Williams, St
Louis and Bill Brinkmann, Crystal Lake Park
We also discussed the archdiocesan proposal on centralized
accounting. We have had both positive and negative reactions
on the local level. The proposal would decrease the possibility
of fraud but also move control of finances away from
parish finance committees to the archdiocesan level.
We feel this proposal does present an opportunity to
influence policy and would welcome input and resources
from national VOTF. This also may be an opportunity to
obtain a seat at the table with Archbishop Burke and
enable us to obtain the appropriate safeguards in the
policy. My understanding is that there has been quite
a bit negative reaction from the clergy so our support
may be of value to him in selling this policy to the
archdiocese. I must say that I am not optimistic that
he will sit down and talk with us on this subject.
Perhaps the most interesting recent development in St.
Louis was a joint meeting of VOTFSL and FOSIL. FOSIL
is the Fellowship of Southern Illinois Laity, an organization
of lay Catholics working in the tradition of the early
Christian community, to keep the voice of prophecy alive.
Their membership extends worldwide. FOSIL is a member
of COR – Catholic Organizations for Renewal – which
is a coalition of Catholic groups, inspired by Vatican
II, to further reform and renewal of the Catholic Church.
FOSIL is also a “cooperating organization” of
Call to Action. FOSIL is based in Belleville, Illinois
and was instrumental in holding the first Lay Synod in
the Diocese of Belleville.
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