We find the same mentality in the ever-present and vacuous “mission statements.” As both a pastor and school administrator, when asked for a mission statement, I replied: “That everyone in this community become a saint and go to Heaven.” Which was almost always greeted with a glazed look.Ī Catholic can be excused for regarding meetings with a cynical or jaundiced attitude. Those who foster and appreciate these meetings are, in my experience, precisely the clergy who need convincing that something is happening in their corner of the Lord’s vineyard. Yet most allow them to continue, useless as they generally are. It’s no exaggeration, however, to say that these meetings are the very source for the average pastor’s exhaustion and ennui. Some priests relish these encounters, others dread them.
#Peter lio how to#
Parish priests are inundated with meetings: staff, pastoral council, finance council, school board, liturgy committee (if a priest needs advice from laypeople about how to celebrate the Sacred Liturgy, he ought to hand in his collar). My personal observation over the years: we are plagued with meetings because leaders need to convince themselves that something is happening. One wag declared that, when the Church lacks external persecution, God substitutes for it by letting us have meetings ad infinitum. John Paul II liked meetings, but this pope can’t get enough of them. The present pope, who repeatedly decries the proliferation of “airport bishops,” has dragged more bishops to airports than all of his predecessors put together.
I have noticed people getting more and more cynical and disengaged. Actions that are agreed and signed up to are never followed through. Everything seems to take too long, and I often find myself not knowing the purpose of the meeting or what contribution is expected. The meetings I attend range from chaotic to tedious and I never leave feeling more inspired, excited or clearer than when I walked in. I spend far too much time in meetings rather than focusing on my priorities. People in business understand “the curse of meetings.” One asserted: But our expectations must be tempered by the reality of large meetings. to address, which we may hope will be treated in the way it deserves. We may hope that our bishops will do more than just talk this week – there is the serious business of Biden/Pelosi/et al.
Actually, they loved hearing themselves drone on. (Who in his right mind selected that time-slot?) These torture sessions often went on until 5 p.m. As a high school administrator, I inherited a weekly faculty meeting, Fridays at 3 p.m. With all the chatter about the Synod on Synodality and as our bishops meet in Baltimore this week, my intense disdain for meetings has hit me with renewed, brutal force.
#Peter lio full#
If you understand the full extent of the challenges we face, you’ll also grasp the need for TCT to be here, not only for 2022 but for years to come. Which is why The Catholic Thing intends to be here both for the short and long haul. But this is going to be a long struggle over the long-term direction of the Church and society. There are short-term solutions, and let’s hope the U.S. Peter Stravinskas reminds us, however, that there’s usually quite little that “meetings” alone can do, particularly when, for decades, bishops and priests have allowed false doctrine to run rampant. Especially, radically pro-abortion politicians with names like Biden, Pelosi, etc. Note: We’ll all be watching the bishops’ meeting in Baltimore this week to see if they can come up with a policy – a policy with teeth – that will draw a sharp line as to who should and should not come forward for Communion.
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