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THE ANCHOR-Diocese of Fall River"":'Fri., Aug. 9, 1985
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public office COD'cern Holy See By. Sister Mary Ann Walsh VATICAN CITY (NC) Priests holding public or parti san political office "are a source of growing concern to the _Holy See," the Vatican said in a recent confidential letter to. bishops' conferences and religious orders. Excerpts of the letter, dated March 25, and a Jesuit-prepared summary of it were obtained by National Catholic News Service. "That there are cases, unfor tunately not rare, of priests who, contrary to the Code of Canon Law, accept public offices which carry. with them participation in the exercise of civil' power, are a source of growing concern to the Holy See," the letter said. "These cases cause· scandal, become sources of division and deform the image of the priest," the letter added. The letter was signed by the heads of four Vatican congrega tions: Cardinal Bernardin Gantin of the Congregation for Bishops; Cardinal Silvio Oddi of the Con gregation for the Clergy; Car dinal· Jerome, Hamer, then an archbishop, of the Congregation for Religious and Secular Insti-
Aboufthose parochial vicars
tutes; and Cardinal D. Simon Lourdusamy" then an archbishop, of the Congregation for the Evan gelization of Peoples. Cardinal Lourdusamy told NC News that the ;Ietter "has been a long time in preparation" and that "no special problem" had prompted it. He said there are abuses of the church law against priests ,in politics "here. and there," but did not name any persons abusing the' law nor areas of the world where such abuses 'are frequent. . He also said that canon law provides for dispensations from the law "in specia,1 cases" and so long as the' "fu~damental principles" underlying ·the law "are not 'g.iven up." The Jesuit summary of the letter was sent July 26 to Jesuit provincials throughout the world by Jesuit Superior General Father Peter Hans Kolvenbach, Jesuit spokesman Father John Dul·ler said July 30. The sum mary said that the Vatican letter asks diocesan bishops "to re spond promptly and effectively to cases of failure to observe" Canon 285, which "'forbids clerics from filling any public office which entails the exercise of civil power." The summary said the Vatican letter stresses the bis~ops' or superior's first response to situa tions of priests in politics "should be one of dialogue and pastoral concern shown in ex hortation, counsel and fraternal admonition." "Only when such means prove unsuccessful" is it necessary to pursue penal sanctions, such as suspension from priestly func tions, the summary added. "When such measures must be taken," the summary said, "it is necessary to keep the Christian community informed of what is happening so that scandal be avoided as far' as possible." "The Holy See should a·lso be kept 'informed :both of the meas ures taken and the results ob tained," the summary said. The Jesuit summary said that two documents of the, Second Vatican Council were among the church' documents concerning priests in politics the Vatican
letter cited.
The first, the Dogmatic Con
stitution on the Church, states
that the priest must serve all people and exercise "priestly and pastoral· ministry both to be lievers and unbelievers alike, to Catholics and non-CatholicsY The second, from the Decree on Priestly Life and Ministry,
What's a parochial vicar? The question is being heard frequently as the term creeps into more and more diocesan news stories; but actuaHy the PV Jisn't a new membdr of the church family. Basically, the appellation is a matter of new packaging of a very familiar office and the PV ,is the same person' he always was: the pastor's right-hand man who in the U.S. Church has been variously known as curate, assistant pastor or associate pastor. For reasons of uniformity throughout the Church, the new Code of Canon Law has now neatly labeled him as parochial vicar. . 'Normally, says the Code, PVs are "priests' who render their services in pastoral ministry as coworkers with the pastor in common counsel and endeavor with him and also under his authority. "A parochial vicar can be as signed to assist in fulfilling the entire pastoral ministry on. be half of an' entire parish, a def inite part of the parish, or a certain group of the Christian faithful within the parish; he can 'also be aS,signed to assist in ful filling a certain type of ministry ,in different parishes concur rently." BALTIMORE (NC) - In a role , In cases where a' pastorate "be reversal, Nigerian priests are comes vacant or when the pas considering an apostolate to the tor. is hindered from exercising United States, in particular to his pastoraldlity," further ex America's black population. "I plains the Code, PV duties in " see challenges in the U.S.," said clude "governance ofa parish Msgr. Godwin P. Akpan, rector ... until a parochial administra of the National Missionary Sem tor is appointed." inary of St. Paul in Abuja, Ni All cl~ar? geria.
Role reversal
BISHOP DANIEL A. CRONIN and Father Gabriel Healey, S8.CC., pastor of Holy Trinity Church, West Har wich, greet parishioners during a pastoral visit by the bish op. A highlight of the event was the tearing up of a mort gage on church properties.
states that priest~ "can never be the servants of any human ideo logy or party." Cardinal Hamer refused to comment on the letter. Cardinals Oddi and Gantin could not be reached for comment. The Vatican has voiced" con cern about priests in partisan politics and public office several times during the past year. On Jan. 29, two Nicaraguan govern ment officials, Father Ernesto Cardenal and Maryknoll Father Miguel D'Escoto, were ordered to resign their government posts or be suspended from exercising their priestly mii)istry. Neither resigned, and both were sus pended. Father Cardenal is minister of culture and Father D'Escoto is foreign minister in the Marxist influenced Sandinista govern ment. On May 23 Vatican Radio re ported that the pope, through Vatican Secretary of State Car. dinal Agostino Casaroli, told Pacem in Terris, an organization of priests with ties to the Czecho that slovakian government, church ·law prohibited their mem bership in the association. In 1932, the Vatican prohibited priests from belonging toasso ciations with strictly political aims. The ban was believed aim ed at Pacem in Terris.
Political priest is suspended GENOA, Italy (NC) An Italian priest elected last year to the European Parliament. on the Socialist ticket has been sus pended from his priestly minis try, the Archdiocese of Genoa announced Aug. 2. Father Gianni Baget Bozzo was found guilty by an archdio cesan court of "the crimes of disobeying his Ordinary, of be havior that is unseemly or alien to the clerical state, and of tak ing' an active. part in. political parties," an archdiocesan state ment said. It said the priest had violated church canons 273, 285 and 287 regarding obedience, priestly be havior and political activity. The sentence imposed the priest's suspension "a divinis" from all acts of priestly minis try and prohibited him from wearing priestly garb. When Father Baget Bozzo an nounced his candidacy for the. European Parliament 'last year, he said he was running on the Socialist ticket because "in socialism there are the ancient I'oots of Christianity." :During the church trial, which lasted several months, Father Baget Bozzo· refused to appear and refused to name a canon 'lawyer to defend him. The European Parliament is part of the permanent structure of the 12-nation 'European Com mon Market. Its actions are not hinding on its members.