Rome said no, so Sr. Euart is out, Fr. Fay is
in
By ARTHUR JONES
NCR Staff Washington
Lay Catholics are capable of being president of the United States,
of running Americas and the worlds largest corporations and
universities and of heading up countless public and private agencies. But, the
Vatican has ruled that a layperson cannot be general secretary of the National
Conference of Catholic Bishops.
That job, said Rome, has to go to a priest.
As a consequence, Mercy Sr. Sharon Euart, for 13 years associate
general secretary, will leave her conference post in January.
Given that some U.S. bishops were keen to see Euart move into the
top position, two larger issues emerge: First, that the U.S. bishops
conference felt it had to ask Rome who it could appoint as top bureaucrat, and,
second, that the bishops themselves failed to honor their own 1994 public
commitment to bring women into top church positions.
What happened, said Euart in an interview with NCR, was
that last year the NCCB Administrative Committee asked the conference
president, Bishop Joseph Fiorenza to check with Rome to see if it was
possible for me to be a nominee. The Holy See said no. Euart said she was
not aware of why she was denied the opportunity to apply.
Fiorenza, who leads the Galveston-Houston diocese, told NCR
he was not surprised at Romes decision. Asked why the bishops felt it
necessary to check with Rome rather than go ahead on their own, the conference
president said, It was not something the bishops felt you could just do.
We felt that rather than move down that road and have it become a very serious
embarrassment for whomever might be chosen, it would be best to
clarify.
Euart said, From my experience, I do think it is a position
that a nonordained person could hold.
Several earlier general secretaries agree with her.
Could a lay person do the job? Definitely, said
Anchorage Archbishop Francis Hurley, general secretary from 1957 to 1970.
The trust factor would be the same for one who was a priest or not a
priest. Did [the bishops] have to go to Rome? Personally I dont think so.
Was it advisable? That could be an arguable point, precisely because the U.S.
is such a major player in everything that affects Rome.
Hurley said his guess was that if the question had been put to the
bishops: Do you think we should have a priest or lay person [as
general secretary]? the majority would say it could be either. The
majority would also say it would be better to check it over [in Rome] to see
what happens.
It had an effect
What did happen, the archbishop said, is As far as I recall,
we were informed of the thinking in Rome -- I dont know whose -- and
Im sure that had an effect on the election.
A big part of me, said Hurley, says its
unfortunate we didnt do it. If anyone were going to be the first
[nonordained general secretary], Sharon would qualify right at the top of the
list. She would have been a great person to work with.
Msgr. Daniel Hoye, general secretary in the 1980s, said,
Nothing you do in the job requires you be ordained. At one time the
general secretary might have been involved in vetting episcopal
candidates -- candidates for the office of bishop -- but not
anymore.
I think Sharon Euart would make a great general
secretary, Hoye said. Its not a job confined to clerics, in
my opinion. I think that glass ceiling has already been broken. I believe a
religious brother was general secretary of the South African bishops
conference.
Hoye is correct. Marist Br. Jude Piertse was the South African
bishops general secretary in the 1990s, and a woman religious is general
secretary for the Scandinavian conference.
NCCB communications director Msgr. Francis Maniscalco said that a
year ago, when a search committee for Schnurrs replacement was created,
Rome was asked how wide the committee could throw the net. Could they
include religious and lay people?
The Vatican said no. The only reason given, said Maniscalco, was
it is not the custom throughout the world. It is believed there are one
or two conferences headed by laypeople, but in very small countries.
Louisville, Ky., Archbishop Thomas Kelly, general secretary in the
late 1970s and early 1980s, said the job depends on skill, knowledge,
brains. It does not particularly require ordination. Sharon would have been
excellent. Ours is a particularly large conference of bishops. I can understand
why Rome might say that to us. Im not trying to defend it.
Subsequently, because the U.S. bishops knew of Romes
response, Euarts name was not placed on the ballot when prospective
candidates were considered for election.
Currently, two of the three associate general secretaries are
laypeople, Euart and Bruce Egnew. The third associate, Fr. William Fay, five
years on the job, steps into the general secretary spot Feb. 3 when Msgr.
Dennis M. Schnurr leaves his post after six years.
Once he was appointed, Fay announced he wanted to create his own
associate secretary team. Euart offered her resignation, which was accepted.
Egnew, according to Maniscalco, remains in place.
NCR calls to Fay and Egnew were referred to Maniscalco who
said, Were not going to get into any details on personnel
matters.
Asked if she felt she was leaving unwillingly, Euart replied,
Im sad to be leaving. I think thats how I describe it. I love
my work. I have enjoyed it. It has been a privilege and an honor.
The Sisters of Mercy have offered Euart a sabbatical. During
that time, Euart said, Ill see whats available and what
Ill be going into next. Mercy President Sr. Marie Chinn wondered if
the bishops had taken a serious enough look at having someone as
competent as Sr. Sharon in the post.
Competence, dignity
Such competence, such dignity, such grace. All she wants now
is to leave the position with dignity, said Chinn. I am so
saddened, though.
As associate secretary, Euart said, she felt she had the most
influence in helping staff committees, particularly her work on the Mission and
Structure Committee with the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin and more recently
with Cincinnati Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk on the Statues and By-laws
Committee.
Rome is also dictating what goes into NCCB by-laws. Maniscalco
said Rome has instructed the conference to amend its by-laws to reflect the
requirement that the general secretary be a priest.
A former high-ranking woman in the conference, Dolores Leckey, the
now retired executive director of the bishops Secretariat on Family,
Laity, Women and Youth, said that in 1994 the bishops in their statement
Strengthening The Bonds of Peace, made a public
commitment to seek leadership roles for women. As part of her role with
the secretariat, Leckey was the chief staff member for the bishops
committee on Women in Society and the Church.
Not only did Euart not get the top job, but now there will no
longer be a woman in a high conference position.
National Catholic Reporter, September 1,
2000
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