U.S. bishops official didnt resign; she
was forced out
By ARTHUR JONES
NCR Staff Washington
The story on Mercy Sr. Sharon Euarts departure from the
National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCR, Sept. 1) reported she had
resigned. Euart did not resign. NCR later confirmed that Euart had been forced
out.
Euart said, Msgr. [William] Fay, in preparation for becoming
general secretary, told me he wanted to appoint his own team of associates and
that my term of office would conclude Feb. 2, 2001.
For 13 years the conferences associate general secretary,
Euart was barred by the Vatican from promotion to the general secretarys
post. She was then asked to leave by a peer who was promoted over her.
The Vatican said no last year, when the U.S. bishops
conference asked Rome if religious or other laypeople could be nominated for
the job. The conferences top bureaucrat, Vatican officials said, must be
a priest.
The sole reason the Vatican gave for its priest-only decision was
that appointing a religious or layperson was not the custom around the
world.
In fact, however, both the South African bishops conference
and the Scandinavian conference have had lay general secretaries, respectively
a religious brother and a woman religious.
Several previous general secretaries of the U.S. conference told
NCR the duties do not require a person be ordained. They and many
bishops within the conference supported Euart for the post.
The current general secretary, Msgr. Dennis Schnurr, leaves Feb.
2, 2001, after six years. There are three associates, Fay, Euart and layman
Bruce Egnew. When Fay, five years on the job, got the nod for the top job
effective Feb. 3, he asked Euart to leave, but not Egnew.
Euart, who said she was sad to be leaving, will take a
sabbatical before deciding what Ill be going into next.
National Catholic Reporter, September 15,
2000
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