Cover
story Belleville diocese plans lay synod
By ROBERT J. McCLORY
Chicago
Catholics in southern Illinois, motivated by the clergy sex abuse
scandal throughout the country, are planning a June 8 lay synod for
the Belleville diocese.
The one clear issue is the lack of accountability on the
part of the hierarchy along with the inability of the laity to exert any
influence on church decisions, said Lena Woltering, coordinator of the
Fellowship of Southern Illinois Laity, a 9-year-old social justice and church
reform group affiliated with the Call to Action organization. Belleville, a
sprawling, mostly rural diocese covering the bottom third of Illinois, is
headed by Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the National Conference of
Catholic Bishops.
The idea for a synod, involving only laypeople and no clergy,
developed during a meeting in early April of the steering committee of the
fellowship. Some 20 nonmembers from parishes throughout the diocese arrived
unexpectedly and insisted it was time for action.
After discussion, a synod committee was formed. The people
planning this are not fanatics, said Woltering, a 54-year-old freelance
interior decorator, wife, mother and grandmother. One man at the meeting
said, Im just amazed at this gathering. There isnt a
rabble-rouser in the bunch.
What is present in the diocese, said Woltering, is long-simmering
concern about decision-making, especially involving the consolidation and
closing of parishes and the use of diocesan funds for the treatment of sex
abusers and for settlements to abuse victims.
Belleville was the center of a scandal in 1992 and 93 when
some 10 percent of its active clergy were removed from their positions as a
result of charges of sexual misconduct.
Plans for the synod include presentations by a canon lawyer
explaining the rights of lay Catholics and by a representative of the
Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church exploring lay Catholic
responsibilities and practical strategies. Participants will deliberate and
form resolutions.
The event could draw 200 to 300 people, said Woltering, and
participants are expected to bring ideas back to their parishes and encourage
parish-wide meetings. As the call for action grows, a second, larger synod
involving priests, bishops and laity could convene later in the year.
The lay reform organization has something of a history with
Gregory. Its leaders have been meeting with him three or four times a year for
more than five years. Although the results of these meetings have not
been great, said Woltering, we are at least on record with him
voicing our concerns and challenges. Gregory has assisted the group
through a grant for the workshops it organizes on the death penalty.
The Fellowship of Southern Illinois Laity has been whacking
away on justice and reform for a long time, said Woltering. Now
its pretty clear that a whole lot of people realize something alarming
has been going on in the church, and they intend to be involved in the
reform.
Robert McClory is an NCR special report writer.
National Catholic Reporter, April 26,
2002
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