Quote of the Day

John XXIII’s greatest achievement in his papacy was convening the Second Vatican Council, which opened up a new era of theological reform in the Church. Most importantly, for LGBT issues, the theological reform included an important development in the Church’s sexual teaching. . . . By displacing procreation from its position of primacy in sexual theology, and by raising the unitive function to a higher status, Vatican II opened the way for theologians to explore the unitive function more deeply, which allowed them to consider the moral status of relationships which were not biologically procreative, especially gay and lesbian relationships. So, John XXIII’s Vatican II opened the way for a new discussion of sexuality in theology, which paved the way for the growing field of lesbian and gay theology.

– Francis DeBernardo
"Papal Canonizations, Part 1: Pope John XXIII’s Influence on LGBT Equality"
Bondings 2.0
April 26, 2014

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
The Standard for Sexual Ethics: Human Flourishing, Not Openness to Procreation
Relationship: The Crucial Factor in Sexual Morality
Making Love, Giving Life
Joan Timmerman on the "Wisdom of the Body"
Daniel Helminiak on the Vatican's Natural Law Mistake
Human Sex: Weird and Silly, Messy and Sublime
Quote of the Day – July 31, 2011
The Many Manifestations of God's Loving Embrace

Recommended Off-site Links:
Pope Francis Makes John XXIII, John Paul II Saints – Nicole Winfield (Associated Press via Yahoo! News, April 27, 2014).
Bipartisan Canonizations – Maureen Fiedler (National Catholic Reporter, April 25, 2014).
John XXIII: The Accidental Saint – Bill Huebsch (National Catholic Reporter, April 24, 2014).
Papal Canonizations, Part 2: Pope John Paul II’s Record on LGBT Issues – Francis DeBernardo (Bondings 2.0, April 27, 2014).
John Paul II Made People Look at Things in New Ways – William T. Ditewig (National Catholic Reporter, April 25, 2014).
Records Show that John Paul II Could Have Intervened in Abuse Crisis - But Didn't – Thomas P. Doyle (National Catholic Reporter, April 25, 2014).
John Paul II Sainthood Stirs Latin Americans – E. Eduardo Castillo (Associated Press via Yahoo! News, April 25, 2014).
John Paul II: A Saint, He Ain't – Maureen Dowd (New York Times, April 22, 2014).
Maureen Dowd Has Opinions About John Paul II – Mollie Wilson O'Reilly (Commonweal, April 24, 2014).

A Visit to Melbourne

One of the many highlights of my recent time in Australia was a visit to Melbourne, home to my older brother Chris, my sister-in-law Cathie, and my four nephews.

Right: With Chris and Cathie – Tuesday, April 8, 2014.

I hadn't seen any of the members of my brother's family since January 2011, so it was great to spend time with them during the five days I was in Melbourne earlier this month. The only disappointment was that I didn't catch up with my nephew Liam, who is currently in Western Australia. But since he's there living his dream of being a commercial pilot, it was a disappointment I can live with!

About the city of Melbourne, Wikipedia notes:

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia (4.35 million) after Sydney (4.76 million). It is located on the large natural bay of Port Phillip, with its City Centre situated at the northernmost point of the bay – near to the estuary of the Yarra River. The metropolitan area extends south from the City Centre, along the eastern and western shorelines of Port Phillip, and expands into the hinterlands – toward the Dandenong and Macedon mountain ranges, Mornington Peninsula and Yarra Valley. The City Centre is located in the municipality known as the City of Melbourne, and the metropolis consists of a further 30 municipalities.

Above: My eldest nephew and godson Ryan and his wife Farah. Ryan celebrated his 24th birthday when I was in Melbourne.

Above: My nephews Brendan and Mitchell at Melbourne's Southern Cross Station.

Above: That's Merle, my sister-in-law Cathie's mum, center right. Cathie's next to her while at left are two of Merle's other adult children, Dick and Trish. Also pictured are Ryan, Farah, Mitch and Brendan, and, at right, Mitch's girlfriend Charmaine.

Above: Cathie with the family's two dogs Foxy and Poppy.




Left: With Foxy and Poppy.

Above: Monash Gallery of Art (MGA), the "home of Australian photography" – Tuesday, April 8, 2014.

When Cathie, Mitch and Brendan & I visited the gallery, its featured exhibition was The Rennie Ellis Show.

Notes the MGA's website:

The photographer Rennie Ellis (1940–2003) was a key figure in Australian visual culture. Ellis is best remembered for his effervescent observations of Australian life during the 1970s–90s, including his now iconic book Life is a Beach. Although invariably inflected with his own personality and wit, the thousands of social documentary photographs taken by Ellis during this period now form an important historical record.

The Rennie Ellis Show highlights some of the defining images of Australian life from the 1970S and ‘80S. This is the period of Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser, Paul Keating and Bob Hawke; AC/DC and punk rock; cheap petrol and coconut oil; Hare Krishnas and hookers and Deviant Balls.

This exhibition of 100 photographs provides a personal account of what Ellis termed ‘a great period of change’.

Above: The distinctive and beautiful bark of a red ironbark.

Above: The night skyline of the City of Melbourne – April 8, 2014.

Above and left: On the evening of Tuesday, April 8, Chris & Cathie and I attended a wonderful show called Empire on the rooftop of the Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex.

The show's promoters describe Empire as "smashing through the borders of comedy, circus, vaudeville and burlesque," and as presenting "the sexiest, most daring artists from across the globe."

And, yes, that pretty much sums it up!

Above and right: I'd have to say that my favorite act in Empire was the balancing artist, Memet Bilgin. And, no, it wasn't just because the guy is so incredibly hot! (Although that probably did factor in somewhere.) But seriously, Memet's balancing skills are simply amazing.

He started by balancing a single feather on a stick, and then just kept adding larger and larger sticks – all balanced one upon another! It was quite something to behold.

Above: Cathie and Chris at the Empire show! Thanks, guys, for a great night out!

Above and below: Rainy Melbourne – Wednesday, April 9, 2014.

Here's part of what Wikipedia says about the history of Melbourne:

Before the arrival of European settlers, the area was occupied for an estimated 31,000 to 40,000 years by under 20,000 hunter-gatherers from three indigenous regional tribes: the Wurundjeri, Boonwurrung and Wathaurong. The area was an important meeting place for the clans of the Kulin nation alliance and a vital source of food and water.

The first European settlement in Victoria was established by Colonel David Collins in October 1803, at Sullivan Bay, near present-day Sorrento, but this settlement was relocated to what is now Hobart, Tasmania in February 1804, due to a perceived lack of resources. It would be 30 years before another settlement was attempted.

In May and June 1835, the area which is now central and northern Melbourne was explored by John Batman, a leading member of the Port Phillip Association in Van Diemen's Land (now called Tasmania), who negotiated a purchase of 600,000 acres (2,400 km2) with eight Wurundjeri elders. The agreement, now called Batman's Treaty, was also known as the Dutigulla Treaty, Dutigulla Deed, Melbourne Treaty or Melbourne Deed. Batman selected a site on the northern bank of the Yarra River, declaring that "this will be the place for a village". Batman then returned to Launceston in Tasmania. In early August 1835 a different group of settlers, including John Pascoe Fawkner, left Launceston on the ship Enterprize. Fawkner was forced to disembark at Georgetown, Tasmania because of outstanding debts. The remainder of the party continued and arrived at the mouth of the Yarra River on 15 August 1835. On 30 August 1835 the party disembarked and established a settlement at the site of the current Melbourne Immigration Museum. John Batman and his group arrived on 2 September 1835 and the two groups ultimately agreed to share the settlement.

Batman's Treaty with the Aborigines was annulled by the New South Wales government (which at the time governed all of eastern mainland Australia), which compensated the association. In 1836, Governor Richard Bourke declared the city the administrative capital of the Port Phillip District of New South Wales, and commissioned the first plan for the city, the Hoddle Grid, in 1837. Later that year the settlement was named "Melbourne" after the British Prime Minister, William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, whose seat was Melbourne Hall in the market town of Melbourne, Derbyshire. On 13 April 1837, the settlement's general post office was officially opened with that name.

Above: A glimpse of Melbourne in the 1800s: Tom Robert's "Allegro con brio: Bourke Street west" (1886).

Left: Growing up in Australia in the 1970s, one of the most popular shows on television was The Sullivans. I mention this as the show was set in Melbourne during World War II. As Wikipedia notes:

The Sullivans is an Australian drama television series produced by Crawford Productions which ran on the Nine Network from 15 November 1976 until 10 March 1983. The series told the story of an average middle-class Melbourne family and the effect World War II had on their lives. It was a consistent ratings success in Australia, and also became popular in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Netherlands, Gibraltar and New Zealand.

Above left: The cast of The Sullivans. From left: Susan Hannaford (Kitty Sullivan), Paul Cronin (Dave Sullivan), Lorraine Bayly (Grace Sullivan), Richard Morgan (Terry Sullivan), Andrew McFarlane (John Sullivan), and Steven Tandy (Tom Sullivan).

. . . The story began in 1939, with the declaration of war against Germany. From the outset the series focused on the Sullivan family of 7 Gordon Street, Camberwell, Victoria, along with neighbourhood friends, relatives, and associates. The majority of show's storylines related to the war, focusing on either the fighting itself or its effect on the Sullivan family. Scenes of battles in northern Africa, Greece, Crete, the Netherlands, England, New Guinea and Malaya were all filmed in or around Melbourne.

The series was renowned for its high production standards. The programme's researchers went to great lengths to ensure both historical and cultural accuracy. Many scenes were timestamped and the scripts referenced actual military developments and events of the time, such as discussion of specific battles, sporting results and cinematic releases. Authentic 1930s furniture was located and used on sets, while kitchen pantries and the corner store were stocked with packaged goods of the era.

To view The Sullivans' iconic opening sequence, click here.

For a seven-minute documentary on the program, click here.

Above: No, not the Sullivans . . . the Baylys! We're pictured just after seeing a show at the Melbourne Comedy Festival on the evening of Wednesday, April 9, 2014.

Above: Some lovely terrace houses in Kew, a suburb of Melbourne.

Above: With my friend Enid at Hellenic Republic in Kew. We figured out we hadn't seen each other in something like 26 years! We went to university together in Armidale, New South Wales, from 1984-1986. Thank goodness for Facebook, which reconnected us online about a year ago. It was great to finally meet face-to-face on Thursday, April 10, 2014.

Right: A portrait I took of Enid in 1986.

Above: We didn't care that it was raining (and had been for days!). On my last night in Melbourne we were getting in that hot tub!

From left: Mitch, me, Cathie and Brendan. My brother Chris took the photo.


See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
Sydney Sojourn
Newtown
Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast
A Visit to Gunnedah
Weekend in Chicago
Weekend in Kansas City
Road Trip to St. Louis

Paul Lakeland on How the Clergy Sex Abuse Scandal Reveals a Crisis of Leadership

Paul Lakeland, author and director of Fairfield University's Center for Catholic Studies, will be visiting Minnesota at the end of the month to speak on "Pope Francis and the Liberation of the Laity."

I first met Paul at the Catholic Coalition for Church Reform's 2010 Synod of the Baptized, "Claiming Our Place at the Table." I was an organizer of this event while Paul was its keynote speaker. His talk at Synod 2010 was entitled "The Call of the Baptized: Be the Church, Live the Mission." It was an excellent presentation, the transcript of which can be found here.

Now Paul is returning to Minnesota where he will be speaking on what Pope Francis has to say about the role of the laity in the world and the responsibilities the baptismal priesthood places on each of us who are baptized in Christ’s name. On Wednesday, April 30, Paul will be speaking at St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church in Minneapolis (details here). Then on Friday, May 1, Paul will be at Christ Church Newman Center in St Cloud (details here). Both speaking engagements are free and open to the public.

Along with serving as the director of the Center for Catholic Studies at Fairfield University, Paul Lakeland is active in the American Academy of Religion, the Catholic Theological Society of America, and the Workgroup on Constructive Christian Theology. His two most recent books, both winners of Catholic Press Association awards, are The Liberation of the Laity: In Search of an Accountable Church and Catholicism at the Crossroads: How the Laity Can Save the Church.

Following, with added links, is an excerpt from chapter five of Lakeland's Catholicism at the Crossroads. This excerpt deals with understanding the Catholic church's sex abuse scandal, and I believe it's timely to share given all that is happening in the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis in relation to this scandal.

Let us be clear. Sex abuse in the church is a scandal, but it is not a crisis. There is no sex-abuse crisis in the church. What the church suffers from is a crisis issuing from the real problem of clerical sexual abuse of minors. Sex abuse itself is a heinous crime and a scandal in the church of the highest magnitude. But it isn't in itself a crisis.

. . . The scandal of sexual abuse revealed a crisis of episcopal leadership. Poor leadership in dealing with the scandal has led to the kind of public scrutiny to which bishops are not accustomed. The precise nature of the crisis is not something that all will agree upon, but its elements are evident. To name them is not to accuse every American bishop of all elements, but to point to systemic problems to which all American bishops must attend. Among the charges that have been made over the past few years are the following: a faulty understanding of what it is to be a leader on the part of those who select bishops, and a consequent lack of good leaders within the episcopacy; bad judgment about how the good name of the church can best be assured; secrecy; isolation, ambition and careerism; poor theology; too centralized an understanding of the church, with a concomitant over-deference to the Roman Curia; excessive bureaucratization of the role of bishop. Some or all of these may be accurate, but not all qualify as systemic issues. Inappropriate ambition, for example, is something that systemic problems can foster, but in itself it is a personal rather than a structural sin.

Beyond the crisis in the episcopate there is a deeper ecclesiological crisis that is at the same time a cultural crisis. Church historians know that structures of government in the church have changed over time and have indeed always been changing, but, what is more important, that these changes have paralleled changes in secular understandings of government. They have usually needed to stress this in the teeth of those who see the first and last word on ecclesiology to be that "the church is not a democracy."

At a major conference just a few years ago, the opening keynote address was given by a distinguished bishop who tried to make the case that Jesus pretty much envisaged the church as it exists today. Either the bishop believed this, which is sheer historical ignorance, or he thought we needed to hear this, which is insulting. And in an action that revealed so much, he then promptly left the meeting and did not hear the impressive array of distinguished Catholic historians, who deal in historical fact, and, entirely unintentionally, made his presentation seem bogus and frankly ridiculous. If only he had stayed to hear Francine Cardman challenge the proponents of what she called "default ecclesiology" to recognize that the church is not monolithic but "a dynamic, evolving, diverse movement," or Brian Tierney explain that "within the Catholic church there have always been these three, Peter, the apostles, and the people of God, but the constitutional relationships between them have been defined differently in different ages," or Marcia Colish point out that while secular governments have continued to change through-out history, becoming constitutional monarchies and then representative democracies with no kings or queens, "the church remained trapped in the absolute monarchy time wrap of the early modern period," or Frank Oakley offering up the conciliarist movement as a phenomenon that has much still to teach us, though it has been consigned to the garbage heap of church history by what Oakley call "an ultramontane politics of oblivion," or John Beal's eloquent call for a canon law that restores the balance between communio and juridic ecclesiologies. Now is surely the time to answer the question with which Oakley ended his paper: "with what confidence, after all, can we Catholics hope to erect a future capable of enduring if, for ideological reasons, we persist in trying to do so on the foundation of a past that never truly was?"

The weight of the historical evidence would strongly suggest that it is quite appropriate to ask how democratic sensibilities might have something important to offer to the church today, and that it is entirely probable that the church will evolve, willy-nilly, to incorporate some genuine role for the voice of the whole community into its structures of governance. It has been so in the church's past, most recently in the American church of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and it could be so again. The lessons of history also teach us, however, that it is exceedingly rare that an elite in any society will freely give up its own hold on power. And this brings us to what may be a yet deeper level of the crisis, namely, an ecclesiology and a polity that gives no formal role to the voice of laypeople in the church to which they belong, buttressed by the sorry history of theological reflection upon the laity. Here is where the discussion of clericalism belongs. Clericalism can be damaging and can be petty. It can be ridiculous and it can be scandalous. It can be sinister as it is in John Gregory Dunne's True Confessions and as comic as it is in J.F. Powers' incomparable stories of the lives of clergy. But in the end it always points to the real issue that for at least three quarters of the church's life the best theological definition the church could offer of the layperson was "not clergy."

– Paul Lakeland
Catholicism at the Crossroads: How the Laity Can Save the Church
Pp. 79-83

Related Off-site Links:
The Call of the Baptized: Be the Church, Live the Mission – Paul Lakeland (The Progressive Catholic Voice, September 19, 2010).
Challenges to Us As Catholics – A 10-part series featuring excerpts from Paul Lakeland's book Church: Living Communion (The Progressive Catholic Voice, September 2010).
Synod of the Baptized Uncovers Deep Well of Hope – Paula Ruddy (The Progressive Catholic Voice, September 20, 2010).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
It's Time for Archbishop Nienstedt to Resign
Time for a Fresh Start in the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis
In the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis, the Unravelment Continues
Colleen Kochivar-Baker on the First Anniversary of the Papacy of Francis
Quote of the Day – September 12, 2011
Now We Know
St. Francis of Assisi: The Antithesis of Clericalism and Monarchism
SNAP Responds to Cardinal Bertone
A Clerical Leadership Unresponsive to Voices of Reason

It's Time for Archbishop Nienstedt to Resign

UPDATED: April 25, 2014

Yesterday, Minnesota Public Radio released video and transcripts of testimony given by Archbishop John C. Nienstedt during a sworn deposition on April 2, 2014. (To read the full transcript of the Archbishop's deposition, click either here or here.)

A spokesperson for Ramsey County Attorney John Choi told MPR News that investigators and prosecutors are reviewing the information contained in the archbishop's deposition as part of their ongoing investigation into the archdiocese's handling of clergy sex abuse cases. Similarly, St. Paul Police spokesperson Howie Padilla said that police "will be examining this new information to determine its value to our current criminal investigations."


Astoundingly inept

Regardless of any possible criminal charges resulting from the archbishop's deposition, one thing is painfully clear: Throughout his deposition, John Nienstedt comes across as astoundingly inept as an organizational leader – and, in my view, a spiritual one as well.

Here's part of MPR News reporter Madeleine Baran's story on the archbishop's deposition:

Archbishop John Nienstedt acknowledged in sworn testimony that he took steps to hide information on abusive priests and never provided complete files to police, according to a transcript released today.

Nienstedt said he had followed the advice of a subordinate [then-Vicar General Kevin McDonough] that he keep no written notes of certain discussions, in case those notes should later become public in legal proceedings. He said that he didn't publicly disclose which priests were being monitored, and that he relied on others to keep parish trustees informed.

Nienstedt made the remarks in a four-hour deposition taken April 2 as part of a lawsuit filed by a man who said he was sexually abused by the Rev. Thomas Adamson in the mid-1970s. The man alleges the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and the Diocese of Winona created a public nuisance by keeping information on accused priests secret. The man's attorneys, Jeff Anderson and Mike Finnegan, argued that the deposition could provide evidence of a pattern of deception by the archdiocese.

. . . Nienstedt has been under intense scrutiny for months since an MPR News investigation found that he failed to report possible sex crimes to police. Several priests have publicly criticized Nienstedt's leadership, and at least one has called for his resignation.

The Star Tribune's coverage of Nienstedt's deposition notes the following:

Archbishop John Nienstedt said he was not aware that known child sex abusers were working in various capacities at the archdiocese during his tenure, nor did he discipline anyone at the chancery for mistakes that allowed the abusive priests to continue working, a court deposition released Tuesday revealed.

Nienstedt often described himself as out of the loop on issues of child sex abuse, according to sworn testimony taken April 2, part of a lawsuit by an alleged victim of a priest.

When Nienstedt became archbishop in 2008, he said he had a briefing with key archdiocese officials about clergy abuse. He testified he didn’t remember any names of abusive priests mentioned at the time, how many were being monitored, and even the names of the archdiocese officials present.

Nienstedt said he did not request the list of “credibly accused” priests that all dioceses are required to maintain. Nor did he press for parishes to be told about the presences of clergy with histories of child sexual misconduct, who were being monitored.

“I believe we felt that we could monitor the situation without making a total disclosure to the people,” testified Nienstedt, who added that he no longer feels that way.

In her MPR News piece, Madeleine Baran quotes from the deposition transcript in reporting on Nienstedt's mind-boggling lack of awareness regarding clergy sexual abuse within the archdiocese.

Throughout much of the deposition, [attorney Jeff] Anderson appeared incredulous that Nienstedt would not have paid more attention to the problem of clergy sexual abuse.

Nienstedt said McDonough talked about the priests being monitored by the archdiocese for misconduct.

"Who were those individuals?" Anderson asked.

"I can't recall all the names right now," Nienstedt said.

"Why didn't you write it down?" Anderson asked.

"It didn't occur to me at the time to do so," Nienstedt replied.

"At the time, didn't it seem like one of the most important things you needed to do as archbishop, knowing the crisis in America of Catholic clergy abusing kids, to know who in this archdiocese had been accused and who are being monitored?" Anderson asked.

Nienstedt did not directly answer the question.

"The Archbishop" by Steve Sack (Star Tribune, April 23, 2014).

"Put on the spot" – and that's the problem

In sharing his thoughts on Archbishop Nienstedt's deposition, local blogger Terry Nelson writes: "The poor Archbishop looks and sounds like someone 'put on the spot' – and he was."

That Terry isn't fazed by a bishop in today's church being "put on the spot" over the issue of clergy sex abuse is as mind-boggling as Archbishop Nienstedt's own woeful lack of awareness, as demonstrated by his deposition. How, as Catholics, have we come to tolerate such a terribly low bar when it comes to the caliber of our clerical leaders?

Terry prays that God will give Archbishop Nienstedt strength – strength to endure the ongoing "scrutiny and defamation." I see no evidence of defamation, and why on earth should anyone in a position of authority be free from scrutiny?

I too pray that God may give Archbishop Nienstedt strength – strength to do the right thing and resign.

I mentioned earlier that the archbishop's deposition shows that he is inept as both an organizational leader and a spiritual one. I stand by this claim. His deposition makes it clear that Nienstedt has failed the people of the archdiocese as an organizational leader. This is demonstrated by his lack of awareness of, interest in, and thus oversight of a range of issues relating to the clergy sex abuse crisis as it has been manifested in the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis. This failure also shows a lack of moral and spiritual leadership . . . and in John Nienstedt's case, in a very specific way.


Nienstedt's "shadow"

Let me attempt to explain what I mean, and let me start my highlighting the words and insights of author and psychologist John Neafsey that I shared this past Easter Sunday. These words and insights relate to the Jungian concept of "the shadow" – those parts of ourselves that, says Neafsey, "don't neatly fit with our ideal mental image of the person we think we should be, our idea of what a 'good' or 'holy' person is like." In talking further about the shadow dimension of the human psyche, Neafsey notes that:

[P]roblems . . . develop when we get caught up in . . . denying or repressing the shadow side of ourselves. Defensive denial of our inner reality reflects a lack of psychological honesty. When it is based on pretense and denial, being a "good person" can also mean acting as a kind of false self. If we are too defensive, too controlled, too good all the time, we lose touch with our authentic feelings and all of the vital life energies they contain. When we are out of touch with [for instance] sexual passions, our capacity for authentic emotional and spiritual passion can become blocked.

Unconsciousness of our shadow also makes us more prone to hypocrisy and judgmental attitudes toward other people. . . . We end up criticizing in others what we are actually ashamed of and afraid to look at in ourselves.

From the very start of his tenure as archbishop (in fact, even well before he was appointed coadjutor archbishop) John Nienstedt has been obsessed with demonizing consensual sexual relationships between same-sex couples and working to ensure that such relationships are in no way legally acknowledged or recognized. In terms of the latter, he has failed completely. The anti-gay "marriage amendment," which he tirelessly championed, was defeated and, shortly after, both the Minnesota House and Senate passed marriage equality legislation. Same-sex couples now have the same civil right to marry as opposite-sex couples. During the often contentious marriage amendment "battle," many Minnesota Catholics opposed Nienstedt's anti-gay activism. In 2013 they celebrated the victory of marriage equality in the civil sphere.

Here's the crux of the matter: The time and energy that Nienstedt expended on demonizing gay relationships and attempting to deny such relationships legal recognition in civil law, could and should have been focused instead on creating a local church reflective of gospel values, including confronting and dealing with the many issues relating to clergy sex abuse within the archdiocese; issues, which Nienstedt openly admits in his deposition, he was "out of the loop" about.

I think Nienstedt's cluelessness about so much of the external crisis around him stems from his inner unconsciousness of his "shadow," and I believe that Nienstedt's shadow may well be to do with issues related to his own homosexuality and its integration into his life. Remember, according to Neafsey, the shadow is comprised of those parts of ourselves that "don't neatly fit with our ideal mental image of the person we think we should be, [and] our idea of what a 'good' or 'holy' person is like."

It's also important to note, especially when we are talking about a situation of repressed homosexuality, that "the word shadow does not necessarily mean that these aspects of ourselves are bad or sinful, but rather suggests that some dimensions of our inner experience . . . may not comfortably fit with the kind of self we aspire to be in the light of day."

As has already been mentioned in relation to Nienstedt's obsessive and misguided focus on same-sex relationships, people who are unconsciousness of their shadow are more prone to judgmental attitudes toward others. They often project their shame, fear, and anger about the reality they are denying and/or repressing out onto those who are successfully integrating into their lives this same reality.

Also, credible studies suggest that those who harbor and/or express negative feelings and hostility toward gay people may themselves be struggling with suppressed feelings of same-sex desire. (See, for example, here, here and here.)

I believe that John Nienstedt has failed to prevent his own inner struggles and issues from distorting and misplacing his priorities as both the organizational and spiritual leader of the archdiocese. Such failure demonstrates a profound and tragic lack of psychological honesty (i.e., the taking of responsibility for the shadow dimensions of ourselves) and has played, I believe, a significant role in his divisive anti-gay activism and in his scandalous lack of awareness and action with regard the clergy sex abuse crisis in our local church.

Nienstedt's situation is not unique. I've written previously about how (closeted) gay men in the church's clerical caste are "giving the rest of us a bad name."

But yesterday's disclosures regarding Nienstedt's disposition bring the issue very much into the here and now. Accordingly, for his own good and the good of the archdiocese, Archbishop Nienstedt must resign.


4/25/14 Updates:
Former Top Church Official Kevin McDonough Disputes Archbishop's Clergy Abuse Testimony – Madeleine Baran (Minnestota Public Radio News, April 24, 2014).
Archbishop Nienstedt's Deposition Draws Mixed Reviews – Jean Hopfensperger and Chao Xiong (Star Tribune, April 24, 2014).
Abusive Priests Allowed to Keep Working, McDonough Testifies – Jean Hopfensperger and Chao Xiong (Star Tribune, April 24, 2014).
He Said, He Said – Grant Gallicho (Commonweal, April 25, 2014).
Ex-Archdiocese Deputy: Clergy Abusers Given Jobs, Financial Assistance – Jean Hopfensperger and Chao Xiong (Star Tribune, April 25, 2014).

Recommended Off-site Links:
Nienstedt Admits Archdiocese Hid Info on Abusive Priests – Madeleine Baran (Minnesota Public Radio News, April 22, 2014).
St. Paul Archbishop Claims He Was Unaware of Most Child Sex Abuse Issues – Jean Hoppensperger and Chao Xiong (Star Tribune, April 22, 2014).
Nienstedt Deposed – Grant Gallicho (Commonweal, April 22, 2014).
Statement Regarding Nienstedt Testimony in Sworn Deposition – Eric Fought (EricFought.com, April 22, 2014).
Twin Cities Task Force Reports 'Serious Shortcomings' in Archdiocesan Policies – Brian Roewe (National Catholic Reporter, April 18, 2014).
In the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis, "Regime Change is Not Enough" – Bob Beutel (The Progressive Catholic Voice, November 10, 2013).
Healing Can’t Start Until the Knife is Removed from the Wound – The Progressive Catholic Voice (November 5, 2013).
Homophobes Might Be Hidden Homosexuals – Jeanna Bryner (Scientific America, April 10, 2012).
Homophobic? Maybe You're Gay – Richard M. Ryan and William S. Ryan (New York Times, April 27, 2012).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
Time for a Fresh Start in the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis
In the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis, the Unravelment Continues
The Journal of James Curtis: Part 7 – The Note
Progressive Perspectives on Archbishop Nienstedt's Anti-Gay Activism
Thanking You, Archbishop
Quote of the Day – August 23, 2012
Casey Michel on Archbishop Nienstedt's "Crusade Against Gay Marriage"
It's a Scandal
PCV Publishes Archbishop Nienstedt's Marriage Amendment Directives to Priests
Pastor Mike Tegeder Challenges Archbishop Nienstedt's "Bullying Behavior"
Thoughts on Archbishop Nienstedt
What Part of Jesus' Invitation to "Be Not Afraid" Don't the Bishops Get?
The Talk of the Archdiocese
Interesting Times Ahead
Coadjutor Archbishop Nienstedt's "Learning Curve": A Suggested Trajectory

Something to Think About . . .

Related Off-site Links:
On Earth Day, an Economics for People and Planet – Helena Norberg-Hodge (Common Dreams, April 22, 2014).
The Change Within: The Obstacles We Face Are Not Just External – Naomi Klein (The Nation, April 21, 2014).
How Silent Spring Ignited the Environmental Movement – Eliza Griswold (New York Times, September 21, 2012).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
Photo of the Day – April 22, 2013
Thomas Berry, 1914-2009
"Something Sacred Dwells There"
Michael Greyeyes on Temperance as a Philosophy for Surviving
The End of the World as We Know It . . .

Happy Birthday, Dad!

In Australia today my Dad celebrates his 77th birthday. Happy Birthday, Dad!

I've said it before but it's worth saying again: My brothers and I are very fortunate to have Gordon James Bayly as our father. He is a man of integrity, compassion, and selfless service to others. We experienced and witnessed such qualities growing up in Gunnedah, and they are qualities that are still very much part of our father today.

I love you, Dad, and can’t thank you enough for all you continue to be and give to me, my brothers, our family, and so many others whose lives are touched by yours.

For some great photos of Dad through the years, click here and here.

The photos that accompany this post were taken during my recent trip back to Australia (March 20-April 17, 2014). In the opening photo, taken last Monday, April 14, Dad is pictured center with (from left) Mum, my younger brother Tim, me, my niece Sami, and Sami's friend Connor.

Above: Mum and Dad – Monday, April 14, 2014.

Above: Dad on that part of Town Beach where he and I and Mum spent time pretty much every morning during my recent stay with them in Port Macquarie. As you can see, it's a lovely spot!


See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
Happy Birthday, Dad (2013)
Happy Birthday, Dad (2011)
Happy Birthday, Dad (2010)
Happy Birthday, Dad (2009)
Congratulations, Mum and Dad
Catholic Rainbow (Australian) Parents
A Visit to Gunnedah

Related Off-site Link:
"He Wasn't a Superhero But He Was a Hero" – A Prince Named Valiant (February 21, 2011).

A Discerning Balance Between Holiness and Wholeness: A Hallmark of the Resurrected Life

The Wild Reed's 2014 Holy Week series concludes with a final excerpt from John Neafsey's 2006 book A Sacred Voice is Calling: Personal and Social Conscience. (To start at the beginning of this series, click here.)

Unlike the previous four excerpts shared in this series, today's focuses not on suffering but on the authentic life or, as Neafsey puts it, "living as though the truth were true."

Why have I chosen to share this particular part of Neafsey's book today, Easter Sunday? Because I believe that another way of talking about the authentic life is to talk about the resurrected life.

After all, if we are truly to be followers of Christ then we must follow Christ out of our various tombs – tombs of fear and of hubris, tombs that cause isolation and inaction – and into the new life of resurrection. It won't, of course, be the full life of resurrection as, obviously, we're still living with our finite bodies. Nevertheless, we're called each day and in all kinds of situations to open ourselves to the transforming love of God and so die with Christ and rise with Christ.

Put another way, we're capable of experiencing and embodying intonations, aspects, qualities of the resurrection in our daily lives; capable of being – indeed, called to be – people of the resurrection.

In the following excerpt from A Sacred Voice is Calling, Neafsey explores wholeness and holiness. He contends that the call to a life of authenticity requires us to discern balance between being ourselves (wholeness) and behaving ourselves (holiness). Seeking, finding and embodying this balance is an aspect of the authentic life or, as I like to say, the resurrected life.

In discerning and embodying this balance we must be prepared to acknowledge and take responsibility for the shadow dimensions of ourselves, those parts of ourselves that, as Neafsey puts it, "don't neatly fit with our ideal mental image of the person we think we should be, our idea of what a 'good' or 'holy' person is like." I think it's possible to view the story of Jesus' descent into hell, between the time of his death and his resurrection, as a powerful metaphor for acknowledging and dealing with the shadow. Of course, exploring such an idea could comprise a whole post of its own! For now, though, I share a fourth (and final) excerpt from A Sacred Voice is Calling, one focused on holiness and wholeness in the call to a life of authenticity.

In the call to authenticity there is an inherent tension in our strivings for wholeness and holiness. The tension centers around the complex moral task of finding a discerning balance between being ourselves and behaving ourselves.

Holiness and wholeness have different associations in the minds of most people. They seem to be organized around different principals, oriented toward different aims, motivated by different values and ideals. Holiness is usually associated with our aspirations toward moral perfection or self-transcendence. It has to do with rising above our human weaknesses and limitations so that we can live up to certain standards of righteousness and good behavior. From this perspective, holiness requires efforts to tame or conquer our unruly, disordered, sinful selves, which might otherwise incline us in unholy directions if we are not careful to keep them in check and focused in the right direction. Wholeness, on the other hand, is associated with strivings for integration or completion or self-realization. Instead of focusing on overcoming the self, the emphasis is on embracing or accepting or expressing ourselves in all our complexity and imperfection. In a nutshell, wholeness is about being ourselves and holiness is about behaving ourselves.

We are called to both wholeness and holiness. Although they have different emphases, it is possible for these seemingly contradictory aims to work together in harmonious and complementary ways. Perhaps the most complex moral challenge we face in our discernment of these simultaneous calls is the problem of what to do with all the aspects of ourselves that don't neatly fit with our ideal mental image of the person we think we should be, our idea of what a "good" or "holy" person is like. In psychoanalysis, this is referred to as our ego ideal. For example, if our ego ideal centers around the idea that we should always and everywhere be loving and compassionate, we are likely to experience considerable discomfort when we experience feelings and inclinations in ourselves that do not seem particularly "nice" or loving or compassionate.

The shadow was Jung's name for all of the dimensions or parts of ourselves that do not conform to our ego ideal. The word shadow does not necessarily mean that these aspects of ourselves are bad or sinful, but rather suggests that some dimensions of our inner experience are darker or morally ambiguous and may not comfortably fit with the kind of self we aspire to be in the light of day. In my clinical practice I have worked with many idealistic, conscientious people over the years (especially those from Christian backgrounds) whose shadow side is often associated with thoughts and feelings related to anger, sex, and personal emotional needs. For example, feelings of anger that are perfectly appropriate in certain situations make some people extremely anxious and guilty, usually because anger conflicts with their idea of what it means to be a loving person. Natural sexual feelings and desires can also create inner conflict and tension because they are perceived as self-centered or sinful. In a similar way, normal human needs for attention and love from others may be perceived as "selfish" because they do not seem to be sufficiently generous and other-centered.

The shadow is perceived as emotionally, spiritually, and morally dangerous for good reasons. If we act out our shadow side thoughtlessly or irresponsibly, we are likely to get ourselves into all kinds of unhealthiness and trouble. Anger that is not carefully sorted out and expressed properly can be hurtful to others and damaging to our relationships. Irresponsible acting out of sexual feelings, of course, can also have disastrous consequences for ourselves and others. Likewise, an excessive and unbalanced focus on gratification of our own needs is a manifestation not only of egocentrism but also of a poorly developed conscience. And so a discerning attitude, common sense, and self-restraint are called for in all of our dealings with the shadow side of ourselves.

On the other hand, the seemingly dark and destructive feelings and inclinations associated with the shadow can also potentially play an important and constructive role in our personal growth and development. While impulsive action has its dangers, problems also develop when we get caught up in the opposite problem of denying or repressing the shadow side of ourselves. Defensive denial of our inner reality reflects a lack of psychological honesty. When it is based on pretense and denial, being a "good person" can also mean acting as a kind of false self. If we are too defensive, too controlled, too good all the time, we lose touch with our authentic feelings and all of the vital life energies they contain. When we are out of touch with our anger and our sexual passions, our capacity for authentic emotional and spiritual passion can become blocked.

Unconsciousness of our shadow also makes us more prone to hypocrisy and judgmental attitudes toward other people. If we are unable to admit our weaknesses to ourselves, we are more likely to project them onto others. We end up criticizing in others what we are actually ashamed of and afraid to look at in ourselves.

. . . And so the call to authenticity requires psychological honesty, which means that we need to acknowledge and take responsibility for the shadow dimensions of ourselves. . . . Just because something makes us uncomfortable does not mean that it is bad. From God's perspective, things might look very different.

The challenge centers around finding the proper attitude to take toward our shadow, the right kind of discerning consciousness with which to regard our inner experience. In psychoanalysis, this complex attitude or state of consciousness has been referred to as "conscious, loving self-restraint." The basic ingredients of conscious, loving self-restraint are psychological honesty and a commitment to loving care and respect for ourselves and others. We must be courageously honest in acknowledging our own inner truth, including shadow feelings and inclinations that may seem objectionable, while also being very conscientious and responsible about our attitude and behavior with others.

In the Zen Buddhist tradition, something comparable to "conscious, loving self-restraint" is summed up by the term "mindfulness." The essence of this attitude or state of consciousness is a relaxed, compassionate, non-judgmental awareness of whatever we may happen to be experiencing at any given moment. This includes our experiences of events and people in the external world as well as the thoughts and feelings that enter into our awareness within the internal world of our own mind.

. . . The great emotional and spiritual challenge of the call to wholeness is learning to acknowledge and accept and love ourselves as we are. . . . [The] humbling awareness of our own weaknesses helps us to be less judgmental and more forgiving toward other imperfect human beings. Paradoxically, the capacity to love and care for our imperfect selves is exactly what enables us to develop a more mature and generous love for others. The calls to wholeness and holiness come together in a right love for ourselves that frees us to be more just and compassionate in our dealings with others.

– John Neafsey
A Sacred Voice is Calling
pp. 51-62

For previous Easter reflections, see:
A Girl Named Sara: A Person of the Resurrection
The Triumph of Love: An Easter Reflection
Easter: The Celebration of the Sacrament of Transformation
Jesus: The Revelation of Oneness
The Resurrected Jesus
Jesus: The Breakthrough in the History of Humanity
Resurrection: Beyond Words, Dogmas, and All Possible Theological Formulations
The Passion of Christ (Part 11) – Jesus Appears to Mary
The Passion of Christ (Part 12) – Jesus Appears to His Friends

See also:
There Must Be Balance
Prayer of the Week – October 28, 2013
"Then I Shall Leap Into Love"
The Soul of a Dancer
Seeking Balance

Related Off-site Link:
In Easter Message, Pope Remembers Areas of War, Conflict Around World – Joshua J. McElwee (National Catholic Reporter, April 20, 2014).
"Every Life is Different Because You Passed This Way and Touched History": Easter Meditation Points – William D. Lindsey (Bilgrimage, April 20, 2014).
An Interview with John Neafsey – Programs for the Theological Exploration of Vocation (PTEV).

Opening image: Subject and photographer unknown.

Easter: The Celebration of the Sacrament of Transformation

'The tomb was empty,' the Scriptures said later, metaphorically perhaps but pointedly, nevertheless. People had known His presence again, not the same as before the crucifixion, true, but real, nevertheless. Transformed. Somehow or other Jesus had defeated death, had snatched new life from its cavernous throat. The implications were overwhelming. Death, even once transcended, could never be permanent again. In fact, life itself could never be the same again. Jesus risen from the dead made life the stuff of eternity. Jesus transformed leads us to look beyond the obvious, to allow for the presence of God in alien places in unanticipated ways. Resurrection begs the scrutiny of the obvious, the celebration of the sacrament of transformation.

– Joan Chittister, OSB

For previous Easter reflections, see:
A Girl Named Sara: A Person of the Resurrection
The Triumph of Love: An Easter Reflection
Jesus: The Revelation of Oneness
The Resurrected Jesus
Jesus: The Breakthrough in the History of Humanity
Resurrection: Beyond Words, Dogmas, and All Possible Theological Formulations
The Passion of Christ (Part 11) – Jesus Appears to Mary
The Passion of Christ (Part 12) – Jesus Appears to His Friends

Related Off-site Link:
In Easter Message, Pope Remembers Areas of War, Conflict Around World – Joshua J. McElwee (National Catholic Reporter, April 20, 2014).

A God With Whom It is Possible to Connect

Continuing with The Wild Reed's 2014 Holy Week series, I share today a fourth excerpt from John Neafsey's book A Sacred Voice is Calling: Personal Vocation and Social Justice. (To start at the beginning of this series, click here.)

As with all the excerpts from Neafsey's book shared so far in this series, this fourth one focuses on suffering, a key theme in the Gospel narratives of Jesus' final days and a reality which, to some degree or another, we all experience in our lives.

In the twenty centuries of the Christian tradition, contemplation of the image and reality of the crucified Jesus has served as a saving lifeline to God for suffering people. One evening, on a recent visit to Guatemala, I observed a group of very poor people in a church patiently waiting in line for their turn to pray in front of a life-sized statue of the crucified Jesus. Each person, in their turn, went to the foot of the cross, and, as they prayed quietly about whatever was on their minds or in their hearts, they reached up and literally clung to the legs of Jesus. From the looks of life-long suffering etched into their faces, I suspect that some were hanging on for dear life.

Although distorted forms of Christian piety can become morbidly preoccupied with the passion and death of Jesus, authentic Christian spirituality is not about suffering for its own sake. It is about the redemptive breakthrough of love and compassion through suffering, or in the midst of it, or in spite of it. "Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me!" The crucified Jesus offers people an image of God that captures the heart and the imagination. This is a God with whom it is possible to connect – a human God, a God who suffers, a compassionate God who is able to appreciate what it is to be a suffering human being. "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses," reads the Letter to the Hebrews, "but . . . one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin." The one who is able to sympathize or empathize with human weakness and pain is accessible, approachable. "Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we mat receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

In a mysterious way, the crucified Jesus not only provides us with a concrete image of God's love and compassion for suffering humanity but also evokes compassion in us for the God who suffers. The image of the crucified Jesus gives us a feeling for the radical vulnerability and helplessness of God. We are touched and moved by the suffering of God. There is a give-and-take of compassion, an experience of shared suffering: God feels for us and we feel for God. The evocative words of the African American spiritual "Were You There?" capture this poignant feeling for many people: Were you there when they crucified my Lord? / Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble / Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

The image of Jesus can also serve as a point of compassionate connection with suffering humanity, with the God who is suffering right now in suffering persons and in the "crucified peoples" of the world. We move from personal, private, inner contemplation of the suffering God into the world of social suffering, to the encounter with God in the lives of suffering human beings. We experience God very concretely in those whose pains and needs are crying out for our attention, in the experience of solidarity and sharing in their suffering, in our attempts to be of service in some way. "I am endeavoring to see God through service to humanity, " wrote Gandhi, "for I know that God is neither in heaven, nor down below, but in everyone."

– John Neafsey
A Sacred Voice is Calling
pp. 127-129

NEXT: A Discerning Balance
Between Holiness and Wholeness:
A Hallmark of the Resurrected Life

For previous Good Friday posts, see:
• Jesus and the Art of Letting Go
• No Deeper Darkness
• An Expression of Human Solidarity
• The Most Dangerous Kind of Rebel
• The Passion of Christ (Part 7) – Jesus Goes to His Execution
• The Passion of Christ (Part 8) – Jesus is Nailed the Cross
• The Passion of Christ (Part 9) – Jesus Dies

See also:
• Why Jesus is My Man
• Bishop Gumbleton: A Priesthood Set Apart and Above Others is Not the Way of Jesus

Recommended Off-site Links:A Holy Week Reflection on Church and State and Pope Francis – Betty Clermont (The Open Tabernacle, April 17, 2014).
Pope at Foot-washing: Jesus Wants Everyone to Serve Others with Love – Carol Glatz (National Catholic Reporter, April 17, 2014).
Good Friday 2014: Origins, Observances and Fasting Rules – Huff Post Religion (April 17, 2014).
"There Is No Such Thing As Foreign Suffering": Good Friday Meditation Points – William D. Lindsey (Bilgrimage, April 18, 2014).
Good Friday on Jerusalem's Via Dolorosa Marked by Christians Commemorating Jesus' Crucifixion – The Huffington Post (April 18, 2014).
Did Jesus Really Die for Our Sins? – Christian Piatt (The Huffington Post, October 18, 2011).