<< Back 6/12/02 A tough analysis of the moral decline of church institutions SMN Goodbye! Good Men: How Catholic Seminaries Turned Away Two Generations Of Vocations From The Priesthood by Michael Rose. Aquinas Publishing Ltd., 2002. $21.95 — 368 pp. Your Excellencies: You are meeting this week to discuss the “sexual crisis” in the priesthood. Doubtless you will be accompanied by priests and laity from your chanceries. Doubtless you will have on hand various advisors—nuns, social workers, psychologists, even, I suspect, some members of advertising agencies specializing in damage control. Doubtless, too, we will hear much about compassion for the victims of molestation, about the need for restitution, about your shock at such shenanigans, about the dastardly Vatican that didn’t take you seriously enough when the Vatican summoned you to Rome to discuss these issues (that was a magnificent media coup, your excellencies, and shows how far ahead we Americans are in twisting events to our own benefit). I hope, your Excellencies, that before you have made this trip you have read the new book Goodbye! Good Men: How Catholic Seminaries Turned Away Two Generations Of Vocations From The Priesthood. In this book — a bomb, I should say, that exploded just as the priestly scandals exploded, proving that God is really quite droll — Michael Rose gives you plenty of evidence as to why these scandals have occurred. You probably didn’t need this evidence — you shouldn’t need this evidence, for heaven’s sakes — but just in case you were allowing your diocese to be run by Sister Chelsea or by Deacon Jones, you might want to take a look. Goodbye! Good Men contains 300 pages of testimony about the moral decline of certain seminaries in the United States. Rose shows us how at several seminaries there developed in the last 30 years what Father Andrew Greeley, a liberal Catholic priest, commentator, and novelist, called the “lavender mafia,” a group of gay priests and seminary faculty who encouraged homosexuality among seminarians, who badgered and harassed heterosexual seminarians, and who attacked the teachings of the Church in every doctrinal sphere. Rose also documents case after case where in certain seminaries the student who believed in the Catholic faith was regarded as suspect, as not being open to “growth,” “process,” and “change.” In case after case, Rose demonstrates how these seminaries made efforts to keep the orthodox Catholic students out of the priesthood and how those who prayed the rosary or followed the norms of the Church during Mass were hounded, reviled, and in many cases, simply dismissed as lacking a vocation to the priesthood. Some commentators have criticized Rose, citing poor research techniques and saying that seminaries have changed. My own favorite charge against Rose for its personal high humor was that Rose was too “detailed” in his charges, that he really didn’t need to name so many names. Another reviewer called Rose’s book “unfortunate” because of its timing; I guess we can only take so much truth at a time. Rose shows us that dioceses like Milwaukee, which averages less than five vocations a year and which has been administered by the liberal and now discredited by sexual scandal Rembert Weakland, stand in stark contrast to dioceses like Arlington, Atlanta, and Denver, which have wonderful bishops and booming priestly vocations. In other words, bishops, priests, and seminaries that teach and preach Catholic doctrine thrive; those that don’t teach Catholic doctrine not only fail, but ruin many lives as well. There are young priests who have gone to these seminaries or who have kept the faith in spite of their seminary training that you should seek out, your Excellencies. I see them at book conferences that I attend; I see them right here in Western North Carolina, grand holy priests who love their Church, who battle for the faith, who are interested in saving souls. It’s not too late, your Excellencies. You could start by actually running your dioceses. You could start by stating publicly that those young men who believe in the teachings of the Church, who are psychologically fit and spiritually open, might ask themselves if they have a vocation in the priesthood. You could start by firing Sister Chelsea and the swarm of lay men and women who run your bureaucracies and your seminaries. You could start by founding your own seminaries, like the wonderful Bishop Chaput of Denver. You could start by telling your priests and the members of your flock that you expect them to live holy lives. Finally, you could start by prayer and fasting. You could demand that your priests do the same — not just for the meeting, but for the rest of their lives. Get rid of the rubbish, and get down to the essentials. You are the shepherds, your Excellencies. It’s time to pick up your staffs and beat the hell out of a few wolves. (Jeff Minick lives in Waynesville and can be reached at saintsbookco@aol.com)