The Message -- for Catholics of Southwestern Indiana 5
Father Vogler's appointment
By BISHOP GERALD
A. GETTELFINGER
of the Diocese of Evans-
you about a decision made in
appointment.
Vogler, a Roman Catholic priest of the
continues on federal probation
sentence for receiving child
the mail. Although Father
ded a prison term and psychi-
treatment was provided during
d the completion of his prison
and with the affirmation of the
probation officials. Father Vogler
months of in-patient treatment with
psycho-therapy. Upon comple-
py, he returned to the dio-
to take an assignment
therapy. In every
has cooperated completely.
treatment program, I have
ue with his therapists. At the con-
V '
ogler s in-patient treatment, I par-
discharge conference. The central
was Father Vogler's reassign-
: At the outset of the confer-
the receptivity of the community
return to ministry, whatever it
my observation that there
sy silence in the community
o-and-a-half years since the
had been confronted by postal inspec-
discharge conference, his therapists
gler posed no threat to chil-
As a precaution, so as not to
jeopardize his recovery, they recommended that he
not be placed in a parish with a school, that he should
not live alone, and that he have a structured life with
supervision. Otherwise they placed no limitations on
his ministry in the church.
Father Vogler's chief therapist was asked to rec-
ommend a priestly assignment that would both uti-
lize his priestly gifts as well as provide a structured
life. It was judged that hospital ministry would be the
best possible ministry for him since he would become
a staff member on a large pastoral ministry team with
strict supervision and a defined daily schedule.
With that recommendation in hand, I approached
St. Mary's Medical Center. I met with Rick Breon,
Chief Administrator of St. Mary's Medical Center and
Sister Catherine Kelly, a Daughter of Charity who
heads the Pastoral Care Department and supervises
all pastoral care ministers. Within that conference, I
reviewed in detail all elements of Father Vogler's
journey since December 1995. I asked directly if it
would be possible that Father Vogler be assigned to
the pastoral care staff of St. Mary's. We discussed the
receptivity of the community to this appointment. We
acknowledged that there would be some negative
response to it, but we judged that the ministry to be .
provided would outweigh any public reaction.
After several days allowing time for the hospital
executives to seek their own internal counsel, I
received word that St. Mary's was willing to accept
Father Vogler and to welcome him as a member of
the pastoral care team.
As bishop and pastor of the Diocese of Evans-
ville, I appointed Father Vogler to St. Mary's Medical
Center. His appointment was made in the same way
as other priests are appointed in our diocese, in keep-
ing with our ordinary process for clergy personnel
assignments.
In doing so, I misjudged the social climate in our
midst. The uneasy silence about Father Jean Vogler
that I had noted during his imprisonment and treat-
ment suddenly ended. The eruption of public reac-
tion came with an unexpected intensity. It reflected
the full range of the spectrum. Reactions within the
Catholic community alone have run the course of
strong support of.me and affirmation of my decision,
to uncontrolled fear of Father Vogler, to outrage and
condemnation of me and my leadership.
The wisdom of Solomon is needed here. Admit-
tedly that gift is not mine. However, in recent days I
have reminded myself that I am a pastor. I am the
shepherd of all of the Catholics in the diocese. I also
hold a position of moral leadership in the communi-
: My greatest concern is for those who are voiceless
and afraid. For an individual or a family, admission
to any hospital carries with it its own anxiety and
trauma. To add the dimension of fear, no matter how
unfounded it may be, would be unconscionable in
my pastoral judgment.
This led me to the only conclusion possible. This
past weekend, I again met with Rick Breon and Sister
Catherine Kelly. I explained to them that I felt it nec-
essary to withdraw Father Vogler's assignment. My
pastoral reasons were twofold: 1) I cannot place an
additional burden of anxiety on anyone seeking med-
ical attention at St. Mary's because of Father Vogler's
presence on the pastoral staff, no matter how
unfounded it might be; and 2) Father Jean Vogler's
ministry, no matter how good it might have been
while on the pastoral care staff of St. Mary's, would
be minimized within the social climate existing in our
community. For these reasons, I am announcing the
withdrawal of Father Vogler's appointment to St.
Mary's Medical Center.
Further, in consultation with Father Ralph Schipp
and with his gracious acceptance, ! have withdrawn
his appointment as pastor of Sacred Heart Church in
Schnellville, Indiana. He will remain as chaplain on
the pastoral care team of St. Mary's Medical Center
: :
CLEMENTS
ip
, is "parish" -- P-
is a parish?
a Pastor, or
to as a Pas-
who is
charge of
Life Coot-
Pastors;
it's neces-
to
Pastor
group of
ff or the
also a larg-
commonly
Yes,
church, a
(now mostly
Parish center"),
and the
"multi-
all of these
one typi-
The essence of parish
cally finds much activity.
There are meetings and classes
and dinners and games and,
most important, religious wor-
ship services galore. All in all,
a parish is a lively thing.
And, just in case you were
wondering, Canon 515 of The
Revised Code of Canon Law
(the official legal book of the
Catholic Church) defines a
parish as "a definite communi-
ty of the Christian faithful estab-
lished on a stable basis within a
particular church (NOTE: the
term particular church is Canon
Law language for diocese); the
pastoral care of the parish is
entrusted to a pastor as its own
shepherd under the authority of
the diocesan bishop."
Now let's take all of these
ingredients m the people, the
buildings, the activities, Canon
515 throw them into a pot of
water, bring it to a high, roiling
boil, and distill the entire parish
to its absolute essence. The
product is the basic "stuff" of a
Catholic parish condensed into
two key words: relationships
and communication.
Relationships and communi-
cation two common words
with enormous implications for
a parish community, especially
one which is considering, or
engaged in, a process of total
stewardship conversion! The
success or failure of a parish's
stewardship conversion process
hinges on the relationship and
communication skills of its
ordained and lay leaders.
Every human being is experi-
enced in relationship and com-
munication. We've experienced
them -- but we're not always
good at them! On the relation-
ship side of our personal equa-
tion we find families, friends,
co-workers and, for some of us,
teachers and students: people
with whom we interact daily. In
a parish community, human
interactions involve pastors,
staff members, and parishioners
in a myriad of settings.
All human relationships
involve communication even
when we're not actually speak-
hag. (Remember:. most commu-
nication is nonverbal!) There-
fore, it seems logical that
individuals who are adept at
interpersonal relationships, and
who are skilled communicators,
have what it takes, at least "on
paper," to be successful in their
endeavors.
Likewise, persons who are
ignorant of the forces which
influence human behavior and
attitudes, and who are unable,
or unwilling, to engage in effec-
tive, relevant dialogue with oth-
ers, will be much less likely to
succeed in their relationships,
careers and other ventures.
However, we need not be dis-
couraged; there is hope! Even
skilled communicators and
knowledgeable students of
human behador are certainly not
perfect. And the least skilled and
knowledgeable among us can
markedly improve our abilities
and knowledge with study and
training. The first step, of course,
is to acknowledge our imperfec-
tions, then be courageous and
open-minded enough to actively
seek ways to hone our skills and
increase our l_owledge.
Sadly and tragically, howev-
er, many of us are simply too
proud to admit our interper-
sonal weaknesses -- even when
they are blatant. When con-
fronted with our shortcomings
as communicators and partici-
pants in relationships, we often
become defensive and still
Continued from page 4
cashier's office was foiled when
an alarm sent the robbers flee-
ing.
Because violent crime is so
rare inside the Vatican, the city-
state's legal apparatus for deal-
hag with such acts is fairly rusty.
Vatican trials are rare, and its
ancient prison is now used for
storage.
The investigation of the Swiss
Guard murder fell to the Vati-
can's only investigating magis-
more entrenched in inept and
even harmful behavior. In
effect, we dig our failure hole
ever deeper. Unfortunately, the
residue of Original Sin is still
within all of us!
So what's the message in all
of this? We need honest feed-
back about our interpersonal
and communication skills
especially those of us who are in
leadership positions in our
parishes and schools. Where we
discover weaknesses and faul
and there will be some! we
need to take steps to overcome
them: read self-help books; take
classes; attfnd workshops; and
communicate to those whose
lives we touch that our devotion
to them means more than our
misguided pride!
WWJD, Good Steward?
trate, Gianluigi Man-one, who
colleagues said had no inves-
tigative experience. : i, ' :
In 1996, his office dealt pti- i,
madly with traffic violations
and other minor-infractions
rated with the Vatican in the
past were called in, but there
was virtually no thought of
handing the case over to the
Italian iustice system.
