By Rita Ciolli
Newsday
November 10, 2002

When Msgr. Vincent Rush took to the pulpit and unfolded his homily last week, worshipers at St. Hugh of Lincoln sensed something different was coming. The pastor usually speaks informally. Without notes. Standing at the steps in front of the altar.

Using the day's poignant gospel from St. Matthew about the hypocrisy of church leaders, Rush said the readings "were an invitation to talk about the scandals of this past year." The existence of pedophiles in the priesthood, he said, and their repeated transfers to other parishes came as no surprise to him. The bishops stupidly ignored the problem, Rush continued, and now won't soon forget "the vivid and well-needed lesson" they learned.

But Rush went on to question whether they have learned the wider lesson of how their calling can be betrayed.

"Probably the most common failing among us priests, and among bishops, in today's church is a failure to respect the rights and gifts of the lay people ... " he said. Rush said Catholics are understandably conflicted about giving their money to the Diocese of Rockville Centre and their questions deserve to be answered first. Saying his worn rectory needed "a new kitchen and lots more," Rush called Bishop William Murphy's new $1-million residence a mistake. Murphy chose to renovate the top floor of the former convent at St. Agnes Cathedral, displacing several nuns.

But, Rush said, "The right way to deal with distress about the residence is to write him about it, not to stop giving to diocesan ministries." Murphy himself is trying to soothe the controversy by making a special appearance on Telecare and traveling throughout the diocese to meet with priests.

After looking out at emptier pews or finding fewer dollars in the collection basket, pastors across Long Island say there is need to speak out forcefully about the current problems. Long Island Catholics, they say, have continuing concerns about how American bishops are dealing with clerical sex abuse, the laity's demand for a greater role in the governance of the church and a high-end kitchen in Rockville Centre.

"My sense is that people are generally confused because there hasn't been a lot of work done to help good and devoted Catholics, to put all the things they have been besieged with since January into context," Rush said in an interview last week.

To Robert Bange, who heard Rush last Saturday, the message worked. "Before the part about keep giving, the money always seemed a little tainted, but by doing it with this particular gospel you didn't get the feeling that he was was trying to make excuses, you felt a complete sincerity," said Bange, a retired IBM systems analyst who regularly attends the Mass at the Huntington Station church.

Rush joins more than a dozen pastors who have recently spoken out about the current disillusionment. Rev. Ed Kealey, co-pastor of St. Sylvester's in Medford, wrote a blistering criticism of the church hierarchy in the Oct. 27 parish bulletin after the Vatican demanded concessions from American bishops on how to deal with priests who have abused.

Kealey said the Vatican and the bishops were guilty of "clerical self-absorption" by being more worried about due process for priests than addressing the deep pain of the victims. He said new bishops must go to summer camp to learn how to become "arrogant bullies" to laity and "cowardly toadies" to Rome. Kealey also wrote of their willingness "to stifle the voice of conscientious Catholics and to cajole everyone to pay for episcopal extravaganzas, even as worthy employees are fired."

Other pastors have been bold in publicly supporting the local Voice of the Faithful movement because they see some of their most dedicated parishioners signing on with the group, which seeks a greater voice for the laity in church governance.

However, Murphy refuses to recognize Voice of the Faithful and has banned them from meeting on church property, saying the proper forum to hear the concerns of the laity is through a synod - a term Murphy defines as walking together in faith - which he will convene in 2007.

Charles Papa, pastor of St. Louis de Montfort in Sound Beach, doesn't see why there can't be both. He is supporting a local chapter, one of 11 that has been organized at the parish level.

"They want to take their proper place in the future governance of the Church, as is their baptismal right, reaffirmed in the teachings and decrees of the Second Vatican Council," Papa wrote in the recent church bulletin. He invited his parishioners to join the local group and to attend the next regional meeting on Thursday at North Babylon High School.

The group is meeting at a public school because the growing Long Island movement can't meet at welcoming parishes, such as Marina Regina parish in Seaford. However, its members will be able to worship there. A special Mass for the group will be held there on Dec. 8.

Many pastors say it has been difficult to deal openly with the anger of their parishioners as well as honor their vow of obedience to a new bishop. Kealey said many of his fellow priests are "walking on eggs" trying to find the right message. He thinks such honesty is why St. Sylvester's collections are holding. "You can't live in fear of someone else's reaction no matter who that might be," he said.

Besides hearing from their parishioners, priests have been meeting in groups with Murphy over the past several weeks. He has assured priests that the sale of the Rockville Centre house that founding Bishop Walter Kellenberg left to the diocese should cover the cost overruns from the renovation of the top floor of the former St. Agnes convent. At one of the meetings, priests said he told them that he would sell the three Oriental rugs that were purchased by the decorator to recoup some of the costs.

Joanne Novarro, a spokeswoman for the diocese, said late last week she knew nothing about the sale of the rugs nor when the Kellenberg house would be put up for sale.

Heeding advice from priests that he needs to better communicate with his flock, Murphy has enlisted Msgr. Tom Hartman, co-host of Telecare's "God Squad." Hartman, who also writes a nationally syndicated column that appears on Newsday on Saturdays, is considered the most recognized Catholic priest in the diocese because of his work on Telecare, the diocese cable channel. Hartman said the two will do periodic shows.

"A lot of people are still getting to know him and finding out what is important to him," Hartman said. The 30-minute program, tentatively titled "The Bishop's Report," debuted on Tuesday with Hartman gently questioning the bishop "on some of the things he has had to deal with." It will be shown twice a day for the next week or two, he said.

Both the pastors and the bishop are concerned about the success of next year's Bishop's Annual Appeal. The pastors said that 20 parishes have not met their individual goals, an unusually high number for this late in the year. Murphy has told the pastors that in 2003, parishes will get a 30 percent rebate, an increase of 5 percent, of their collection when their parish goal is met.

The Voice of the Faithful, which has collected $7,000 so far, is ready to launch a Voice of Compassion Fund, to work as an alternative to the 2003 Bishop's Appeal. Dan Bartley, co-director of Long Island Voice of the Faithful, said the group will use the money it collects to fund the same charities as the Bishop's Appeal. Bartley wants to meet with Murphy to find a way to present their fund-raising "in a compassionate, non-confrontational way." Although Bartley said he was "greatly disappointed" that two meetings last week were canceled by Murphy, a new one is set for early December.

Kealey said the bishop has cause for concern. Last year, his parish was $10,000 over goal; this year it is only $300 over. While the diocese raised the dollar amount each parish was to collect in 2002, Kealey said the decline is directly related to the current problems.

"For the Bishop's Appeal to return to its peak of a year ago," Kealey said, "people would have to regain confidence in the church hierarchy in this country and this particular diocese."

GRAPHIC: Photos - 1) Msgr. Vincent Rush; 2) Bishop william Murphy, left, and Msgr. Tom Hartman, whom he has enlisted for a TV program to reach out to parishioners. 3) Photo by Michael Ross Wacht - Dan Bartley of laity group