Some Things Did Go Well Under Cardinal Mahony

I've been ambivalent about Cardinal Mahony throughout the history of this blog. I've said all along that his call not to bring St Mary of the Angels (or the other three "continuing" parishes in the diocese that applied) in via the Pastoral Provision in the 1980s was the correct one. Naturally, Mahony's record in covering up abuse or promoting a cohort of gay bishops on the West Coast weighs against this in the overall balance.

Last Sunday, we had a visiting priest give the homily who'd formerly been an associate in the parish. He'd left to become a pastor of a parish several miles up the I-5 not long before we came in. I've had the increasing impression that our parish is able to get very promising priests to pass through as associates and then turns them loose to become successful pastors. One reason for this is that an associate vocation director has been in residence there; last year he was promoted to chief vocation director. Presumably he's in a position to identify the best new priests and bring them in for what amounts to post-graduate formation.

The priest who visited last Sunday, Fr Mike, seems to have done so well as a pastor that Fr Sam, the new overall vocation director, brought Fr Mike into the chancery to replace him as an associate. His record at a downscale parish with a gang problem and homeless encampments in its community includes moving its performance in the bishop's appeal from 40% shortfall to 40% over goal and one vocation and several promising candidates, with that new priest in fact now an associate at our parish. A very poised and mature guy, my wife and I think.

Fr Sam, the vocation director, and Fr Jim, our pastor, were classmates at St John's Seminary in Camarillo, which Randy Engel in The Rite of Sodomy excoriates as a "pink palace". Many of the associates who've been at our parish are naturally products of St John's. Nobody is hanging gay pride banners in the sanctuary. In fact, the parish somehow has kept its communion rail, although as is normal, the issue of traffic for the sacrament prevents receiving while kneeling.

Fr Sam and Fr Jim are in their 50s and went through St John's in the 1990s under Mahony. The parish appears to have been strong and successful throughout the Mahony years without gay pride banners or whatever else. I don't completely know how to characterize its success other than to say it seems to have paid close attention to fundamentals. It has more to teach me. All I can think is that Mahony was given the grace to allow this, and probably other good things, to continue.