Some Housekeeping
Breaking from my normal way of writing bulletin columns (formational vs. informational), this week we’ll do some housekeeping for the coming months.
Firstly, I hope you appreciate what an excellent charity the St. Bakhita House is in our local Milwaukee area! The wonderful work they do to fight against human trafficking and uphold the dignity of every human life is to be commended, and I hope you’ll take the opportunity to assist them in their mission in order to live out the jubilee year more fully.
Secondly, there will be more information in the coming weeks about the Holy Week schedule, but the only surprise is that there will only be one Easter Sunday Mass at 9:30am instead of the usual 8:30am and 10:30am options. The decision was made after reviewing Christmas Day attendance, and we hope to be able to accommodate everyone at one Mass instead of two that morning. Thanks for your flexibility and understanding. If it’s a zoo, we’ll plan accordingly for future years!
Finally, you’ve noticed some work being done in the Reconciliation Room/Confessional in recent weeks. The main purpose of this renovation is to establish two different compartments for the priest and the penitent. The Council of Trent in the 1500’s noticed a worrying trend that priests were using the Sacrament of Confession to perpetuate acts of abuse. To remedy this, they established the typical confessional design that continued through the first half of the twentieth century: two separate compartments with a barrier in between in the midst of the church proper. This better ensured that both priest and penitent were safe and able to focus on the Sacrament. After the Second Vatican Council, in an effort to make the Sacrament of Confession more approachable, many churches renovated their confessionals to make them open spaces with no barriers. Though praiseworthy in its intent, this openness created the conditions for abuse to reemerge within the confessional. In addition, priests could be falsely accused of abuse without the ability to defend themselves because of the seal of the confessional. This has happened to Archdiocese of Milwaukee priests who have been pulled from ministry for years at a time to defend themselves in court. I do not want to place myself or anyone else in the Sacrament at risk of abuse or false accusation, and so have undertaken the present renovation. It’s not a perfect solution due to spatial constraints, but it’s my hope that those seeking Confession will find it both approachable and appropriately formal as there will be both anonymous and face-to-face options. Thank you for your understanding and love for this great Sacrament of God’s forgiveness!